Adam Milstein ( he, אדם מילשטיין; born 1952) is an
Israeli-American
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, population = 110,000–150,000
, popplace = New York metropolitan area, Los Angeles metropolitan area, Miami metropolitan area, and other large metropolitan are ...
real estate investor
Real estate investing involves the purchase, management and sale or rental of real estate for profit. Someone who actively or passively invests in real estate is called a real estate entrepreneur or a real estate investor. Some investors actively ...
,
lobbyist
In politics, lobbying, persuasion or interest representation is the act of lawfully attempting to influence the actions, policies, or decisions of government officials, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies. Lobbying, which ...
and
philanthropist
Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...
. He is a managing partner of Hager Pacific Properties.
In 2000, Milstein and his wife Gila founded the
Adam and Gila Milstein Family Foundation. He is a co-founder of the
Israeli-American Council
The Israeli-American Council (IAC; he, ארגון הקהילה הישראלית-אמריקאית) is an American nonprofit organization to represent and serve the approximately 125,000 Israeli-Americans. Its mission is to preserve and strengthe ...
, where he currently serves as chairman of the board. Both organizations support Israeli-American and Jewish-American identity and support of Israel.
Early life
Milstein was born in
Haifa
Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropol ...
,
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
, the eldest child of Eva (née Temkin), a homemaker, and Hillel Milstein, a real estate developer.
In 1971, Milstein was conscripted into the
Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the Israel, State of Israel. It consists of three servic ...
and served during the 1973
Yom Kippur War
The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was an armed conflict fought from October 6 to 25, 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by Egy ...
. Afterwards he enrolled in the
Technion, where he graduated in 1978 with a
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years.
The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...
degree in business and economics. While in college, he worked with his father to expand their real estate construction and development business.
In 1974, Milstein married Gila Elgrably in Haifa.
In 1981, the family moved to the United States. In 1983, Milstein received an
MBA
A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...
from the
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...
. He started working in commercial real estate as a sales agent.
Personal life
Milstein and his wife Gila live in
Encino, California. They have three daughters and three grandchildren.
In 2009 Milstein pleaded guilty to tax evasion involving his donations to the
Spinka
Spinka is the name of a Hasidic group within Haredi Judaism. The group originated in a city called Szaplonca ( yi, Spinka), in Máramaros County, Kingdom of Hungary (today Săpânţa, Romania).
Spinka rebbes
The first Spinka Rebbe was Rabbi ...
Hasidic sect. Milstein served three months in prison, 600 hours of community service, and paid a $30,000 fine.
Career
Milstein is a managing partner of Hager Pacific Properties, overseeing the firm's financing, disposition and accounting. The firm specializes in acquiring, rehabilitating and repositioning industrial, retail, office and multi-family properties. In 2009 he was convicted of tax fraud.
Activism
In 2000, Milstein and his wife Gila founded the Adam and Gila Milstein Family Foundation (MFF). The organization sponsors education of students and young professionals to identify with their Jewish roots, and gain knowledge to advocate for the State of Israel and the Jewish people.
Milstein is a co-founder of the Israeli-American Council. In 2015, he was named Chairman of the group.
Milstein also sits on the boards of
StandWithUs,
Israel on Campus Coalition
The Israel on Campus Coalition is a United States pro-Israel umbrella organization founded in 2002 under the auspices of the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation and Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life.
Mission and activitie ...
,
Hasbara Fellowships
Hasbara Fellowships is an organization that brings students to Israel and trains them to be effective pro-Israel activists on college campuses. Based in New York, it was started in 2001 by Aish HaTorah in conjunction with the Israel Ministry of ...
, Jewish Funders Network,
Birthright Israel
Taglit-Birthright Israel ( he, תגלית), also known as Birthright Israel or simply Birthright, is a not-for-profit educational organization that sponsors free ten-day heritage trips to Israel, Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights for young adult ...
, Stand By Me, and the
American Israel Public Affairs Committee
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC ) is a lobbying group that advocates pro-Israel policies to the legislative and executive branches of the United States. One of several pro-Israel lobbying organizations in the United Stat ...
(AIPAC) National Council. However, in 2019, Milstein withdrew from that year's AIPAC conference, amidst controversy over remarks he made on
Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
questioning the loyalty to America of two Muslim Democrat lawmakers.
Milstein and his wife Gila are co-founders of Sifriyat Pijama B'America, which provides free monthly books in Hebrew to more than 70 Israeli-Jewish American families in the United States.
In 2016, they started "The Donor Forum," an initiative to connect pro-Israel donors with pro-Israel causes.
In June 2015, Milstein joined with
Sheldon Adelson
Sheldon Gary Adelson (; August 4, 1933 – January 11, 2021) was an American businessman, investor, political donor and philanthropist. He was the founder, chairman and chief executive officer of Las Vegas Sands Corporation, which owns th ...
and
Haim Saban
Haim Saban (; he, חיים סבן; born October 15, 1944) is an Israeli-American media proprietor, investor, and producer of records, film, and television. A businessman with interests in financial services, entertainment, and media, and an e ...
to organize the inaugural Campus Maccabees summit. The event brought together more than 50 organizations to collaborate against anti-Semitic groups or activities on college campuses in the United States. Milstein strongly opposes the
Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions
Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) is a Palestinian-led movement promoting boycotts, divestments, and economic sanctions against Israel. Its objective is to pressure Israel to meet what the BDS movement describes as Israel's obligations ...
(BDS) Movement, and has had several op-ed pieces published on this subject.
In 2016, ''
The Jerusalem Post
''The Jerusalem Post'' is a broadsheet newspaper based in Jerusalem, founded in 1932 during the British Mandate of Palestine by Gershon Agron as ''The Palestine Post''. In 1950, it changed its name to ''The Jerusalem Post''. In 2004, the paper w ...
'' selected Milstein for its list of the world's 50 most influential Jews.
In 2015 and 2016, ''
Algemeiner Journal
The ''Algemeiner Journal'', known informally as ''The Algemeiner'', is a newspaper based in New York City that covers American and international Jewish and Israel-related news.
History
In 1972, Gershon Jacobson founded the Yiddish-language ...
'' named Milstein to its list, "The Top 100 People Positively Influencing Jewish Life, 2015."
Gil Troy
Gil Troy (born 1961) is an American presidential historian and a popular commentator on politics and other issues. He is a professor of history at McGill University. Troy is the author of nine books, and the editor of two. He writes a column for '' ...
identifies Milstein as a contemporary leader of
cultural Zionism
Cultural Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת רוּחָנִית, Romanization of Hebrew, translit. ''Tsiyonut ruchanit'', trans. 'Spiritual Zionism') is a strain in the concept of Zionism that valued creating a centre in historic Palestine with it ...
in his book ''The Zionist Ideas; Visions for the Jewish Homeland — Then, Now, Tomorrow'' (2018). The section on Milstein presents his "vision of Israeliness to invigorate Zionism and Jewish identity—in Israel and abroad."
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Milstein, Adam
Living people
1952 births
Technion – Israel Institute of Technology alumni
Marshall School of Business alumni
Israeli emigrants to the United States
Businesspeople from Los Angeles
American real estate businesspeople
Israeli philanthropists
American philanthropists
American Zionists
People from Haifa
People from Encino, Los Angeles
American people convicted of tax crimes
American lobbyists