Even Bill Clinton can’t say no to Ed Koch.
The former president is cutting short a trip to Japan to speak at Koch’s funeral tomorrow, fulfilling one final request from the man who helped launch his wife’s political career.
Clinton is one of several speakers that Koch chose for his last send-off at the 2,500-seat Temple Emanu-El on East 65th Street in Manhattan.
The two-term Democrat will speak as a representative for President Obama, who will not attend the VIP-studded ceremony, said Koch’s longtime spokesman George Arzt.
Koch and Clinton had a lot in common, Arzt said.
“They had a very good relationship,” he said. “They talked on a lot of issues.”
Koch was also an early supporter of Hillary Clinton, backing her 2000 Senate bid at a time when many New Yorkers were skeptical of the former first lady and Chicago native.
Eight years later, Koch threw his weight behind her again, this time for president.
Mayor Bloomberg will also speak at the funeral, as well as Ido Aharoni, consul general of Israel in New York. Koch’s law partner, James Gill, his political aide and longtime friend, John LoCicero, and his former chief of staff, Diane Coffey, will also deliver eulogies, along with several family members.
“This is how he wanted it,” said Arzt.
Koch, the city’s 105th mayor, died on Friday.
Services are expected to begin at 11 a.m. and will be broadcast live on nyc.gov and NY1. The service will end with a rendition of a song that epitomized the iconic politician: “New York, New York.”
Koch will be buried at Trinity Church Cemetery in Washington Heights, and a private shiva will be held at Gracie Mansion on Tuesday.
His tombstone — which he bought several years ago — bears a star of David and reads the Jewish declaration of faith, “Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One.’’
Koch also had murdered journalist Daniel Pearl’s last words inscribed on his tombstone: “My father is Jewish, my mother is Jewish, I am Jewish.”