EJ

Eulogy for Eric Breindel by Henry A. Kissinger

March 9, 1998

Eric and I have been friends since 1982 when Pat Moynihan
introduced us. Yet when I learned of his death it was as if
our friendship had just started and now it was already over.
Whenever we part unexpectedly from someone so young and so
vital, a nagging question obtrudes itself: did we ever
convey to him adequately how much he meant to us? Of course
it is never too early to reach out to those we love, but
what Eric really meant to us probably made such reaching out
almost irrelevant. Modest, fragile, charming, intelligent,
Eric endowed friendship with a luminous quality; Eric
bestowed his friendship not as a contract of reciprocal
obligations but an organic part of his life.

Eric cared. I will never forget the pride and affection
with which he introduced his family to me at his 40th
birthday party. And being raised in a family marked by the
Holocaust in a way shaped his life. Eric devoted himself to
furthering a world where the inconceivable has been made
impossible by the battles in which he participated. And he
fought not only for the Jewish people but for all peoples.
A foe of totalitarianism and of hypocrisy that recognizes
only one kind of totalitarian danger, Eric was ever to be
found on the battlements of struggles for a world in which
the just could be free and the weak secure. And he insisted
that such a world required a strong and committed America.
Passionate in conviction, thoughtful and unemotional in
analysis, Eric was an activist on one level, a scholar on
another. He had an extraordinary knowledge of the movements
that had challenged human dignity in our time. And he
fought this battle not in terms of its contribution to human
worth and not by the manipulative method of assembling
fleeting political majorities.

Nancy and I loved Eric for his convictions but even more for
his melancholy humor, his charm and his unselfishness. When
after a severe illness Nancy went to recuperate in the
Caribbean and our host invited us to include a few friends,
we suggested Eric and Lally.

When Eric heard I was writing a volume of my memoirs,
including some episodes in which he had been on the other
side of the controversy, he offered to help edit the
relevant chapters. But being Eric, he did much more and he
did it brilliantly.

3/9/98

So in the end it may not really matter so much what we said
to Eric when he was with us. Eric ennobled all whose lives
he touched. And Eric has become part of the texture of the

3/9/98

Whenever we part unexpectedly from someone so young
and so vital, a nagging question obtrudes itself: did we
ever convey to him adequately how much he meant to us? Of
course it is never too early to reach out to those we love,
but what Eric really meant to us probably made such reaching
out almost irrelevant. Modest, fragile, charming,
intelligent, Eric endowed friendship with a luminous
quality; Eric Eric bestowed his friendship not as a
contract of reciprocal obligations but an organic part of
his life.

Eric cared. I will never forget the pride and affection
with which he introduced his family to me at his 40th
birthday party and being raised in a family marked by the
Holocaust, Eric devoted himself to furthering a world where
what memory described has grown inconceivable by the battles
in which he participated, and not only for his people but for
all peoples. A foe of totalitarianism and of hypocrisy that
recognizes only one kind of totalitarian danger, Eric was
ever to be found on the battlements of struggles for a world

in which the just could be free and the weak secure. And he
insisted that such a *struggle* required a strong and committed
*America* Passionate in conviction, thoughtful and
unemotional in analysis, Eric was an activist on one level,
a scholar on another. He had an extraordinary knowledge of
the movements that had challenged human dignity in our time.
And he fought this battle not in terms of its contribution
to human worth and not by the manipulative method of
assembling fleeting political majorities.

Nancy and I loved Eric for his convictions but even more for
his melancholy humor, his charm and his unselfishness..
When after a severe illness Nancy went to recuperate in the
Caribbean and our host invited us to include a few friends,
we suggested Eric and Lally.

introduced us. We have been friends since 1982 when Pat Mergillen
died it was as if our friendship had just ended + now it is really
unfair

Whenever we part unexpectedly from someone so young and so
vital, a nagging question obtrudes itself: did we ever
convey to him adequately how much he meant to us? [We
suddenly realize on the one hand that it is never too early
to reach out to those we love, but what Eric really meant to
us probably made such reaching out almost irrelevant.

Modest, fragile, charming, intelligent, Eric endowed
friendship with a luminous quality. Eric's friendship was
not a contract of reciprocal obligations but an organic part
of his life.

Eric cared. Raised in a family marked by the Holocaust,
in a way similar to his life.
Eric devoted his life to furthering a world where what
memory described has grown inconceivable by the battles in
which he participated and not only for his people but for
all peoples. A foe of totalitarianism and of hypocrisy that
recognizes only one kind of totalitarian danger, Eric was
ever to be found on the battlements of struggles for a world
in which the just could be free and the weak secure.

Nancy and I loved Eric for his convictions but even more for
his melancholy humor, his charm and the unselfish way he
ennobled all whose lives he touched. When after a severe
illness Nancy went to recuperate in the Caribbean and our
host invited us to include a few friends, we suggested Eric
as one of two end of life

So in the end it may not really matter so much what we said
to Eric when he was with us. Eric has become part of the
texture of our lives, and he will be with us as long as
Nancy and I draw breath.

MAR-09-1998 10:11

KISSINGER ASSOCIATES

212 759 0041

P.01/02

Eric Breindel

Whenever we part unexpectedly from someone so young and so
vital, a nagging question obtrudes itself: did we ever
convey to him adequately how much he meant to us?
We suddenly realized on the one hand that it is never too early
to reach out to those we love, but also that what Eric
really meant to us was a love that was not基于a time but an unnecessary. Modest,
fragile, charming, intelligent, Eric endowed friendship with
a luminous quality. Eric's friendship was not a contract of
reciprocal obligations but an organic part of life.

Eric cared. Raised in a family marked by the Holocaust,
Eric devoted his life to furthering a world memory
into a life that is not grown inconceivable by the battles in which
described events took place.
He participated in A foe of totalitarianism and of hypocrisy
that recognizes only one kind of totalitarian danger, Eric
was a person who was found on the battlements of struggles for a
world in which the just could be free and the weak secure.
Passionate in conviction, careful and sensitive, he analyzed
an extraordinary knowledge of the movements that had challenged
human dignity in our time. And he defended this battle not
in terms of its contribution to human wealth and [non] by

11/3.

11

MAR-09-1998 10:12

KISSINGER ASSOCIATES

212 759 0041

P.02/02

Nancy and I loved Eric for his convictions but even more for his melancholy humor, his charm and the way he ennobled all whose lives he touched. When Nancy (after a severe illness) went to recuperate in the Caribbean and our host invited us to include a few friends, we suggested Eric as one of her loves.

When Eric heard I was writing a volume of my memoirs, including some speeches in which he was on the other side of the controversy, he offered to help edit the relevant chapters. But being Eric, he did much more and he did it brilliantly.

So in the end it may not really matter so much what we said to Eric because Eric has become part of the texture of our lives, and he will be with us as long as Nancy and I draw breath.

TOTAL P.02

Eric Breindel

Whenever we part unexpectedly from someone so young and so
vital, a nagging question obtrudes itself: did we ever
convey to him adequately how much he meant to us? We
suddenly realized on the one hand that it is never too early
to reach out to those we love, but also that what Eric
really meant to us made reaching out unnecessary. Modest,
fragile, charming, intelligent, Eric endowed friendship with
a luminous quality. Eric's friendship was not a contract of
reciprocal obligations but an organic part of life.

Eric cared. Raised in a family marked by the Holocaust,
Eric devoted his life to furthering a world that memory
described events grown inconceivable by the battles in which
he participated. A foe of totalitarianism and of hypocrisy
that recognizes only one kind of totalitarian danger, Eric
was to be ever found on the battlements of struggles for a
world in which the just could be free and the weak secure.
Passionate in conviction, careful and ______ in analysis,
Eric was an activist on one level, a scholar on another with
extraordinary knowledge of the movements that had challenged
human dignity in our time. And he defended this battle not
in terms of its contribution to human wealth and [nor] by

Nancy and I loved Eric for his convictions but even more for his melancholy humor, his charm and the way he ennobled all whose lives he touched. When Nancy after a severe illness went to recuperate in the Caribbean and our host invited us to include a few friends, we suggested Eric.

When Eric heard I was writing a volume of my memoirs, including some speeches in which he was on the other side of the controversy, he offered to help edit the relevant chapters. But being Eric, he did much more and he it brilliantly.