Ed Koch, as a Jew, should not be buried in a churchyard.
Ed Koch should not have supported gay rights.
That said, he was a tinok shenishba. He was born to non-frum parents and never had any shaichis to frumkeit in his entire life.
-As a young man, he fought for his country in WWII. During his service, he won awards for bravery.
-As a middle-aged man he joined the freedom riders who traveled to the South in support of equality for blacks. This was a potentially dangerous course of action, since the KKK and their supporters had attacked, beaten and even murdered others who traveled to the South to combat racism.
-As mayor, he helped bring New York City back from near-bankruptcy and urban decay brought about by twelve years of incompetence from John Lindsay and Abe Beam.
-While in office, and after leaving office, he was always in full-throated defense and support of Israel.
-Although he was personally liberal, he crossed party lines on more than one occasion to support candidates he thought were best for his city, his country, and the state of Israel.
-He never showed the anti-frum bias that other non-frum politicians and celebrities exhibit. He always unabashedly and proudly identified himself as first and foremost a Jew.
To reduce his life to only actions that we, as frum Jews, know are wrong is to present an incomplete and inaccurate picture of Ed Koch.