Morris J. Amitay

Amitay

Morris J. Amitay "Morrie"

Morrie J. Amitay passed away peacefully at home with his family at his side in Rockville, Maryland, on February 10, 2023. Morrie was born in New York City in 1936. His parents were both immigrants who came to the U.S. during the 1920s. Father, Albert was born in Tiberias, Israel in 1900, the seventh generation of the Amitay family born in Israel, when the country was under Turkish rule. Mother, Annette was born in a small town in Ukraine. Morrie was a proud 12-year alumnus of Ramaz Yeshiva, and then went on to graduate Columbia University in the Class of 1958. After Columbia, he attended Harvard University, earning both a J.D. from Harvard Law School, as well as an M.P.A from the John F. Kennedy School. At Harvard, his Seminar teacher was Dr. Henry Kissinger. and since that first interaction they maintained a professional relationship for over five decades.



From 1962 to 1970 he served in the United States Foreign Service in Italy, South Africa and the U.S., and his first three children were born on three different continents. From 1970 to 1974, he was a senior U.S. Senate aide. At the end of 1974, Morrie assumed the position of Executive Director of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). During his six-year tenure, he built AIPAC into an organization described by the New York Times as "the most powerful, best-run, and effective foreign policy interest group in Washington." In 1981, Morrie entered the private sector to establish a law/lobbying firm located on Capitol Hill, and he founded one of the first Political Action Committees in D.C., the unabashedly pro-Israel Washington Political Action Committee, which he ran for over 40 years. In addition, he served as Vice Chairman of the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs and served on the boards of other prominent Washington-based think tanks.



For four decades Morrie represented a range of clients involved in a wide variety of issues and government programs, including defense, homeland security, energy, and health care. Most recently, he and his lobbyist son Steve, have been part of a lobbying team that has brought about changes to U.S. terrorism and foreign sovereign immunity laws that has enabled U.S. and international victims of terrorism to collect billions of dollars of compensation from state sponsors of terrorism.



Morrie's counsel on defense and Israel related issues was frequently sought by Presidential candidates of both political parties. He addressed audiences at the Council on Foreign Relations, the American Enterprise Institute, and leading universities on the policy process in Washington. He was often quoted in the national print media, in addition to having been interviewed by national and international media. As the Washington Post commented on his career in a 2006 article, "Even among his peers his success is something of a legend."



He is survived by his devoted children Michael (Mayumi), Stephen (Sharlene), Cheryl (Gian), and Rae, as well as his five loving grandchildren, Ethan, Olivia, Kyle, Matt and Nicole. He is also survived by his two former wives, Sybil Amitay and Martha Amitay. He was predeceased by his parents Albert and Annette Amitay and his sister Frances Abramson.



Funeral services will be held at the Sixth and I Synagogue, 600 I Street, NW Washington DC 2001, on Monday February 13, 2023 at 11 a.m. The family will be receiving friends and observing Shiva at the residence of his son, Steve Amitay in Bethesda on Monday through Wednesday.

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