In this Jan. 10, 2005 photo, World Jewish Congress President Edgar M. Bronfman is pictured in Brussels. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP, Thierry Charlier
January 28, 2014 - 3:49 PM
NEW YORK, N.Y. - Israel's President Shimon Peres is joining Hillary Clinton and other world dignitaries in New York to honour the late Edgar Bronfman, longtime president of the World Jewish Congress.
The Seagram whiskey magnate spent years lobbying the Soviet regime to allow Jews to emigrate. Bronfman also spearheaded the search for hidden Nazi loot belonging to Holocaust survivors.
The Canadian-born Bronfman died at his New York home in December at 84.
Under him, Seagram expanded and was eventually acquired by the French media group Vivendi Universal in 2000.
Bronfman received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Bill Clinton in 1999.
In the 1990s, Bronfman pushed Swiss bank restitution to Holocaust survivors. The effort led to a more than $1 billion settlement.
News from © The Associated Press, 2014