Simon Wiesenthal Center Statement on the Passing of Senator Ted Kennedy

August 25, 2009

"The Simon Wiesenthal Center joins all Americans in mourning the death of Senator Ted Kennedy, one of the giants of the United States Senate who often took up the cause of those who were left out and forgotten," said Rabbi Marvin Hier, founder and dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center.

"Senator Kennedy was also a steadfast and loyal friend of the State of Israel and the Jewish Community," Hier added. "The Center extends its deepest condolences to the Kennedy family," he concluded.

Senator Kennedy was honored by the Wiesenthal Center at a New York gala in 1987. The enclosed Wiesenthal Center archive photo is also on display at the Kennedy Memorial Library in Boston.

Photo: Senator Kennedy receiving Simon Wiesenthal Center's Humanitarian Award, October 1987, with Simon Wiesenthal and Rabbi Marvin Hier. (click on photo to enlarge)