Julius Berman z”l served as Chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations from July 1982 through June 1984. A prominent attorney and Orthodox rabbi, Rabbi Berman dedicated his life to legal excellence and Jewish communal leadership. He graduated from Yeshiva College in 1956, received his rabbinical ordination (semichah) from the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS) in 1959, and earned his Juris Doctor from the New York University School of Law in 1960, where he graduated cum laude and first in his class. Professionally, he was a partner in the law firm of Kaye Scholer LLP.

 

Throughout his career, Rabbi Berman steered several of the most influential Jewish communal, educational, and philanthropic institutions in the world. He served as president of the Orthodox Union (OU), where he was later named honorary president. He was a longstanding board member of Yeshiva University, serving on its executive committee and as the chairman of the Board of Trustees of RIETS. Deeply committed to Holocaust remembrance and restitution, he served as both chairman and president of the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany. He also headed the Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) as president and led the American Zionist Youth Foundation (AZYF) and the National Jewish Commission on Law and Public Affairs (COLPA). As a close confidant of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, Rabbi Berman was highly instrumental in compiling, editing, and publishing the Rav’s scholarly works. Rabbi Berman was married to his wife, Dorothy Berman. He was also the uncle of Yeshiva University President Ari Berman.

 

Rabbi Berman passed away on December 30, 2025, at the age of 90.