Ofer Nimrodi ( he, עופר נמרודי; born May 23, 1957) is an Israeli jurist, businessman and former publisher.

Biography

Ofer Nimrodi, whose family was of

Iraqi-Jewish The history of the Jews in Iraq ( he, יְהוּדִים בָּבְלִים, ', ; ar, اليهود العراقيون, ) is documented from the time of the Babylonian captivity c. 586 BC. Iraqi Jews constitute one of the world's oldest and mos ...

origin, was born to Rivka and

Yaakov Nimrodi Yaakov Nimrodi ( he, יעקב נמרודי, born 1 June 1926) is an Israeli businessman and former Israeli intelligence officer. Nimrodi, the father of Ofer Nimrodi, was the chairman of ''Maariv'', which he acquired in 1992. Biography Yaakov Nimrod ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

in 1957 while his father served as the Israeli

Military Attaché A military attaché is a military expert who is attached to a diplomatic mission, often an embassy. This type of attaché post is normally filled by a high-ranking military officer, who retains a commission while serving with an embassy. Opport ...

and Head of the Representation of the

Ministry of Defense {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

to Iran. On completion of his mandate, the family stayed for several more years in Iran as Yaakov Nimrodi became a successful businessman. Later on they returned to

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 ...

, settling in

Savyon Savyon ( he, סַבְיוֹן) is an affluent local council in the Central District of Israel, bordering the cities of Kiryat Ono and Yehud. Ranked 10/10 on the Israeli socio-economic scale, it is one of the wealthiest municipalities in Israel. ...

. In the

IDF IDF or idf may refer to: Defence forces * Irish Defence Forces * Israel Defense Forces *Iceland Defense Force, of the US Armed Forces, 1951-2006 * Indian Defence Force, a part-time force, 1917 Organizations * Israeli Diving Federation * Interac ...

, Nimrodi served as an

artillery battery In military organizations, an artillery battery is a unit or multiple systems of artillery, mortar systems, rocket artillery, multiple rocket launchers, surface-to-surface missiles, ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, etc., so grouped to fac ...

Commander in the

Artillery Corps Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications dur ...

, and later as Commander of Brigade Support. He was discharged in 1979 and three years later fought in the

First Lebanon War The 1982 Lebanon War, dubbed Operation Peace for Galilee ( he, מבצע שלום הגליל, or מבצע של"ג ''Mivtsa Shlom HaGalil'' or ''Mivtsa Sheleg'') by the Israeli government, later known in Israel as the Lebanon War or the First L ...

. He graduated ''

cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...

'' from the

Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv University (TAU) ( he, אוּנִיבֶרְסִיטַת תֵּל אָבִיב, ''Universitat Tel Aviv'') is a public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Locate ...

Law School with an

LLB Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

, did his articles with the late Supreme Court Judge Miriam Ben Porat (later the State Comptroller), and with the late Tel Aviv District Attorney Naomi Stern, and was admitted to the Israeli Bar. In 1989, he graduated from

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate business school of Harvard University, a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. It is consistently ranked among the top business schools in the world and offers a large full-time MBA p ...

(HBS) with a

Master of Business Administration 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 ...

. Nimrodi, married for the second time, has six children. He lives in Savyon in a mansion on a property of 7.5 acres. Nimrodi's sister, Ruth Nimrodi-Weissberg, was killed in the

Sinai Sinai commonly refers to: * Sinai Peninsula, Egypt * Mount Sinai, a mountain in the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt * Biblical Mount Sinai, the site in the Bible where Moses received the Law of God Sinai may also refer to: * Sinai, South Dakota, a place ...

in 1996 when the vehicle she was traveling in drove over an old Egyptian mine in an unmarked

minefield A land mine is an explosive device concealed under or on the ground and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets, ranging from combatants to vehicles and tanks, as they pass over or near it. Such a device is typically detonated automati ...

. The Variety Israel center in Jerusalem, an organization for children with special needs, is named after her.

Business career

In 1988, Yaakov Nimrodi purchased the

Israel Land Development Company Israel Land Development Company (ILDC) ( he, הכשרת הישוב, Hachsharat HaYishuv) is one of Israel's largest conglomerates, with fields including real estate, construction, energy and hotels. It was acquired in 1987 by Yaakov Nimrodi. His ...

from the

Jewish Agency The Jewish Agency for Israel ( he, הסוכנות היהודית לארץ ישראל, translit=HaSochnut HaYehudit L'Eretz Yisra'el) formerly known as The Jewish Agency for Palestine, is the largest Jewish non-profit organization in the world. ...

. A year later, Ofer was appointed its CEO. In 1992, the family purchased the Ma'ariv newspaper, after the passing of its previous owner

Robert Maxwell Ian Robert Maxwell (born Ján Ludvík Hyman Binyamin Hoch; 10 June 1923 – 5 November 1991) was a Czechoslovak-born British media proprietor, member of parliament (MP), suspected spy, and fraudster. Early in his life, Maxwell escaped from N ...

. Ofer was appointed Publisher and Editor-in-Chief. Nimrodi's entering the media field, and ''Maariv'' particularly, was considered outstanding since neither Nimrodi, nor any of the family members had ever been engaged in the field of journalism or any other media. The engagement of "tycoons" in the media world drew much criticism and hostility from the veteran "media dynasties" in Israel (Mozes of

Yedioth Ahronoth ''Yedioth Ahronoth'' ( he, יְדִיעוֹת אַחֲרוֹנוֹת, ; lit. ''Latest News'') is a national daily newspaper published in Tel Aviv, Israel. Founded in 1939 in British Mandatory Palestine, ''Yedioth Ahronoth'' is the largest paid n ...

and Shocken of

Haaretz ''Haaretz'' ( , originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , ) is an Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel, and is now published in both Hebrew and English in the Berliner f ...

) and led to fierce competition. This competition also brought the leading publishers to purchase other media such as cable TV channels, until a law passed that banned cross-ownership in the media field. In June 2011, The Israel Land Development Company sold the controlling shareholding of Ma'ariv to

Discount Investment Corporation Discount Investment Corporation Ltd. ( he, דיסקאונט השקעות), or DIC, is a holding company based in Israel. The company is listed on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the TA-125 Index. The company is controlled by , ...

, a member of the IDB Group, controlled by Nohi Dankner. ILDC continues to hold a 27% stake in Ma'ariv. Nimrodi has greatly expanded ILDC's business abroad. The company engaged in the development of large residential real estate projects by building neighborhoods in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

and

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

, commercial real estate through logistic parks in

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 ...

and

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 ...

, shopping malls in Romania,

Moldova Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The List of states ...

, and

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

, and in hotels and resorts in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and Morocco. In 2010, the company entered another new field with the establishment of the Israel Land Development Company - Energy Ltd. The company purchased licenses and options for licenses for locating gas and oil in the Levant Basin of the Mediterranean (in Israel’s economic waters) and in the Adriatic Sea. The company began drilling in two of its leading licenses: Sara and Myra.

Criminal convictions

Nimrodi served an 8-month prison sentence during 1998-1999 for ordering illegal

wiretapping Telephone tapping (also wire tapping or wiretapping in American English) is the monitoring of telephone and Internet-based conversations by a third party, often by covert means. The wire tap received its name because, historically, the monitorin ...

while serving as the Editor-in-Chief of Ma'ariv. In 2000, he received a 25-month prison sentence for obstruction of justice, which was served concomitantly with an originally suspended 12-month sentence handed for his 1998 conviction. The decision not to add the 12 months to his prison-time was criticized by the State Prosecutor's office upon his release in 2002, expressing concerns that Nimrodi had recidivist tendencies.Haaretz report 2002
Ma'ariv owner and businessman Ofer Nimrodi released from prison (2002-03-20). Retrieved on 2013-04-27.

References

External links

ILDC Company websiteILDC Energy Company websiteNimrodi Archive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nimrodi, Ofer 1957 births Living people Israeli businesspeople in real estate Harvard Business School alumni Iranian emigrants to Israel Iranian Jews Israeli chief executives Israeli Jews Israeli jurists Israeli people of Iranian-Jewish descent Israeli people of Iraqi-Jewish descent Israeli publishers (people) Maariv (newspaper) editors Tel Aviv University alumni