Gordon Zacks, a founder of the Republican Jewish Coalition and an unofficial adviser to George H.W. Bush, has died.

Zacks, a businessman who also was chairman of the Florence Melton Adult Mini-School named for his mother, died Saturday at home in the Columbus, Ohio, area following a brief illness. He was 80.

He was among the co-founders of the RJC in 1985.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

“We are deeply saddened by Gordy”s passing. He was a great friend,” RJC National Chairman David Flaum said. “As one of the early leaders of the RJC, Gordy helped to establish the organization as a big tent, where Jewish Republicans from across the Republican spectrum could engage in building, on a national scale, a respected and effective Jewish Republican presence in our party and in our community.”

For Bush, as vice president and president, Zacks served as an unofficial adviser and confidant on Israel-U.S. relations, the Middle East peace process, Soviet and Ethiopian Jewry, as well as the political landscape of the American Jewish community.

Bush said in a statement, “Barbara and I were deeply saddened to learn that our dear friend Gordon Zacks has passed. We are saddened because he was one of my staunchest and earliest political supporters, and both a trusted and respected advisor on our critically important relationship with the State of Israel. I leaned on Gordy frequently, and valued his advice.”

Zacks traveled to more than 100 countries and made over 100 trips to Israel and the Middle East. The Melton schools provide pluralistic adult Jewish education in more than 60 cities in four countries have over 30,000 graduates.

Zacks was board chairman and CEO of his family’s business, R.G. Barry Corp., for 25 years until 2004, after which he was named the company’s non-executive board chairman. He held the latter post until his death.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’re near the end of our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we have a very ambitious goal of $127,000 by April 21.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a Passover gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Make a Passover Gift Today!

$90 $180

$360

Other amount