We mourn the passing of Ted Comet z"l, a luminary of American Jewish life, who leaves a legacy of extraordinary leadership and passionate commitment to Israel and the Jewish people. Ted, who died on Wednesday at the age of 100, was a prominent figure in Jewish communal service, serving in leadership positions at the Council of Jewish Federations (CJF), American Zionist Youth Foundation (AZYF), and the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC). At the CJF, a predecessor organization to Jewish Federations of North America, Ted launched a young leadership division and transformed the General Assembly into the Jewish community’s leading national conference.   
 

Ted’s seven decades of dedicated service were defined by his unparalleled wisdom, gentle kindness, and unwavering support for countless Jewish leaders. He was the visionary behind the annual Salute to Israel Parade in New York and helped organize the first public demonstration of solidarity for Soviet Jewry; he also led the first mission of Federation leaders to the Soviet Union. John Ruskay, Executive Vice-President Emeritus of UJA-Federation of New York, called him the “widely recognized dean of Jewish communal professional life.” 

On a more personal level, Ted’s compassion, thoughtfulness, and wisdom, undiminished over the years, were truly remarkable. His resilience was evident throughout his life, from his early friendship with Elie Wiesel at an orphanage in Versailles, to his unceasing efforts to broaden the scope and deepen the Jewish component of Federations. He saw the “miracle of Israel” and urged us to strive always for empathy, saying that “Any one of us can make a difference in other people’s lives.”
 

Ted honored the legacy of his late wife, Shoshana, a Holocaust survivor who became an artist, by demonstrating how to transform suffering into positive action. Through the sharing of her tapestries, he taught how we “best heal ourselves by using our pain and our trauma to heal others.” We send our heartfelt condolences to Ted's family and friends, including his two children, six grandchildren, and nine great-grandchildren. May his memory be a source of blessing and may we all strive to embody the spirit and love he shared so selflessly with the world.