New York State Assemblyman Michael Simanowitz of Queens was laid to rest Monday in Israel.
Assemblyman Simanowitz, 45, passed away Saturday after struggling with an illness for several years. He was known by his community as a powerful voice for the Jewish people.
The assemblyman's son, Josh Simanowitz, told Arutz Sheva: "I sit here now, and I try to contemplate what's gonna be now? Who's going to take over? There's no one who can. There really isn't."
Simanowitz was "a proud Jew," according to Simanowitz's brother Barry. "Someone who was really proud to be a Jew. He wore his Judaism everywhere he went, from the halls of Albany to the streets of New York."
Simanowitz's other brother, Barry, said: "It was said on one of the news stations in America that one of the politicians in the US called Michael 'the gold standard for leadership.'"
"Michael is an example of what it really is to be a Jew who is involved in the community for no other reason than just to give," Barry said.