[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 26 (Thursday, March 12, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Page S1901]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             ERIC BREINDEL

  Mr. MOYNIHAN. Mr. President, I rise to pay tribute to Eric Breindel, 
a proud son of New York who was taken from us all too suddenly and all 
too soon this past Saturday. Eric lived life at a hectic pace, almost 
as if he knew that his years would be so painfully limited that he 
would do well to fill as much meaning and involvement as he could into 
every single day. The Talmud teaches that fools measure their lives in 
years, while wise people measure them in days. Eric was wise in this 
respect as he was in so many others.
  As I noted in his funeral on Monday, ``I taught him for two years at 
Harvard and learned from him for the next twenty.'' His passion for the 
truth, for justice, for democracy, were all well reflected in the 
editorial pages of the New York Post, where he presided for eleven 
madcap years as the editorial page editor. I ask unanimous consent to 
place in the Congressional Record his obituary from The New York Times 
and the Post's tribute to this brilliant journalist and passionate 
American.
  The obituaries follow:

                [From the New York Post, March 8, 1998]

                        Eric Breindel, 1955-1998

       Eric Breindel once said that life granted few gifts greater 
     than the ability to influence the political debate in the 
     greatest city in the world. He exercised that, influence for 
     10 years as the editor of this column, and his horribly 
     untimely death yesterday at the age of 42 robs this city and 
     this nation of one of its wisest young men.
       He was, first and forever, a patriot.
       He fiercely contested the claims of those who blamed 
     America for all of the planet's woes. And he was particularly 
     unforgiving of those Americans who served foreign ideologies 
     and interests during times of grave crisis--and who lied 
     about it all after the emergencies had passed.
       As might be expected of the son of Holocaust survivors, he 
     had a profound understanding of the importance of a strong 
     state of Israel--not only for Jews, and not only as an 
     abiding symbol of enlightenment in a section of the world 
     often sorely in need of such guidance, but also for the 
     furtherance of American political, economic and military 
     global interests.
       His patience with those who failed to view issues in wide--
     indeed, often global--terms was slight. He knew that what 
     might happen in Tokyo today could have an impact in Times 
     Square tomorrow and it was with such understanding that he 
     crafted the content of these pages.
       Readers need not agree with his views--indeed, often it 
     seemed that many did not--to concede that they were strongly 
     held, lucidly and respectfully presented and not at all given 
     to equivocation.
       It is true that Eric Briendel was very much out of step 
     with conventional political and social wisdom. He understood 
     this; indeed, he was quietly proud of it.
       In an age given to the promotion of self-esteen--at the 
     expense of actual accomplishment--he championed hard work and 
     individual enterprise.
       He knew that, these days, equality of outcome is meant to 
     trump equality of opportuinity--but he wouldn't accept it.
       He was equally unforgiving of double standards when it came 
     to public conduct--even when race, ethnicity and gender were 
     at issue.
       And while he never ducked controversy, he understood that 
     public affairs are conducted by people who had feelings--and 
     families. He tried not to wound, and in this he succeeded 
     more often than not.
       The decade-plus during which he edited these pages were 
     among the most tumultuous in New York's history.
       It was the time of Howard Beach and Tawana Brawley, of 
     Crown Heights and Yusuf Hawkins. There were three mayors and 
     two governors and no end of governmental crises and political 
     scandal and strife.
       Through it all, New Yorkers knew where to turn for finely 
     crafted, literate and insightful commentary.
       Eric Breindel is gone now, at much too young an age. New 
     York is the poorer for it. And for us at The Post, who had 
     the honor and the pleasure of knowing him, enjoying his 
     company, learning from him, gossiping with him--we share the 
     sorrow of his family and will always treasure the memory of 
     our dear friend.
                                                                    ____


                [From the New York Times, March 8, 1998]

       Eric Breindel, 42, Commentator and New York Post Columnist

                          (By Charlie LeDuff)

       Eric M. Breindel, the former editorial page editor for the 
     New York Post and the conservative moderator of a weekly news 
     show on public affairs on the Fox News Channel, died 
     yesterday afternoon. He was 42.
       Mr. Breindel, a lifelong resident of New York City, died at 
     New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center. He was undergoing 
     treatment for a liver ailment and suffered a massive 
     hemorrhage, said Lally Weymouth, a longtime friend and 
     columnist for The Washington Post.
       Mr. Breindel, a senior vice president of the News 
     Corporation, which owns The Post, was best known for his 
     years as the leader of the Post's lively opinion pages, which 
     hold a decidedly conservative edge.
       He was hired as the editorial page editor of The Post in 
     1986 and in January 1997, he left that position to develop 
     strategic policy for the News Corporation. He continued to 
     write a weekly column in The Post and was seen by some as a 
     tormentor of liberal politicians.
       ``Whether he agreed with you or not, you always knew he 
     listened to you and understood your point of view,'' said the 
     City Council Speaker, Peter F. Vallone, a Democrat.
       More recently, Mr. Breindel was the host of a weekly 
     television show that aired on Saturdays on the Fox News 
     Channel, ``Fox News Watch.''
       Mr. Breindel was a friend of New York City police officers 
     and during last year's mayoral election, he branded the 
     Democratic challenger to Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, the 
     Manhattan Borough President, Ruth W. Messinger, as a ``cop-
     basher.''
       ``Eric was a very close friend,'' Mr. Giuliani said. ``He 
     had a unique understanding of all that makes up the City of 
     New York. He had a particular insight into the challenges 
     faced by New York City police officers, and even when there 
     might be a media frenzy seeking to unfairly accuse police 
     officers, Eric was often one of the few who courageously 
     stood up for them.''
       Rupert Murdoch, chairman of the News Corporation, said of 
     him, ``He was a brilliant leader of the editorial page and 
     one of the most influential people in New York.''
       While Mr. Breindel's ideas carried influence, said Martin 
     Peretz, editor-in-chief of The New Republic, he is perhaps 
     known best in New York City for his coverage of the 1991 
     racial unrest in Crown Heights.
       Charlie Rose, the talk-show host, called his death shocking 
     and said, ``His capacity to influence world affairs was 
     growing.''
       Born in New York City in 1955, Mr. Breindel graduated magna 
     cum laude from Harvard College in 1977, where he was 
     editorial chairman of The Harvard Crimson. He received a law 
     degree from Harvard in 1982 and served as a legislative 
     assistant to United States Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, a 
     correspondent for the Public Broadcasting System and an 
     editorial page editor with The Daily News before joining The 
     Post.
       Mr. Breindel is survived by his parents, Dr. Joseph H. and 
     Sonia Breindel of New York City, and a sister, Dr. Monique 
     Breindel.
       Funeral services will be held tomorrow at 11 A.M. at the 
     Park Avenue Synagogue.

                          ____________________