William Landau, a past president of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency and longtime member of its board of directors, died Wednesday at the age of 67.
Landau was president of JTA from 1973 to 1979 and was chairman of the board from 1979 to 1985. He was chairman of the board’s Budget and Finance Committee at the time of his death.
He served on the boards of several other Jewish organizations, including UJA/Federation of New York and the New York Association for New Americans. He was also a devoted member of the Westchester Reform Synagogue in Scarsdale, N.Y., and served on its board of directors.
Along with his wife, Bubbles, Landau created UJA/Federation’s Landau Family Fund to help aid Jewish elderly, homeless and battered women.
A second-generation American, Landau was the grandson of a rabbi who immigrated to America from Europe in 1900.
After graduating Lehigh University and New York Law School, he became a certified public accountant and eventually served as managing partner of a national accounting firm founded by his father.
A political activist, he also served as campaign treasurer for numerous candidates for national and local public office.
Recalling Landau, JTA President Marshall Weinberg said, “I knew and worked with Bill Landau for many years, both in the UJA/Federation and the JTA.
“He was extremely sensitive, modest, unpretentious and able,” Weinberg said.
He added, “Only three days ago, despite the seriousness of his condition, he spoke to me and even then was concerned about how the organization was going. We will all miss him deeply.”
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
