NCSJ - 05.04.2009

NCSJ Mourns the Passing of Jack Kemp

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- NCSJ mourns the loss of former Representative and Secretary of Housing and Urban Affairs Jack Kemp, a close friend of and partner in the Soviet Jewry Movement.

Secretary Kemp was one of the earliest supporters of the historic Jackson-Vanik Amendment, which linked preferential trade to emigration from the Soviet Union. He and his wife Joanne were personally engaged in many refusenik and Prisoner of Zion cases, including that of Natan Sharansky. Jack co-founded the Congressional Coalition for Soviet Jews, which was at one time one of the largest Congressional Caucuses on Capitol Hill.

On learning of his passing, NCSJ Director Mark Levin praised him as “a visionary, with boundless energy and a willingness to fight for the human rights of Soviet Jews.” NCSJ Chairman Richard Stone said “he was a champion for the cause of freedom, and NCSJ will miss his leadership.”

NCSJ: Advocates on Behalf of Jews in Russia, Ukraine, the Baltic States & Eurasia, founded in 1971, represents the organized American Jewish community in monitoring and advocating on behalf of the estimated 1.5 million Jews living in the 15 successor states of the former Soviet Union.

Links
JTA	Jack Kemp, longtime Israel friend, dies at 73
JTA	Remembering Jack Kemp
JTA	Jack Kemp: Friend of the Jews and righteous gentile
NY Jewish Week	Jack Kemp: Honorary Jew, Man of Grace
NY Jewish Week	In Praise of Jack Kemp
Washington Post	JACK KEMP, 73: Ex-Official Championed Housing, Tax Reforms
Washington Times	GOP mourns 'eternal optimist'
Washington Times	KEMP: A letter to grandchildren
Associated Press	Jack Kemp, quarterback turned politician, dies