Stanley Hirsh, 76; Led Jewish Journal

Stanley Hirsh, a Los Angeles businessman and Democratic Party contributor who was publisher of the Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles, died Saturday of brain cancer at his home in Studio City. He was 76.

“He was both focused on issues of direct concern to the Jewish community and he was also a real generalist, interested in matters of the greater community,” said Rep. Howard L. Berman (D-Van Nuys), who was a friend of Hirsh’s. “He was the most generous person in every way.”

Hirsh, who owned the Cooper Building in downtown L.A., was a former chairman of Los Angeles’ Community Redevelopment Agency. He was active in Jewish philanthropy, including leadership roles in the Jewish Federation Council of Los Angeles and the United Jewish Fund.

A man of good humor, Hirsh once said, “The only thing that two Jews can agree on is how much a third Jew should give to the United Jewish Fund.”

With his family, Hirsh established the Hirsh Family Early Childhood Development Center in Tel Aviv to promote more constructive interaction between Israeli Jews and Arabs.

“He had a real sense of civic responsibility,” Berman said.

Hirsh was born in New York City and moved to Los Angeles in 1940. During World War II, he served in the U.S. Navy in Corpus Christi, Texas.

Hirsh is survived by his wife, Anita; two sons, Steve and Adam; two daughters, Elizabeth Naftali and Jennifer Hirsh, all of Los Angeles; and four grandchildren.

Services will be held at 2 p.m. today at the Wilshire Boulevard Temple, 3663 Wilshire Blvd. The family requests that donations be made to Jewish Family Service of Los Angeles.