Funeral services were held here today for David K. Niles, executive assistant to Presidents Truman and Roosevelt, who died here this week-end at the age of 63. The Government of Israel was represented at the funeral by Consul General Arthur Lourie and Lt. Col. Giladi, Israeli military attache in Washington.
“The passing of David K. Niles has deprived the Jewish people and the cause of Israel of one of its great friends,” Dr. Nahum Goldmann, chairman of the Jewish Agency, stated today. Dr. Goldmann paid tribute to the positive aid and invaluable advice given the Israel cause by Mr. Niles during the period when the Jewish State we going through its birth pangs, and concluded: “The Jewish people, the Zionist movement, and all who had the privilege of working with him shall never forget this Syal son of the Jewish people who participated so considerably in the historic development which brought about the establishment of the State of Israel.”
A statement issued by Israel Ambassador Abba Eban called Mr. Niles “one of the foremost architects of American-Israel understanding” and added: “History will regard him as one of the decisive agents in the restoration of Israel’s sovereignty with American support.”
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