Brownsville, Brooklyn–bred. The son of Jewish immigrants from Galicia, Central Europe, Columbia University and JTS–educated.
Norman Podhoretz will hold sway over the American Jewish intellectual scene from his Commentary Editor–in–Chief perch for 35 years, until 1995. He remains Commentary’s Editor–at–Large through completion of this work (end of 2008).
He has strongly advocated a color blind society on the social front, and is the “godfather” of the Neo–Conservative (“Neo–Con”) movement on the international front. Few Jewish American intellectuals have ever wielded such significant and long–tenured influence.
He is married to the author Midge Decter, is the stepfather of Rachel Decter (Elliott Abram’s wife) and is the father of the syndicated columnist John Podhoretz.