We note with profound sorrow the passing, at age 66, of Professor Moshe Zvi Reicher, one of the Jewish community’s leading advocates on the international scene.
An accomplished Torah scholar and ardent adherent of Bobov chassidus, he was renowned for his self-effacing dedication and skills as an international lawyer and law professor. He had degrees in law from Melbourne University and Harvard Law School and worked tirelessly to promote religious freedom around the world in several international forums, including the United Nations, serving for a number of years as director of international affairs of Agudath Israel World Organization.
He also worked with COLPA, the National Jewish Commission on Law and Public Affairs, to secure legal protection against autopsies and to ensure the right to perform shechitah in countries around the world.
Professor Reicher taught at several law schools, including the University of Pennsylvania Law School, Brooklyn Law School, and Touro Law School. His courses were among the most popular and touched on such topics as the Nazis’ use of the German legal system to strip Jews of their rights.
He was a leader in the effort to protect Jewish cemeteries abroad and was heavily involved in the work of the Claims Conference and World Jewish Restitution Organization addressing reparations and compensation issues. He was also appointed by President George W. Bush to the United States Holocaust Memorial Council.
May his memory be a blessing.