Gordon, Harold

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GORDON, HAROLD

GORDON, HAROLD (1907–1979), U.S. rabbi and administrator. Gordon, who was born in Minneapolis, Minn., was ordained in Palestine. During World War ii, he was chaplain in the North Atlantic Division of the Air Transport Command, flying over 250,000 miles to military bases in North America and Europe. Gordon was elected general secretary and chaplaincy coordinator of the New York Board of Rabbis, the metropolitan organization of Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform rabbis, in 1946 and executive vice-president in 1956. As such, he directed a network of chaplains in hospitals, prisons, and other institutions, and coordinated the work of one of the largest rabbinic bodies in the world. He initiated the establishment of the International Synagogue at Kennedy Airport, the Brit Milah School, and the Brit Milah Board of New York.

[Jack Reimer]