Posted in .

In Memoriam: Former ADL Regional Director Harvey Schechter

  • May 28, 2015

Harvey Bernard Schechter died on May 23, 2015, at the age of 91. He is survived by his wife of sixty years, Hope Schechter.

Harvey spent 41 years working for the Anti-Defamation League.

Harvey was born on January 4, 1924, in Brooklyn, New York.  As a boy Harvey developed his love of baseball which he carried throughout his life, even attending Dodger Fantasy Baseball Camp at age 70. In his youth, he had rheumatic fever which led his parents to send Harvey from New York to a warmer climate in Southern California for his schooling. Harvey completed his undergraduate coursework at UC Santa Barbara while living and working on a ranch in Rancho Oso near the UCSB campus. Harvey was a celebrity on campus where he arrived daily on his trusted horse, “Chica.”  Ever passionate about education, Harvey became a trustee at the University of Santa Barbara in 1996, a position he held the rest of his life.

Harvey earned a Master’s Degree in Sociology from UCLA in 1950.  In September of that year, Harvey met Hope Mendoza and the two were married on March 20, 1955.

Harvey joined ADL the day after Eisenhower was elected in November 1952.  Harvey was Director of Civil Rights and Fact-Finding until 1960, Western States Fact-Finding Director until 1974, Regional Director until 1986, and Western States Director until 1993.

Harvey was on the frontlines fighting discrimination in housing, public accommodations, employment, and college admissions.  He monitored and reported on extremists such as the American Nazi Party and John Birch Society in their early years.  His tenure also overlapped with the passage of the Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act.  His passion for the ADL never waned.

At his funeral on May 27, 2015, Regional Director Amanda Susskind described Harvey’s long career with ADL and stated, “For me, Harvey’s legacy is not just in his speeches, writings, and incomparable wit.  His deep commitment to this cause was infectious.  He mesmerized and enriched a whole generation of lay leaders and community members just by being in the role he was, by caring so deeply….He did so much for the community and worked so many hours of his life to make the world a little better but his legacy is the people he touched.”

May his memory be a blessing.

 

In the News:

Jewish Journal