Thousands of Jews from all walks of life today attended the funeral services for Abraham Cahan, retired editor of the Jewish Daily Forward, who died this week-end at the age of 91. Secretary of Labor Manrice J. Tobin and Mayor Vincent Impellitteri of New York were among the principal speakers at the services which were presided over by Alexander Kahn, general manager of the Forward.
Forward Hall, where the services took place, was crowded to capacity by leaders of labor unions and representatives of various Jewish institutions which the late editor of the largest Jewish newspaper in the world had helped to build. Many thousands of people who came to pay the last tribute to Mr. Cahan, filled Rutgers Square in front of the Forward Building and heard the eulogies at the services over loud speakers.
The Israel Government was represented at the funeral by Ambassador Abba Eban and Consul General Arthur Lourie. President Weizmann of Israel sent a message in Hebrew emphasizing that Mr. Cahan’s “determined stand in favor of Israel’s cause will not be forgotten.” A message in Yiddish from Israel’s Premier David Ben Gurion eulogized Cahan’s service to Jewish immigrant masses in America and the devotion of his last years to the Zionist cause.
Mr. Cahan was also eulogized by Harry Rogoff, editor of the Forward; Adolph Held, president of the Forward Association David Dubinsky, president of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union; Nathan Chanin, educational director of the Workmen’s Circle; Joseph Baskin, general secretary of the organization; Reuben Guskin, president of the United Hebrew Trades, and numerous other labor leaders. He was buried at the Mt. Carmel Cemetery of the Workmen’s Circle.
Joining the metropolitan newspapers in their editorial tributes to Mr. Cahan, the New York Post said today: “In his long and distinguished editorship of the Jewish Daily Forward, Cahan never forgot that a great newspaper must have a heart as well as a head. He was a lively, imaginative craftsman; he was also a humane citizen who tirelessly fought for a better break for the underprivileged. He had the kind of passion for American freedom that is often most deeply felt by the immigrant; he was never deluded by the myths of the Soviet despotism. Neither did he let private success bring indifference to other men’s suffering.”
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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.
