ZIONIST ORGANIZATION OF AMERICA

IN THE MEDIA

‘He Was an Ardent, Farbrente Zionist,’ Mort Klein Says of Late Singer/Actor Ed Ames

By Menachem Wecker

(JUNE 5, 2023 / JNS) Some 15 or 20 years ago, Mort Klein, national president of the Zionist Organization of America, saw a man who looked a lot like entertainer Ed Ames at an American Israel Public Affairs Committee policy conference in Washington.

“He was tall. He stood out among everyone,” Klein told JNS. “I knew it wasn’t Ed Ames, because he was at an AIPAC conference. Ed Ames wouldn’t be at an AIPAC conference. He’s not a Jew!”

Klein asked the 6-foot-3 man if anyone had ever told him he looked like the singer and actor. “He said, ‘Sir. I am Ed Ames,’” Klein told JNS. “I said, ‘I bet you tell that to everybody. I can’t believe you’re Ed Ames. What are you doing here at an AIPAC conference?’”

Ames said, “I’m a Jew and a Zionist,” Klein recalled. “I said, ‘You’re Jewish? Ed Ames is Jewish?’ I didn’t know.”

After producing his driver’s license for Klein’s inspection, Ames cleared the matter up. “I said, ‘Oh, my God. You are Ed Ames,’” Klein said. “He said, ‘I just told you that.’”

‘To hell with speeches, sing a song!’

Klein and Ames became fast friends, particularly as they realized that they shared very similar views on Israel. (Ames died at 95 on May 21, and Klein has been mourning his close friend since.)

“He was an ardent, farbrente Zionist, deeply committed to Israel,” Klein told JNS. Like Klein, Ames saw that many Palestinians wanted to wage war on Israel and Jews, with no interest in peace. “He understood it early on. Before people began to understand that looked like a tragic probability,” Klein said. 

When Klein spoke at Los Angeles-area synagogues, Ames would come to hear him, and soon Ames was a “nice” ZOA donor.

“He would arrange for me to speak at the entertainment synagogues, to which the actors and actresses belonged. He would introduce me. He was so effusive, beyond any credible truth, about how great I am. He was really very kind,” Klein said.

Whenever Klein was in Los Angeles, he would dine with Ames, often at his house with sweeping views of the city. When they watched television together, Ames would tell Klein which Hollywood colleagues were mensches and which were jerks and primadonnas. 

“This was his people,” Klein said.

WATCH NOW

ZOA's Mort Klein Speaks With Newsmax's Rob Schmitt about the recent radical antisemtic Commencement speech at CUNY Law Graduation

Founded in 1897, ZOA played a key role in the Jewish State's re-establishment. Today, ZOA is the leading major American Jewish organization courageously defending Israel and the Jewish people; fighting against all forms of antisemitism, including anti-Jewish boycotts; and promoting the Jewish people's lawful right to live in and settle historic Jewish lands. ZOA exposes that a Palestinian state would endanger Israel's existence; presents the facts about the Arab/Islamic war against Israel; and combats the anti-Israel lie that Israel is an "occupier" of her own land. ZOA spearheaded long battles to move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, and apply civil rights protections to Jewish students. ZOA provides free legal assistance and programs to pro-Israel students at numerous college campuses. ZOA's bold, unapologetic voice has a significant impact on public discourse and policy.

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