When Mayor Ed Koch lost his re-election bid to what would have been a fourth term as New York City’s Mayor he was asked if he would ever run again. After all, he had been NYC’s Mayor for twelve years; he was quintessentially, “New York City’s Mayor.” “The people have spoken,” he proclaimed, “and now, the people must suffer.” If you squinted at just the correct angle you could see Moses’ staff protruding from his outstretched arm as he spoke these very Jewish words. We have now lost yet another of our Greatest Generation; those selfless souls who defended good against evil in the Great War, and won. Koch was a member of the group who were called upon at a very young age to perform very adult tasks, to make important decisions that would affect the lives of individuals, of armies, of countries, of the world. Yet, like many of his fellow Greatest Generation brethren, you’d never catch Mayor Koch bragging about his exploits. You would find Mayor Koch bragging about his love for America, his belief in the rule of law, and his contention that New York City and its people were the greatest in the world; this was his bias, admittedly. He was also completely committed in his support for the State of Israel and the Jewish people. But now we must suffer. Now we must suffer the loss of another of our Greatest Generation. We must suffer the loss of a man who was that rare politician who cared not about towing the party line, but about the issue at hand and its potential effect on America and its people. We must suffer the loss of a man who admitted when his decisions had been wrong; imagine that? Mayor Koch was able to rescue NYC from the brink of bankruptcy and its people from emotional turmoil because he was skilled in making decisions. Our present government lacks a generation trained in such, and so the people suffer. The people need our leaders to lead, to make decisions, to stop over-analyzing. We need our leaders to be more like Mayor Koch, who led NYC to brilliance. Israel, however, is already brilliant; her neighbors surround her with jealousy. Mayor Koch defeated this threat in the Great War so that his people should not suffer. Is there a leader in Israel akin to Mayor Koch?