Abe Foxman and wife Golda (left)
with George Tenet and wife Stephanie |
Abe
Foxman, Herman Wouk and
wife Sarah, Henry Kissinger |
Abe
Foxman, Dwayne Andreas,
Henry Kissinger |
Mayor
Rudy Giuliani proclaims
Foxman Day |
ANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE
Loads
Of Laughs At Tribute For ADL
Director Abraham Foxman
Story
By
Tim Boxer
Photos By Sharon Stern
HEN
Abraham H. Foxman was planning to mark his professional bar mitzvah –
his 13th year as national director of the Anti-Defamation
League – he asked his friend, Henry Kissinger, to emcee. “It’s just
a little dinner,” Abe assured him.
It took a little effort on the
part of the former secretary of state to open the program as 1,272 of
Abe’s intimate pals thronged the Waldorf-Astoria’s festive Grand
Ballroom to pay tribute to a man who’s devoted his life to the cause of
justice, harmony and brotherhood by seeking to eradicate discrimination,
bias and hatred.
“You
won’t get fed if you’re not quiet,” Kissinger told the festive
crowd.
After he made mention of his
flight from Germany, where 30 family members later perished in the
Holocaust, Kissinger introduced the first of a long line of well-wishers.
There was Mayor Rudy Giuliani,
very busy running a senate campaign against Hillary Rodham Clinton
who is often described as a Johnny-come-lately on the New York political
scene
He bounded onstage carrying a bit
of levity.
Actually he was carrying a
plaque. “I was prepared to give this to Abe,” Hizzoner said, “but I
found out he’s from New Jersey. He’s a carpetbagger!”
A roar of laughter resounded from
such worthies as Andrew Tisch, Malcolm Hoenlein, Arnold Forster, Murray
Koppelman, Gershon Kekst, Malcolm Thomson, Jack and Lewis Rudin
and others.
“We gotta kid around just a
little bit,” Rudy insisted. “This was getting too serious.”
Even though the honoree resides
in New Jersey, the mayor relented and declared this Abraham H. Foxman Day
in New York City.
Jesse Jackson
tempered his remarks with a sober recollection of the Jewish participation
in the civil rights struggle. He called Foxman “a symbol of hope and
healing, not hate and hostility,” and added, “We are bound by shared
blood.”
Sen. Charles Schumer said
when he spoke at Hadassah, a lady gave him a piece of advice: “Remember
the three B’s of good speaking: be sincere, be brief, and be seated.”
So he quickly gave way to CIA
director George Tenet who asked, “What’s a Greek kid from
Queens doing here? What does the ADL have to do with the CIA?”
I wondered too, until Tenet
explained that ADL works closely with the CIA (and FBI) in combating
terrorism and in other areas of American security.
Tenet said he searched for a word
to describe his relationship with Foxman and found it in the ancient Greek
word, rabbi.
“According to Leo Rosten,
rabbi means my teacher. Abe, that is what you’ve been to me. Not only
have you taught me the tenets of Judaism, but you interpreted Judaism to
Tenet.”
He should have stopped there with
his attempt at wit, but the director sallied forth with a word about
Foxman’s cordial personality.
“When Abe came to
Washington,” Tenet said, “he gave me a hug and a kiss, and it felt
good. Nobody hugs and kisses in Washington. Well, almost nobody.”
That cracked up all the VIPs in
the audience, including Yaakov Agam, Mortimer Zuckerman, Roy Innis,
Bess Myerson, Daniel Pipes, Ruth Popkin, among many more.
“I did not intend it that
way,” Tenet said meekly. “Oh boy!” he exclaimed, hinting that he’s
in trouble with his boss, Bill Clinton.
There were many more speeches,
live from Herman Wouk and Dr. Ruth Westheimer, as well as
videotaped appearances by Teddy Kollek, Shimon Peres, Benjamin
Netanyahu, Ehud Barak and Bill Clinton.
Mercifully, at this point the
waiters came out on the floor. After the dinner break, the emcee resumed:
“You may have forgotten me. I am Henry Kissinger. I started the program
a week ago.”
Finally, Foxman got to respond.
Although he may counsel the CIA and FBI, and hold meetings with the movers
and shakers of the universe, at home it’s a different story.
He mentioned that on one of his
numerous missions, he called Golda, his wife of 33 years. He told
her the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia had addressed him as “Your
Highness,” and Yasir Arafat referred to him as “Your
Excellency.”
There
was a slight pause before Golda spoke: “Sweetheart, leave it at the
airport.”
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