NEW YORK, Oct. 27 (UPI) -- Holocaust survivor and key organizer of survivors' groups Benjamin Meed has died in New York after a long illness. He was 88.
A funeral was planned for Friday morning at Park East Synagogue, The Jerusalem Post reported Friday.
In 1981, Meed, who survived the Warsaw Ghetto during World War II, organized the World Gathering of Jewish Holocaust Survivors in Israel and founded the American Gathering of Jewish Holocaust Survivors and Their Descendants, which he led until his death.
Meed had also been a member of the advisory board of the President's Commission on the Holocaust, which had recommended the establishment of the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington. He served on the museum's governing council from 1980 to 2004.
"He had an amazing flair about him," said Sara Bloomfield, director of the museum. "He understood the way to create a commemoration that was meaningful to more than just survivors."
Meed is survived by his wife, Vladka; his son, Steven; his daughter, Anna Scherzer; and five grandchildren.
