[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 56 (Tuesday, April 8, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Page S4954]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       A TRIBUTE TO STANLEY HIRSH

 Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I wish to honor Mr. Stanley 
Hirsh, a California businessman, and publisher of the widely read Los 
Angeles Jewish Journal, who dedicated his life to others. Mr. Hirsh 
lost his battle with brain cancer and passed away on March 22nd. Mr. 
Hirsh left behind his wife, Anita, four children, and four 
grandchildren. He was 76.
  While Mr. Hirsh was a highly successful businessman, he will be 
remembered, to quote the Jewish Journal, as a ``maverick 
philanthropist.'' Such a title was earned by Mr. Hirsh's plethora of 
donations to various charity organizations, his service during World 
War II in the United States Navy, and his formation of twelve kosher 
kitchens for Jewish seniors in the Los Angeles area.
  In addition to his dedication to philanthropy, Mr. Hirsh sought to 
positively affect Arab-Israeli relations. In the early nineties, Mr. 
Hirsh and his family formed the Hirsh Family Early Childhood 
Development Center in Tel Aviv.
  While no single accomplishment defined Mr. Hirsh, his friends 
remember him as an altruistic man who was steadfast in his leadership. 
Friend and Congressman Howard L. Berman recalled Hirsh as ``a real 
generalist, interested in matters of the greater community.''
  Mr. Hirsh's dedication to community service is evidenced by his stint 
as president at the Jewish Federation, and in the mid 1980s, he chaired 
the United Jewish Fund General Campaign. Interestingly, Mr. Hirsh was 
the greatest contributor to the campaign.
  Mr. Hirsh owned the Cooper Building in downtown Los Angeles and was a 
former chairman of the Community Redevelopment Agency in the city of 
Los Angeles.
  Employees of Mr. Hirsh at the Jewish Journal remember him as being 
obsessed with fair and balanced reporting. Editor-in-Chief of the 
periodical, Robert Eshman, said that the paper grew ``significantly'' 
under Stanley's leadership.
  People of Stanley Hirsh's caliber do not come very often and while 
his accomplishments still resonate, and his warmth and kindness 
honored, Mr. Hirsh will be sorely missed.

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