Jacob Goodman Dead at 87

Funeral services were held yesterday for Jacob Goodman, a veteran leader of the Zionist Organization of America and the Zionist movement, and a member of the Jewish Legion in World War I. He died last Thursday at the age of 87 while vacationing in Safety Harbor, Fla.

An honorary vice president of the ZOA and member of its national executive committee and administrative board, he and his wife, Libby, made possible the acquisition of the ZOA House, the national headquarters in midtown Manhattan, which bears their name. Goodman was a philanthropist and benefactor of other ZOA projects in Israel, notably ZOA House in Tel Aviv and the Kfar Silver educational complex.

Goodman, together with his father, Henry, and brother, Abraham, founded the firm of Goody Products, Inc. of Keamy, N. J., manufacturers of hair care accessories, formerly known as H. Goodman and Sons.

Born in Kiev, Russia, Goodman arrived in the U.S. as a young boy together with his family in 1906. He was an ardent Zionist since his early youth. He belonged to a youth club at the time, known as the Maccabean Zion Club. He volunteered for service with the Jewish Legion in World War I, fighting for the liberation of Palestine from Turkish rule. He spent two years in Egypt and Palestine where he served in the Legion’s 39th and 40th Battalions. He returned to New York in October, 1919.

Goodman was a member of the Board of Trustees of the United Israel Appeal; national board of the American Zionist Federation; a founder of the Tarbuth Foundation for Hebrew Culture; and president of the Olam Hadash, a Hebrew publication for children. He was active in Alyn Crippled Children’s Hospital in Israel, the Jewish National Fund, American Friends of the Hebrew University, and many other organizations.