Ralph de Toledano

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Ralph de Toledano (August 14, 1916 - February 3, 2007) was a major figure in the conservative movement in the United States throughout the second half of the 20th century.

A Sephardic Jew born in Morocco, he came to New York as a teenager to attend the Juilliard School. His interests quickly shifted from music to politics, however, as he became involved in the Socialist Party of America and became youth leader of the avowedly anticommunist "old guard" faction led by Louis Waldman. After the old guard left the party in 1934, Toledano became editor of their magazine, The New Leader. He graduated from Columbia University in 1938.

Under his editorship, The New Leader became one of the most consistent and forceful voices against Communism during World War II. After vainly leading the anti-communist faction of the ostensibly liberal American Veterans Committee in the late 1940s, Toledano began to identify with the burgeoning conservative movement, primarily through his intimate friendship with Whittaker Chambers over the course of his spectacular public career exposing the Communist Party USA.

Pursuing a career in journalism, Toledano was for almost 20 years on the editorial board of Newsweek, and was among the founders of National Review in 1955. His differences with his conservative colleagues became very pronounced before long, first in 1960 when Toledano dissented from the other National Review editors in endorsing Richard Nixon over Barry Goldwater.

Years later when Nixon became president, Toledano was particularly close to the administration, in a rivalry with Daniel Patrick Moynihan over the privilege of being named guru of Nixon's domestic policies, which conservatives both supporting and opposing them characterized as a kind of Tory Socialism. Moynihan's victory in this struggle was likely a key moment in the rise of neoconservatism.

Never straying far from his first passion of music, Toledano has also distinguished himself as an avid scholar of jazz. During the latter half of his long career at National Review, he was relegated to writing a music review column, on account of his growing variance with the direction of American conservatism. He also wrote about music a good deal for The American Conservative during his last years.

Toledano held forth until the end of his life at the National Press Club, where in 2005 he succeed John Cosgrove as National Press Club American Legion Post No. 20 commander.

Ralp de Toledano died February 3, 2007, aged 90.

Toward the end of his life, he labeled himself a libertarian, his son Paul Toledano said in a Feb. 10 memorial article in the New York Times.