Harold Kraushar

1930 - 2018
Harold Kraushar passed away from natural causes on May 23, 2018.  

Born in East New York, Brooklyn, in January 1930, Harold was one of three sons of Yehuda and Lillian Kraushar.  He graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School and attended Brooklyn College.  

Harold was a proud and passionate Zionist.  In June 1948, he sailed on the ship Atalena, which carried soldiers and weapons for the Zionist cause to what was then Palestine.  He served as a machine gunner with the Irgun Zvi Leumi, the military organization that fought for the creation of the Jewish state of Israel.  After the War of Independence, he joined the American Veterans of Israel and later served as its President.  In April of this year, he was one of five surviving veterans of the war to attend memorial services at West Point for Colonel David "Mickey" Marcus, the American officer who lost his life during the siege of Jerusalem.   

During his career, Harold was an agent for a number of artists and literary figures, including Alan Ginsberg, and later headed the paperback division of Bookazine, a book wholesaler.  Throughout his life, he was an avid reader of poetry and non-fiction. 

Over the years, he rooted for the Detroit Tigers, Brooklyn Dodgers, and Milwaukee Brewers, because of their star Jewish players:  Hank Greenberg, Sandy Koufax, and Ryan Braun, respectively.   An observant Jew, he faithfully walked from his home in Woodside, Queens, to his synagogue, the Greenpoint Shul, in Brooklyn, for which he served as gabbai.
  
Harold was married to his childhood sweetheart, Rita (nee Gordon), from 1951 until her passing in 1976.  He was married to Mary Minzer Kraushar from 1979 until his passing.

Harold is survived by twin brother Sam, and his beloved sons Joshua and Kenneth, and their wives, Terri-Chan Kraushar and Ellen (Varnay) Kraushar, respectively.  He will be missed by his beloved grandchildren Jeremy, Zack, Raquel, and Ilana, and his many nieces and nephews.