Jacques Torczyner, a former leader of the American Section of the World Jewish Congress and the World Zionist Organization, has died in Saratoga, California aged 99. He is survived by wife of 74 years, Berthe, his son Robert, granddaughters Rebecca Rountree and Elizabeth Torczyner, and great-grandchildren Gabrielle and Joshua Rountree.
Torczyner was born in Antwerp, Belgium, in 1914. He came to the United States in 1940, escaping from Belgium after the Nazi invasion. He became a member of the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA). In July 1945, he was one of 18 Jewish leaders who convened for a meeting called by David Ben-Gurion to organize American support for the Jewish forces in British Mandate Palestine.
Torczyner was active in the campaign for the creation of the Jewish state. After the founding of the State of Israel, he was a member of the Rifkind Committee and various Special Committees of the Jewish Agency charged with evaluating the future of the Zionist movement. Torczyner served five consecutive terms as president of the ZOA.
From 1974 to 1977 he was chairman of the American section of the World Jewish Congress. From 1972 until 1998 he was member of the Executive of the World Zionist Organization in charge of its Foreign Relations Department and the Herzl Institute.
He was also appointed a member of the American UNESCO Committee and later served as an advisor to UNESCO Director General Federico Mayor.
