Irving Moskowitz

Dr. Moskowitz speaking at Beit Orot on the Mount of Olives

Irving Moskowitz (b. January 11, 1928, New York City) is an American-Jewish physician, businessman, and philanthropist. His philanthropy, in part, seeks to create a Jewish majority in Arab neighborhoods of East Jerusalem by funding settlers to take over those buildings which are Palestinian homes.

Biography

Irving Moskowitz is the ninth of thirteen children born to Jewish immigrants from Poland. 120 of his relatives died in the Holocaust.[1] He grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and received a medical degree from the University of Wisconsin. He then moved to California where he started his medical practice, and later building and managing hospitals.[2] He started the foundation in 1968.[3] Moskowitz now lives in Miami Beach, Florida.

Moskowitz is married to Cherna with whom he has 8 children and over 40 grandchildren. Among his notable Zionist activities is the foundation to help Shinlung immigration to Israel.[4] The family also established the Moskowitz Prize for Zionism in 2008.[5] Irving Moskowitz built a business running hospitals and legal gambling in California. He is the founder of the Moskowitz Foundation, created "to help people in need regardless of race, creed, politics or religion."[6] The foundation raises funds for Jewish housing projects in East Jerusalem through its charity bingo hall in Hawaiian Gardens, California.[7] The funding is channeled through two settler organizations El'ad and Ateret Cohanim that work to create a Jewish majority in Arab neighborhoods of East Jerusalem.[8]

Housing projects

In 2007, Moskowitz worked toward resettling Jews in Arab neighborhoods in East Jerusalem by initiating plans to build 122 apartments on the site of the Shepherd Hotel in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood. The plan was downsized in 2009.[9][10] Final approval was given for 20 apartments on March 23, 2010, hours before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with President Barack Obama at the White House.[11] The historic Shepherd Hotel has been torn down to make room for the housing units.[12] A three-story parking garage and an access road was also planned for the site.[13]

Philanthropy

Moskowitz is the founder and chair of the Irving I. Moskowitz Foundation, which donated $1.5 million to the City of Hawaiian Gardens for the construction of the Fedde Middle School Sports Complex, the first state-of-the-art sports facility in the city.[14] The Irving Moskowitz Foundation donated $100,000 on March 17th, 2011 to the American Red Cross for the relief efforts in wake of the tsunami triggered by an earthquake in Japan on March 11th, 2011[15] On June 26th, 2013 The Irving Moskowitz Foundation donated $100,000 to the American Red Cross for Oklahoma relief efforts.[16] On Thursday, November 21, 2013, the Irving I. Moskowitz Foundation presented a check for $100,000 to the American Red Cross Long Beach Chapter to aid the victims of Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines.[17]

References

  1. ↑ The power of money, Time Magazine, September 29, 1997.
  2. ↑ See Moskowitz Foundation Biography Page.
  3. ↑ Irving Moskowitz, an extensive profile.
  4. ↑ Karen Primack, Jews in places you never thought of, Ktav Publishing House, 1998, p. 280-281. ISBN 0-88125-608-0
  5. ↑ Right wing U.S. millionaire launches alternative to Israel Prize, Haaretz, 5 February 2008
  6. ↑ Moskowitz Foundation Home Page
  7. ↑ Irving Moskowitz's bingo madness, Richard Silverstein, The Guardian, 6 August 2009
  8. ↑ Sharrock, David. 'Inside story: Lost property In 1929, the Muslim Ghuzlan family saved their Jewish neighbours from an Arab mob. So why are they now being evicted from their home by settlers?', The Guardian, February 4, 1999.
  9. ↑ Jewish settlements: Freeze project, US demands, Chris McGreal, The Guardian, July 19, 2009.
  10. ↑ Israel Will Not Stop East Jerusalem Land Purchases, Bloomberg News, July 19, 2009.
  11. ↑ New East Jerusalem homes approved hours before Netanyahu-Obama meet, Nir Hasson, Haaretz, March 23, 2010
  12. ↑ Shepherd's Hotel Demolished; U.S. Peace Efforts in the Debris, Time Magazine, January 10, 2011
  13. ↑ Israel to U.S.: Latest East Jerusalem building okayed last year, Nir Hasson, Barak Ravid and Natasha Mozgovaya, Haaretz Correspondents, and News Agencies, Haaretz, March 24, 2010
  14. ↑ Hawaiian Gardens Council meeting turns ugly over Sports Complex agenda item
  15. ↑ The Irving I. Moskowitz Foundation donates $100,000 to The American Red Cross – Japan Relief Fund, March 17, 2011
  16. ↑ Moskowitz Foundation gives $100,000 for Oklahoma Relief Efforts, American Red Cross, June 16, 2013
  17. ↑ Irving I. Moskowitz Foundation donates $100,000 to the American Red Cross for the Typhoon Victims in the Philippines, November 24, 2013

External links