Jerry Gottesman, Philanthropist Who Funded Expansion Of Jewish Schools, Dies
(JTA) — Jerome “Jerry” Gottesman, a property developer and philanthropist who often focused on expanding access to Jewish education, has died.
Gottesman died on Sunday at the age of 87 while on a private visit to Israel with his family. His body was set to be returned to New Jersey for a funeral and burial on Tuesday.
Gottesman, along with his brother Harold, was the co-founder of Newark, New Jersey-based Edison Properties, and served as chairman of the company until his death. Edison controls more than 3 million square feet of property, including parking garages and storage units in Manhattan and Brooklyn and several million more square feet in Newark, according to the news website NJBiz.
As philanthropists, he and his wife Paula became known for key gifts to innovative programs in Jewish education.
“We have lost a dear friend, and a giant in our community,” said Scott Krieger, president of the Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest NJ in a statement. “Thinking through the lens of real estate, Jerry understood that building Jewish community meant deep investment today, but always with an eye to the future.”
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30
