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Norman Podhoretz, 95, Dies; Influential Editor's Complex Legacy Endures

12/19/2025

Summary

Story summary

Norman Podhoretz, longtime editor of Commentary magazine, died at 95 in Manhattan.
During his 35-year editorship, he transformed Commentary magazine from liberal to conservative.
He championed Israel and a muscular U.S. foreign policy, influencing Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush.
Despite ideological shifts, he faced backlash from former allies and critics, leaving a complex legacy with the Jewish community.
Podhoretz's children and grandchildren survive him.

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Story summary

Norman Podhoretz, longtime editor of Commentary magazine, died at 95 in Manhattan.
During his 35-year editorship, he transformed Commentary magazine from liberal to conservative.
He championed Israel and a muscular U.S. foreign policy, influencing Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush.
Despite ideological shifts, he faced backlash from former allies and critics, leaving a complex legacy with the Jewish community.
Podhoretz's children and grandchildren survive him.