Proceedings
of

the Dinner
in honor of

NORMAN PODHORETZ

upon the occasion of
his retirement

after thirty-five years
as Editor-in-Chief of

COMMENTARY

Tuesday, May 2, 1995

The Pierre
Fifth Avenue at 61st Street

RECEPTION
6:00 p.m.

DINNER
7:00 p.m.

[L.C.]

NEAL KOZODOY

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome. This is an evening with a focus, and with a purpose. The purpose is to celebrate Norman, and to hear from Norman. But we have no intention of making things easy, either on you or on him. As you can see from your programs, it will take the strength of twelve to get Norman through his last supper. Only then, having been properly introduced, will he at last be permitted to speak his mind. As for me, I'm Neal Kozodoy, and I need no introduction.

To expedite our task tonight with Gingrichian efficiency, and to maintain that state of suspenseful anticipation which is the hallmark of rhetorical artfulness, we've edited the proceedings as follows. Our speakers, each of whom has been placed under a strict rule of cloture, will be grouped in three blocks of four. You'll hear from the first group soon, the second after the main course, the last with dessert, and thence by inexorable stages to the man of the hour. My own role is to introduce them, and him. We have endeavored so to arrange matters that everybody will get to eat as well as to listen; I mention this for the benefit of the culinarily challenged.

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Before proceeding, it's my happy task to say a few words of thanks. First, to each and to all of you. This is a grand crowd, and a mixed crowd—a crowd of writers and intellectuals, *COMMENTARY's* life's blood; a crowd of readers, many of whom, unbeknownst to their fellow citizens, lead a secret life as contributors to the *COMMENTARY* Fund; a crowd of fellow editors, friends, and relatives, and even a few relatives of friends, and friends of relatives.

Many of you have disrupted busy schedules and come long distances for this event, from California and British Columbia to the West, to the East from England, from France, from Israel. I omit such weird archepelagian outposts as Washington, D.C. and—still weirder—Cambridge, Massachusetts. True, you may have been impelled to join us at the Pierre tonight by the sheer force of ideological curiosity—is there, after all, could there be, such a thing as a free lunch? I hope by the end of the evening we will have satisfied you on that point. But we have not been fooled; we know simple affection when we see it, and for this outpouring of affection I can only say that we thank you, each of you, from the bottom of our hearts.

There are those who enabled us to gather here tonight. Their names are listed in the program, but I'd like to hail them now *viva voce*. I begin with our friends at Pfizer Incorporated, led by Lou Clemente and Mike Hodin, who to my appeal some months ago responded with astounding alacrity that they would not only consent, they would be honored, to be associated with this festivity. Emboldened by their gesture we turned to others, who answered with similar graciousness. Still others, without even having been asked, turned to us on their own. I name here that Nestor *and* that Maecenas among men, Dick Larry of the Carthage Foundation; Roy Marden at Philip Morris; and the individual members of the *COMMENTARY* Fund listed in your program who added generosity to their customary generosity to help make this evening possible.

*COMMENTARY*, as you know, has its offices at the American Jewish Committee, which publishes the magazine and which until five years also took responsibility for subsidizing its entire budget. Properly to tell the story of our relationship with AJC would require more time than I have at my disposal. Nor can I adequately convey in a sentence the extent of our feeling for an organization

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[LQ]

which, however much it has had to put up with over the years, has
never wavered in its essential commitment to *COMMENTARY'S*
existence and, what is more important, its editorial independence.
For this we owe, and are sensible that we owe, a lasting debt of
gratitude.

Immediate oversight of *COMMENTARY's* institutional affairs is
exercised by the *COMMENTARY* Publication Committee, and I want
to register as well our gratitude—my fond personal gratitude—to
that committee, its stalwart members, and its chairman, Robert
Pelz. This is a moment of transition for *COMMENTARY*, a tricky
moment, and to help us navigate it I can think of no one wiser,
kinder, calmer, or, when necessary, fiercer in *COMMENTARY's* behalf
than Bob Pelz.

Which brings me finally to the chairman of tonight's dinner,
Roger Hertog. Roger is the President and CEO of Sanford Bern-
stein, the well-known investment company; in his spare time he
also serves as chairman of the Manhattan Institute and on the
boards of various other institutes and journals. In addition to being
a member of our Publication Committee and one of our major
benefactors, Roger is a first-class pest, constantly peppering us with
institution-building ideas which are invariably brilliant and which
no less invariably require endless labor to effectuate—never on his
part. One such idea has materialized in the anthology you found
on your seats when you came in, and which we urge you to look at
and enjoy and discuss—only not when I'm not up here talking.
Roger, at any rate, is a most annoying habit on whom we've had the
great fortune to become hooked.

And so we proceed.

Why in the name of heaven would one of the great perform-
ing artists of the age give up a career as an internationally ac-
claimed concert pianist for the thankless and exhausting task of
becoming a full-time advocate for his people? If I didn't know him
better, I'd be tempted to say that it *was* in the name of heaven.
David Bar-Illan, now the executive editor of the *Jerusalem Post*,
devotes much of his time to writing. But whether he is attacking
the piano or defending his country and his people, he plays under
a single marking: *con brio, molto con brio*.

5

[L.C.]

DAVID BAR-ILLAN

Thank you. The answer is simple: I just believe that every 50
years one should change careers. I'm looking forward to the next
one.

I first met Norman when he was so young he had curls on his
head and very liberal ideas. He got rid of both within a few years. I
venture to guess that getting rid of the curls was probably less volun-
tary.

What I have found most admirable in reading him since
then—and I feel this particularly as an Israeli, a citizen of a country
surrounded by tyrannies—is his consistency in opposing tyranny, in
opposing totalitarianism. One can change one's mind about issues.
One can change one's mind about attitudes, and many other
things. But not when it comes to this abiding, life-long opposition
to tyranny. In that he has been an inspiration, not only to me but
to many Israelis.

I have found in Norman also a marvelous example of courage:
the kind of courage that makes it possible for him to say exactly
what he means and what he wants to say, regardless of how un-
popular it may be at that point or how politically incorrect. And he
always says it with such clarity that there is no mistaking what he
feels and what he thinks.

I have tried to pay him the highest compliment by emulating
him. As a result, my name is on at least five "enemy lists" to which I
would otherwise have had no access. That is one of the things I
am particularly proud of. Sharing enemies with Norman Pod-
horetz is no minor accomplishment. If I have a passport to respect-
ability, that is it.

On the other hand, a man is known not only by his enemies
but also by his friends. Seeing the gathering here tonight, my wife
and I are extremely proud to be here with Norman, with Midge,
and with you to toast his retirement, in the knowledge that now
he'll cut his schedule down to fourteen hours a day and go on
contributing to us, to the world, to Israel, to democracy.

6

[L]

## NEAL KOZODOY

Twenty years ago, when he called me on the telephone to ask if he could write a book review for *COMMENTARY*—it may have been his first book review anywhere—Bill Bennett was a young academic with a Ph.D., a law degree, and a terrifying way with a beefsteak. Now look at him. As a political figure he has declined, at least temporarily, to compete for the chance to be first in war and first in peace. But to judge by the best-seller lists—is it 70 weeks now, and still counting?—he has made a permanent dent in the hearts of his countrymen.

## WILLIAM J. BENNETT

... And still cutting into beefsteaks.

Since I come between David Bar-Illan and Bill Buckley, I've decided not to be so elegant.

I told Neal he could dispense with the twelve speakers, just get up here and propound a question to this crowd and the evening would be over.

You'll notice that we are in alphabetical order. Imagine trying to do it any other way with this group of speakers. The *New York Post*: "Major Food Fight Among Neoconservatives Erupts at Pierre Hotel Over Who Gets to Speak Last."

Neal has brought up the story of my calling and asking to write a book review. But actually, I had called to write my magnum opus—Neal reduced it to a book review. Which has happened to more than one of you out there. In that connection I am deeply indebted to *COMMENTARY*, and especially to Norman, for teaching

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