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Jewish World Review / March 11, 1998 / 12 Adar, 5758
Jonathan S. Tobin
Remembering Eric Breindel
LAST SATURDAY, one of the brightest lights of contemporary American
journalism
was extinguished. The untimely death at the age of 42 of Eric Breindel,
editorial page editor of The New York Post from 1986 to 1997 brought an end
Unlike many Jews who have attained prominence in the secular journalistic
world, he was a proud Jew and an unashamed Zionist. Indeed, in the course of
his 11 years at the Post, he wrote in defense of the Jewish State at a time
when it seemed as if everyone in the media had turned against it. Rather
than
running with the pack of editorial wolves that have hounded Israel and
unfairly judged it by double and triple standards, Breindel wrote and spoke
courageously.
On issues like the anti-Jewish riots in Crown Heights, it was Breindel who
provided outspoken leadership when many so-called Jewish "leaders" were
afraid
to speak out. He was also an admirable scholar whose work on the history of
American Communism -- and in particular on the moral failures of the Jewish
left -- was vital to our understanding of this phenomena.
And through it all, he endured a long struggle against illness without
complaint or the need for mawkish exhibitionist displays of suffering as is
the current fashion. In short, his was an honorable life filled with a
glittering record of accomplishment. Due to principled stands, he may not
have
gained the accolades that some less deserving writers have earned, but he
brought honor to the American Jewish community and all who knew him. He will
be greatly missed.
May his memory be for a
A powerful voice is silenced
to
a career that was as brilliant as it was short.
The son of Holocaust survivors, Breindel's ascent to the control of a major
daily newspaper's editorial column was meteoric. But once in place, Breindel
created a body of work that will stand the test of time. Unlike many of in
his
field, Breindel was unafraid to stand up to the paladins of political
correctness. While this mass circulation daily is a garish if entertaining
daily tabloid, Breindel's editorial page was always a beacon of conservative
reason, intellect and civility - a perfect reflection of the man himself.
JWR contributor Jonathan S. Tobin is executive editor of the Connecticut Jewish Ledger.
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