Ed Koch, z"l

Dear Haverim:


This past Shabbat I shared some material which you expressed interest in having. So here is the first installment.

In marking the death of former 3-term NYC Mayor Ed Koch, 88, I shared that on his Manhattan gravestone he arranged for the following two quotes:



Here O Israel the Lord is our God the Lord is One

Shema Yisrael Adonai Eloheynu Adonai Echad.

and

My father is a Jew. My mother is a Jew. I am a Jew.

--Last words spoken by Wall Street Journal reporter Danny Pearl

I shared my own two favorite Koch sayings:

a. How am I doin’?

and

b. I can explain it to you, but I can’t comprehend it for you.



In addition, I shared reporter Matthew Goldberg’s top-ten Koch quotes:

10. The best way to lose weight is to close your mouth— something very difficult for a politician. Or watch your food—just watch it, don’t eat it.

10 (tie). When all are wrong, everyone is right.

9. (At a commencement address)

The fireworks begin today. Each diploma is a lighted match. Each one of you is a fuse.

8. If I traveled to the end of the rainbow as Dame Fortune did intend, Murphy would be there to tell me the pot’s at the other end.

7. You punch me, I punch back. I do not believe it’s good for ones self-respect to be a punching bag.

6. (After the New York Giants, who play in New Jersey, won Super Bowl XXI and asked for a permit to hold a parade in the city)

If they want a parade, let them parade in front of the oil drums in Moonachie.

5. I was born at the age of twelve on a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer lot.

4. I know many writers who first dictate passages, then polish what they have dictated. I speak, then I polish—occasionally I do windows.

3. Deals are my art form. Other people paint beautifully on canvas or write wonderful poetry. I like making deals, preferably big deals. That’s how I get my kicks.

2. In action be primitive; in foresight, a strategist.

1. If you don’t like the President, it costs you 90 bucks to fly to Washington to picket. If you don’t like the Governor, it costs you 60 bucks to fly to Albany to picket. If you don’t like me, 90 cents

May the memory of Ed Koch, staunch supporter of Israel, and very proud Jew, be for a blessing.

Zichrona l’vrahca.