Irving Moskowitz (January 11, 1928 – June 16, 2016) was an American physician, businessman, and activist. His activism, in part, sought to create a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

majority in Palestinian Arab neighborhoods of

East Jerusalem East Jerusalem (, ; , ) is the sector of Jerusalem that was held by Jordan during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, as opposed to the western sector of the city, West Jerusalem, which was held by Israel. Jerusalem was envisaged as a separat ...

by purchasing land.

Biography

Irving Moskowitz was the ninth of thirteen children born to

immigrants from

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

. He has stated that 120 of his relatives were murdered in the

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...

. He grew up in

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

and received a medical degree from the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

. He then moved to

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

where he started his medical practice, later building and managing hospitals. He started the foundation in 1968. At the time of his death Moskowitz resided in

Miami Beach, Florida Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida. It was incorporated on March 26, 1915. The municipality is located on natural and artificial island, man-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay, the ...

. Moskowitz was married to Cherna with whom he raised 8 children, over 48 grandchildren and over 20 great grandchildren. Among his notable

Zionist Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after ''Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Je ...

activities was establishing a foundation to help

Shinlung The Bnei Menashe ( he, בני מנשה, "Children of Menasseh", known as the Shinlung in India) is a community of people from various Tibeto-Burmese ethnic groups from the border of India and Burma who claim descent from one of the Lost Tribes ...

immigration to Israel. The family also established the ''Moskowitz Prize for

Zionism Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after ''Zion'') is a Nationalism, nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is ...

'' in 2008. He built a business running hospitals and legal

gambling Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of value ("the stakes") on a random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy are discounted. Gambling thus requires three el ...

. He was the founder of the Moskowitz Foundation, created "to help people in need regardless of race, creed, politics or religion." The foundation raises funds for Jewish housing projects in

through its charity bingo hall in

Hawaiian Gardens, California Hawaiian Gardens is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the smallest city in the county in area (approximately 1.0 mi2) and was incorporated on April 9, 1964. The population was 14,254 at the 2010 census, down fro ...

. The funding is channeled through two settler organizations

El'ad El'ad, also spelled Elad ( he, אלעד), is a city in the Central District of Israel. In the 1990s, it was built for a Haredi Jewish population and to a lesser extent, it was also built for a Religious Zionist Jewish population. Located about ...

and

Ateret Cohanim Ateret Cohanim ( he, עמותת עטרת כהנים ''lit.'', "Crown of the Priests"), also Ateret Yerushalayim, is an Israeli Jewish organization with a yeshiva located in the Muslim Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem. It supports the creati ...

that work to create a Jewish majority in Palestinian neighborhoods of

. Moskowitz had battled Alzheimer's disease for many years and eventually succumbed to it on June 16, 2016 at the age of 88.

Housing projects

In 2007, Moskowitz worked toward resettling Jews in Palestinian neighborhoods in East Jerusalem vis a vis initiating plans to build 122 apartments on the site of

the Shepherd Hotel The Shepherd Hotel was a hotel in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem. History The building was built in the 1930s by Baruch Katinka, a Jewish engineer and partner in the Albina Katinka Dunia construction company. It was commission ...

in the

Sheikh Jarrah Sheikh Jarrah ( ar, الشيخ جراح, he, שייח' ג'ראח) is a predominantly Palestinian neighborhood in East Jerusalem, north of the Old City, on the road to Mount Scopus. It received its name from the 13th-century tomb of Sheikh Ja ...

neighborhood. The plan was downsized in 2009. Final approval was given for 20 apartments on March 23, 2010, hours before

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Benjamin Netanyahu Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu (; ; born 21 October 1949) is an Israeli politician who served as the ninth prime minister of Israel from 1996 to 1999 and again from 2009 to 2021. He is currently serving as Leader of the Opposition and Chairman of ...

met with

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

at the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...

. The historic Shepherd Hotel was torn down to make room for the housing units. A three-story parking garage and an access road was also planned for the site.

Philanthropy

Moskowitz was the founder and chair of the Irving I. Moskowitz Foundation, which donated $1.5 million to

for the construction of the Fedde Middle School Sports Complex, the first state-of-the-art sports facility in the city. He donated to

Karl Rove Karl Christian Rove (born December 25, 1950) is an American Republican political consultant, policy advisor, and lobbyist. He was Senior Advisor and Deputy Chief of Staff during the George W. Bush administration until his resignation on August 3 ...

American Crossroads American Crossroads is a US Super PAC that raises funds from donors to advocate for certain candidates of the Republican Party. It has pioneered many of the new methods of fundraising opened up by the Supreme Court's ruling in ''Citizens United ...

, the

Center for Security Policy The Center for Security Policy (CSP) is a US far-right, anti-Muslim, Washington, D.C.-based think tank. The organization's founder and current president is Frank Gaffney Jr. who is known for promoting falsehoods about former U.S. President B ...

and the Western Center for Journalism. The Irving Moskowitz Foundation donated $100,000 on March 17, 2011, to the

American Red Cross The American Red Cross (ARC), also known as the American National Red Cross, is a non-profit humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. It is the desi ...

for the

2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami The occurred at 14:46 JST (05:46 UTC) on 11 March. The magnitude 9.0–9.1 (M) undersea megathrust earthquake had an epicenter in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Oshika Peninsula of the Tōhoku region, and lasted approximately six minutes ...

relief efforts. On June 26, 2013, The Irving Moskowitz Foundation donated $100,000 to the American Red Cross for Oklahoma relief efforts. On 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 Typhoon Haiyan, known in the Philippines as Super Typhoon Yolanda, was one of the most powerful tropical cyclones ever recorded. On making landfall, Haiyan devastated portions of Southeast Asia, particularly the Philippines. It is one of the ...

in the Philippines.Irving I. Moskowitz Foundation donates $100,000 to the American Red Cross for the Typhoon Victims in the Philippines
November 24, 2013

References

External links

Moskowitz Foundation Home Page

Irving Moskowitz Home Page

Irving I Moskowitz Foundation
on ''

GuideStar Candid is an information service specializing in reporting on U.S. nonprofit companies. In 2016, its database provided information on 2.5 million organizations.Wyland, Michael. "GuideStar Introduces Program Metrics Section for Nonprofit Profile ...

''
The Moskowitz Prize for Zionism
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moskowitz, Irving 1928 births 2016 deaths American casino industry businesspeople American construction businesspeople American health care businesspeople American nonprofit businesspeople American Orthodox Jews American people of Polish-Jewish descent American real estate businesspeople American Zionists Businesspeople from California Businesspeople from Miami Businesspeople from New York City Businesspeople from Milwaukee Jewish American philanthropists Jewish physicians People from Miami Beach, Florida Philanthropists from New York (state) Physicians from Florida University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health alumni 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American philanthropists 21st-century American Jews