Eric Marc Breindel was an American

neoconservative Neoconservatism (colloquially neocon) is a political movement which began in the United States during the 1960s among liberal hawks who became disenchanted with the increasingly pacifist Democratic Party along with the growing New Left and ...

writer and former editorial page

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, organization, a ...

of the ''

New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates three online sites: NYPost. ...

''.

Early life

Breindel grew up in an upper-middle class Jewish family in New York. His parents were refugees of Hitler's Europe, which likely influenced his views on totalitarian government and fueled his support of

Zionism Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...

and outspoken hatred of

communism Communism () is a political sociology, sociopolitical, political philosophy, philosophical, and economic ideology, economic ideology within the history of socialism, socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a ...

. He attended Phillips Exeter,

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate education, undergraduate college of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Part of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Scienc ...

, and

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

. At Harvard, he developed relationships with high-profile professors as well as David and Bobby Kennedy.Horowitz, Craig
"The Connection Man".
'

New York Magazine ''New York'' is an American biweekly magazine concerned with life, culture, politics, and style generally, with a particular emphasis on New York City. Founded by Clay Felker and Milton Glaser in 1968 as a competitor to ''The New Yorker'' a ...

'', March 22, 1999. Archived fro
the original.
Accessed July 21, 2011.

Career

Early in his career, Breindel pursued work in government, as his classmates at

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...

had expected him to. At the age of 27, he went to work as Senator Moynihan's aide on the Senate Intelligence Committee. Shortly into the job, however, he was arrested for buying heroin from an undercover police officer in Washington, D.C., ending any hope of a career in government or politics. While he was still serving out his year's probation, he wrote for ''

The New Republic ''The New Republic'' (often abbreviated as ''TNR'') is an American magazine focused on domestic politics, news, culture, and the arts from a left-wing perspective. It publishes ten print magazines a year and a daily online platform. ''The New Y ...

'' and then took a research position on the PBS show '' American Interests''. During this time, he started a relationship with Tamar Jacoby, the deputy editor of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' op-ed section. With her help and several recommendations, including one from Norman Podhoretz, he landed a job heading the editorial page of the New York ''Daily News''. Breindel contributed articles to such publications as ''Commentary'', ''

National Review ''National Review'' is an American conservative editorial magazine, focusing on news and commentary pieces on political, social, and cultural affairs. The magazine was founded by William F. Buckley Jr. in 1955. Its editor-in-chief is Rich L ...

'', ''

The Weekly Standard ''The Weekly Standard'' was an American neoconservative political magazine of news, analysis, and commentary that was published 48 times per year. Originally edited by founders Bill Kristol and Fred Barnes, the ''Standard'' was described as a ...

'', '' The American Enterprise'', and ''

The American Spectator ''The American Spectator'' is a conservative American magazine covering news and politics, edited by R. Emmett Tyrrell Jr. and published by the non-profit American Spectator Foundation. It was founded in 1967 by Tyrrell (the current editor-in ...

''. He began working at the ''Posts editorial page in 1986, where he immediately began making friends and enemies. He played a pivotal role in New York's 1993 mayoral race. He was the key to securing Rudy Giuliani's endorsement by the ''

'', despite

Rupert Murdoch Keith Rupert Murdoch ( ; born 11 March 1931) is an Australian - American retired business magnate, investor, and media mogul. Through his company News Corp, he is the owner of hundreds of List of assets owned by News Corp, local, national, a ...

's initial intent to support the Conservative Party candidate George Marlin. The endorsement and subsequent editorials proved crucial in a race which came down to a handful of votes. Breindel criticized Patrick J. Buchanan's anti-Israel statements and "for doubting the authenticity of some elements of the Holocaust," branding Buchanan an anti-Semite. During the last year of his life, Breindel worked as a senior vice president of

News Corporation The original incarnation of News Corporation (abbreviated News Corp. and also variously known as News Corporation Limited) was an American Multinational corporation, multinational mass media corporation founded and controlled by media mogul Ru ...

and the host of '' Fox News Watch'' on the

Fox News Channel The Fox News Channel (FNC), commonly known as Fox News, is an American multinational conservative news and political commentary television channel and website based in New York City, U.S. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is ow ...

. He also continued writing his weekly column at the ''Post''.

Death

Michael Wolff in his book ''The Man Who Owns The News: Inside The Secret World Of Rupert Murdoch,'' claims Breindel, who died of liver failure, having suffered from health problems throughout adulthood, had

AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

, though he provides no sources or any other information to confirm this. Wolff, Michael
''The Man Who Owns The News: Inside The Secret World Of Rupert Murdoch''.
New York:

Broadway Books Broadway Books is an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc.. It released its first list in Fall 1996. Broadway was founded in 1995 as a unit of Bantam Doubleday Dell, a unit of Bertelsmann. Bertelsmann acquire ...

, 2008
pp. 276-277.
. . Weiss, Philip
"Neocon saint Eric Breindel died of AIDS, reports Michael Wolff".
' Mondoweiss'', February 9, 2009. Archived fro
the original.
Accessed April 6, 2012. Breindel died at the age of 42. His funeral featured eulogies by such notable figures as New York City mayor

Rudy Giuliani Rudolph William Louis Giuliani ( , ; born May 28, 1944) is an American politician and Disbarment, disbarred lawyer who served as the 107th mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001. He previously served as the United States Associate Attorney ...

, Governor

George Pataki George Elmer Pataki (; born June 24, 1945) is an American politician who served as the 53rd governor of New York from 1995 to 2006. He previously served in the State Legislature from 1985 to 1994, and as the mayor of Peekskill from 1981 to 1984 ...

, Senator

Daniel Patrick Moynihan Daniel Patrick Moynihan (; March 16, 1927 – March 26, 2003) was an American politician, diplomat and social scientist. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he represented New York (state), New York in the ...

, Senator

Al D'Amato Alfonse Marcello D'Amato (born August 1, 1937) is an American attorney, lobbyist, and Republican politician who represented the state of New York in the United States Senate from 1981 to 1999. From 1995 to 1999, he chaired the Senate Banking C ...

Henry Kissinger Henry Alfred Kissinger (May 27, 1923 – November 29, 2023) was an American diplomat and political scientist who served as the 56th United States secretary of state from 1973 to 1977 and the 7th National Security Advisor (United States), natio ...

, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Norman Podhoretz,

Andrew Cuomo Andrew Mark Cuomo ( , ; born December 6, 1957) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 56th governor of New York from 2011 until his resignation in 2021. A member of the Democratic Party and son of former governor Mario Cuomo, ...

, former New York City mayor

Ed Koch Edward Irving Koch ( ; December 12, 1924February 1, 2013) was an American politician. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1969 to 1977 and was mayor of New York City from 1978 to 1989. Koch was a lifelong Democrat who ...

and Martin Peretz.

Legacy

The ''Eric Breindel Foundation'' carries his name. In 1988, Spy magazine ran a feature that depicted Breindel as a ruthlessly career-driven opportunist whose career was effectively ended by his drug bust. The article was met with criticism from its readers. In 1999, the Eric Breindel Award for Excellence in Opinion Journalism was established in his memory, sponsored by

Fox News The Fox News Channel (FNC), commonly known as Fox News, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conservatism in the United States, conservative List of news television channels, news and political commentary Television stati ...

, the

and ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

''. Breindel was co-author of a book on the

Venona project The Venona project was a United States counterintelligence program initiated during World War II by the United States Army's Signal Intelligence Service and later absorbed by the National Security Agency (NSA), that ran from February 1, 1943, u ...

, which was published after his death. Romerstein, Herbert; Breindel, Eric
''The Venona Secrets: Exposing Soviet Espionage and America's Traitors''.
Washington, D.C.:

Regnery Publishing Regnery Publishing is a politically conservative book publisher based in Washington, D.C. The company was founded by Henry Regnery in 1947. In December 2023, Regnery was acquired from Salem Media Group by Skyhorse Publishing, with Skyhorse ...

, 2000. / . .

Family

He was survived by his parents, both Holocaust survivors, and his sister.

Publications

Books * ''The Venona Secrets: Exposing Soviet Espionage and America's Traitors,'' with Herbert Romerstein. Washington, D.C.: Regnery (2001). . Articles * "The Population Factor in the Middle East," with Nick Eberstadt. ''

International Security ''International Security'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal in the field of international and national security. It was founded in 1976 and is edited by the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University and publis ...

'', vol. 3, no. 4 (Spring 1979), pp. 190–196. . . * "Soviet Has "Empire" Dilemma." ''International Journal on World Peace'', vol. 5, no. 3 (July/Sep. 1988). . .

References

External links

* *
Eric Breindel Papers
at the

American Jewish Historical Society The American Jewish Historical Society (AJHS) was founded in 1892 with the mission to foster awareness and appreciation of American Jewish history and to serve as a national scholarly resource for research through the collection, preservation an ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Breindel, Eric 1955 births 1998 deaths 20th-century American Jews 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers AIDS-related deaths in New York (state) American anti-communists American male non-fiction writers American political writers American Zionists Deaths from liver failure Harvard Law School alumni Jewish American non-fiction writers Phillips Exeter Academy alumni Place of birth missing Place of death missing