Asher Anshel Daskal (April 18, 1908 – July 6, 1990) was a founder and a pioneer of the Israeli diamond industry. Daskal founded the first

diamond Diamond is a Allotropes of carbon, solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the Chemical stability, chemically stable form of car ...

plant in the land of Israel in

Petah Tikva Petah Tikva ( he, פֶּתַח תִּקְוָה, , ), also known as ''Em HaMoshavot'' (), is a city in the Central District (Israel), Central District of Israel, east of Tel Aviv. It was founded in 1878, mainly by Haredi Judaism, Haredi Jews of ...

with his cousin Zvi Rosenberg.

Biography

Early life

Asher Anshel Daskal was born in

Moisei Moisei ( hu, Majszin) is a commune in Maramureș County, Maramureș, Romania. Composed of a single village, Moisei, it is one of the oldest communes in Maramureș County, first attested in 1213. This place is well known for the monastery near the ...

, a small village in the

Maramureș Maramureș or Marmaroshchyna ( ro, Maramureș ; uk, Мармарощина, Marmaroshchyna; hu, Máramaros) is a geographical, historical and cultural region in northern Romania and western Ukraine. It is situated in the northeastern Carpath ...

county in north

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

. Daskal was born to an Orthodox Jewish family from the Wiznitz Hasidic community. He studied in a Yeshiva and helped at home with the live stock. In 1927 at the age of 19, Anshel didn't see a future for himself as a shepherd or as a Hasidic scholar and decided to relocate to

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. In

, with the help and support of his relatives he started to work as an apprentice for a diamond cutter and later on he learned how to polish and how to cleave. The first few months were tough. He lived from hand to mouth, but soon enough he was seen to be a gifted cutter and consequently quickly climbed up the diamond cutter social ladder making a name for himself amongst the

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

diamond community.

The Zionist Dream

Anshel was a Zionist. His dream was that of immigrating to the

Land of Israel The Land of Israel () is the traditional Jewish name for an area of the Southern Levant. Related biblical, religious and historical English terms include the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the Holy Land, and Palestine (see also Isra ...

. In 1932 after saving his money and bought a ticket and sailed to

British Mandate Palestine Mandatory Palestine ( ar, فلسطين الانتدابية '; he, פָּלֶשְׂתִּינָה (א״י) ', where "E.Y." indicates ''’Eretz Yiśrā’ēl'', the Land of Israel) was a geopolitical entity established between 1920 and 1948 i ...

as a tourist, to visit the first

Maccabiah Games The Maccabiah Games (a.k.a. the World Maccabiah Games; he, משחקי המכביה, or משחקי המכביה העולמית; sometimes referred to as the "Jewish Olympics"), first held in 1932, are an international Jewish and Israeli multi-sp ...

(the Jewish Olympics). In addition, Daskal went on a tour to explore the country. It was the

Holy Land The Holy Land; Arabic: or is an area roughly located between the Mediterranean Sea and the Eastern Bank of the Jordan River, traditionally synonymous both with the biblical Land of Israel and with the region of Palestine. The term "Holy ...

visit that spiked his idea to found and establish a diamond Industry in the

. In 1934, he shared this idea with his cousin Zvi Rosenberg but Zvi was already preparing for his own immigration alongside his wife and three children and did not want to wait for Anshel. In 1935 Daskal return as a tourist to the

.He bought a piece of land near the town of Kalkilia that had been designated to be agricultural land. When he returned in 1936 he was told that his plans for that community had not been approved. Disappointed by the sad turn of events, he sold his land and returned to

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

. In Antwerp Daskal joined a cooperative that intended to found an Israeli diamond industry in the

but as he didn't approve of their business plans and quit. The cooperative disbanded shortly afterward. Daskal purchased Diamond manufacturing equipment, learned how to operate and maintain them all, in order to found his very own Diamond Plant in the

Immigration to Israel

In 1937 Daskal finalized all immigration procedures for himself and family. He boarded the ship with his wife Miriam, his Baby girl and his diamond manufacturing equipment with final destination

. Upon arriving to his cousin's house, Zvi Rosenberg in

, together they founded the first diamond plant in the country. Most of Daskal and Rosenberg's students/apprentices and employees became leading figures in the Diamond industry. In 1939 The cousins were offered by

Oved Ben-Ami Oved Ben-Ami (July 23, 1905 – October 17, 1988; Hebrew: עובד בן עמי) was an Israeli politician and businessman. He was one of the founders of the cities of Netanya and Ashdod and was a longtime mayor of Netanya. He was also among the ke ...

Mayor of the city of

Netanya Netanya (also known as Natanya, he, נְתַנְיָה) is a city in the Northern Central District of Israel, and is the capital of the surrounding Sharon plain. It is north of Tel Aviv, and south of Haifa, between Poleg stream and Wingate I ...

to relocate to his town and open new diamond plants. They were getting ready to open their first factory Ofir but last minute Anshel backed up from their partnership and later that year he founded Even Hayesod plant in Netanya. At the peak of this plant he had 200 employees. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

ended there was a big crisis in the diamond industry and in 1946 Daskal closed his plant. 1948 and following years he founded plants in

Bnei Brak Bnei Brak or Bene Beraq ( he, בְּנֵי בְּרַק ) is a city located on the central Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean Israeli coastal plain, coastal plain in Israel, just east of Tel Aviv. A center of Haredi Judaism, Bnei Brak covers an are ...

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

Kiriat Malachi and

Ashkelon Ashkelon or Ashqelon (; Hebrew: , , ; Philistine: ), also known as Ascalon (; Ancient Greek: , ; Arabic: , ), is a coastal city in the Southern District of Israel on the Mediterranean coast, south of Tel Aviv, and north of the border with ...

The first diamond

Daskal cut and polished the first diamond at the first diamond plant in Israel in Petah Tikva. He kept that very first diamond in his vault for nearly 50 years. In 1986

Harry Oppenheimer Diamond Museum Harry Oppenheimer Diamond Museum was a museum located in the Diamond Exchange District, Tel Aviv District city of Ramat Gan, Israel. History The permanent collection consisted of rough and finished diamonds and gemstones and provided information ...

was opened at the

Israel Diamond Exchange Israel Diamond Exchange Ltd., located in the Tel Aviv District city of Ramat Gan, Israel, is the world's largest diamond exchange and the centre of Israel's diamond industry. The exchange is a private company that incorporates about 3100 memb ...

center. Anshel lent that very first diamond to the museum for a display. The first diamond was on display for a few years and was known as being "Daskal's diamond". With the museum closing the diamond was returned to Anshel's family in 2021.

Awards and recognition

In 1988 Asher Anshel Daskal received the Dignitary award from the Israel Diamond Manufacturers' Association in their first award ceremony and was invited to the second one in 1989. In 1989 Daskal received the founders awards from the

. The award was presented to him by

Moshe Schnitzer Moshe Schnitzer (1921 – August 16, 2007) was a Romanian Jewish immigrant to Israel who became a key player in the international diamond trade. From 1967 to 1993 he was President of the Israel Diamond Exchange (IDE), which became the world's larg ...

the Israel Diamond Exchange President (1967-1993). Israel diamond manufacturers Dignitary award - 1988 brochure archives Shira Ami June 30th 2022 was a commemoration ceremony for Daskal at the Israeli Diamond Exchange center. On July 6, 1990, Asher Anshel Daskal died, at the age of 82.

References

Photo Anshel Daskal on the right, Zvi Rosenberg on the left in front of their first factory in Petah TikvaThe 30’s At The Israeli Diamond Industry (photo)Anshel Daskal on the rightIsrael Diamonds Magazine international edition (93) May-June 1986 Diamond
* https://www.berghahnbooks.com/downloads/OpenAccess/DeVriesDiamonds/9781789201178_OA.pdf Diamonds and Wars by David De Vries pages:22,31,48, 191,259,270,273,292,302br>Amir Romanian Jews descendants organization - Anshel Daskal commemoration pageIsraeli diamond industry website-History (3rd paragraph)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Daskal, Asher Anshel Diamond industry in Israel Diamond dealers 1908 births 1990 deaths Romanian emigrants to Belgium Belgian emigrants to Mandatory Palestine