Judith Hershcopf Banki, a writer and lecturer whose early research helped pave the way for landmark changes in Catholic-Jewish relations, died at home in Greenwich Village on Aug. 17. She was 98.
“Her groundbreaking work began prior to the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965), for which she coordinated pivotal research on how Jews and other minorities were depicted in Catholic school textbooks,” her daughter, Susan Banki, wrote. “She authored ‘The Image of the Jews in Catholic Teaching,’ a landmark memorandum submitted directly to the Vatican that served as a vital catalyst for the historic 1965 declaration, Nostra Aetate. This declaration fundamentally transformed the Catholic Church’s relationship with non-Christian faiths and condemned antisemitism.”
Ms. Banki, who was known as Judy, was honored may times for her lifelong commitment to interfaith dialogue, including with an honorary doctorate from Seton Hall University in 2001, the Interfaith Gold Medallion from the International Council of Christians and Jews, the Nostra Aetate Award from the National Catholic Center on Holocaust Education at Seton Hill, and the 2009 Shevet Achim Award from the Council of Centers on Jewish-Christian Relations.
In 2022, the Tanenbaum Center for Interreligious understanding recognized her lifetime of work with the Rabbi Marc H. Tanenbaum Award for the Advancement of Interreligious Understanding at its 30th-anniversary gala, “where she received a standing ovation from a room filled with distinguished academics, scholars, clergy, admirers, and peers,” her daughter said.
A lover of the ocean and yard sales, Ms. Banki was known by her many friends “as a woman with a generous heart and a brilliant wit,” her daughter wrote.
She spent her final weeks at her house in Amagansett.
Ms. Banki began coming to the South Fork in the mid-1960s, first staying in group houses, “where she fell in love with the surf and sun and the relaxed summer vibe.” She met her husband, Paul Banki, at the public tennis courts in East Hampton in 1966, “asking him if she could read a piece of his newspaper.” They were married on June 1, 1967, bought their first house together that year and had it moved to land in Amagansett during their honeymoon.
The couple spent every summer in Amagansett in the subsequent years, both before and after their daughter, Susan, was born in 1969. The were founders of the Accabonac Tennis Club, “and loved nothing more than driving down to Devon for a swim in the bay at sunset,” Susan Banki wrote.
After her husband’s death in 2006, Ms. Banki continued to enjoy her time in Amagansett, driving to art openings, lectures, talks, and concerts, and frequenting the area’s numerous yard sales. She was a regular at the Hamptons International Film Festival.
She also continued to travel internationally and domestically, including annual visits to see her daughter and grandchildren in Sydney, Australia. She took her final solo trip at 96 to Japan, a country she had always wanted to visit.
She was born in Brooklyn on Feb. 22, 1928, to Paul Herschcopf and the former Rose Thea. She grew up in Flatbush, graduating from Midwood High School, then earned her B.A. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
In her younger years she worked for a short time with the Anti-Defamation League before going on to the American Jewish Committee and the Tanenbaum Center for Interreligious Understanding.
On the South Fork, she was a member of the Jewish Center of the Hamptons in East Hampton.
In addition to her daughter, she is survived by her son-in-law, Josh, and by her grandchildren, Pepper and Ziggy, who visited her every year in Amagansett. She also leaves a niece, Jane Schreck, and her children, Sam and Cecilia Schreck.
A service was held on Aug. 18 at Plaza Jewish Community Chapel in New York City, with Rabbi Jonathan Malamy officiating. She was buried at Beth David Cemetery.
