New York's former Jewish mayor Edward Koch died on Friday at the age of 88. Serving as NYC mayor from 1978 to 1989, Koch is widely credited with spearheading the turnaround of the troubled city and restoring it to its former glory. Under his leadership, NYC regained its fiscal footing and undertook a building renaissance.
Koch died of congestive heart failure at about 2 a.m. (0700 GMT) at New York-Presbyterian hospital after a year of repeated hospitalizations, a spokesman said.
Koch, who came from a family of Conservative Jews, was a strong supporter of Israel. The National Jewish Democratic Council (NJDC) mourned Koch's passing, saying the American Jewish community would not be the same without the former mayor's vocal advocacy for the US-Israel relationship.
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the flags at all city buildings would fly at half-staff in Koch's memory. "In elected office and as a private citizen, he was our most tireless, fearless, and guileless civic crusader," Bloomberg said. "His spirit will live on not only here at City Hall, and not only on the bridge the bears his name, but all across the five boroughs."
After leaving office, Koch wrote articles on everything from Middle East politics to movie reviews, hosted a radio show and served as a judge on the TV program 'The People's Court'.
His headstone, which he chose years ago, will evoke his faith and his admiration of a murdered journalist. The marker will bear the Star of David and a Hebrew prayer saying “Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One.” It also will be inscribed with the last words of journalist Daniel Pearl before he was tortured and murdered by terrorists in 2002: “My father is Jewish. My mother is Jewish. I am Jewish.” Koch had noted that he had been moved that Pearl chose to affirm his faith and heritage in his last tragic moments.
