Jack D. Weiler (1904–1995) was an American real estate developer and philanthropist.

Biography

Weiler was born to a poor

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 ...

family in Svitskoy, Russian Empire, the seventh of ten children. His father, Faivel, was a

rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...

and

Talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law ('' halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the ce ...

ic scholar. In 1910, the family moved to the United States and settled in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

and then the

Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

where his father taught

yeshiva A yeshiva (; he, ישיבה, , sitting; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are st ...

students. During high school, Weiler worked odd jobs and was forced to leave college due to lack of funds and accept a job as a stenographer in a real estate office. He eventually became a broker where he learned all aspects of the real estate business and in 1936, he partnered with

Benjamin Swig Benjamin Harrison Swig (born November 17, 1893 - October 31, 1980) was a real estate developer and a philanthropist active in Jewish and non-Jewish communities. Biography Taunton, Massachusetts-born Benjamin Swig was the son of banker and poli ...

(father of

Melvin Swig Melvin Morse Swig (July 31, 1917 – May 14, 1993)

) of Boston and founded a real estate company then named Swig & Weiler. Weiler managed the firm's New York office while Swig ran the West Coast business out of

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

. They grew the business nationally including over 5 million square feet in New York City and 1.5 million square feet in California; properties owned included the Metropolitan Opera House (which they demolished to build 1411 Broadway at 39th Street); the W. R. Grace Building; 1065 Avenue of the Americas; and 711 Third Avenue at 44th Street.

Philanthropy

Weiler is also known for his charitable activities stating "Philanthropy comes first, ahead of my business". In 1964, he received the Israel Bond Organization’s first Herbert H. Lehman Israel Award. Weiler was a leader in the

United Jewish Appeal The United Jewish Appeal (UJA) was a Jewish philanthropic umbrella organization that existed from its creation in 1939 until it was folded into the United Jewish Communities, which was formed from the 1999 merger of United Jewish Appeal (UJA), Co ...

, Israel Bonds and the American Joint Distribution Committee. He served as the chairman of the board of overseers for the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of

Yeshiva University Yeshiva University is a private Orthodox Jewish university with four campuses in New York City."About YU
on the Yeshiva Universi ...

, and in 1985, Einstein Hospital in the Bronx was renamed the Jack D. Weiler Hospital. In 1995, a new community of 5,000 residents just south of

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

was renamed ''Kiryat Jack Weiler'' in his honor. He served as chairman of the Housing Committee of the

Jewish Agency for Israel 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. ...

which brought 50,000 diaspora Jews to Israel. The architecture school of the

Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design ( he, בצלאל, אקדמיה לאמנות ועיצוב) is a public college of design and art located in Jerusalem. Established in 1906 by Jewish painter and sculptor Boris Schatz, Bezalel is Israel's oldes ...

in Jerusalem was renamed the Jack D. Weiler College of Architecture; he funded the Weiler-Arnow Medical Education Building at Ben Gurion University of the Negev; and the

Jerusalem College of Technology The Jerusalem College of Technology - Lev Academic Center (JCT; he, המרכז האקדמי לב) is a private college in Israel, recognized by the Council for Higher Education, which specializes in providing high-level science and technology ed ...

named its

in honor of his father. Weiler served as the national treasurer and president of the Century Club of the State of Israel Bonds Organization; former president and chairman of the board of directors of Bronx-Lebanon Hospital; a member of the board of the Montefiore Medical Center; a member of the board of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America; president of the Realty Foundation of Greater New York; and president of the

UJA-Federation of New York UJA-Federation of New York ( United Jewish Appeal⁣ – ⁣Federation of Jewish Philanthropies of New York, Inc.) is the largest local philanthropy in the world. Headquartered in New York City, the organization raises and allocates funds annuall ...

. Weiler stated "I tell them that you can't take it with you, that once you're stretched out in a box, your hands are always open, not closed." In 1947, he was named an honorary alumnus of

Brandeis University , mottoeng = "Truth even unto its innermost parts" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = NECHE , president = Ronald D. Liebowitz , ...

, he was the first New Yorker and the third individual in the United States to receive this honor.

Personal life

In 1927, he married Doris Person; they had two children: Alan Weiler and Joan Weiler Arnow who was married to real estate developer Robert H. Arnow.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Weiler, Jack D. American real estate businesspeople American people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent Jewish American philanthropists 1904 births 1995 deaths 20th-century American philanthropists 20th-century American Jews Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States