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

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

majority in

Palestinian Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenous p ...

Arab neighborhoods of

East Jerusalem East Jerusalem (, ; , ) is the portion of Jerusalem that was Jordanian annexation of the West Bank, held by Jordan after the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, as opposed to West Jerusalem, which was held by Israel. Captured and occupied in 1967, th ...

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 extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. He stated that 120 of his relatives were killed in the

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

. He grew up in

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

, and received a medical degree from the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

. He then moved to

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

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

Miami Beach, Florida Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida. The municipality is located on natural and human-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean ...

. The Moskowitz family net worth is estimated at over $1.5 billion. Moskowitz was married to Cherna, with whom he had 8 children, over 48 grandchildren and over 20 great-grandchildren. Among his notable

Zionist Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...

activities was establishing a foundation to help

Shinlung The Bnei Menashe (, "Children of Tribe of Manasseh, Menasseh", known as the Shinlung in India) is a community of Indian Jews from various Tibeto-Burmese ethnic groups from the border of India and Burma who claim descent from one of the Ten Lost ...

immigration to Israel. The family also established the ''Moskowitz Prize for Zionism'' in 2008. He built a business running hospitals, as well as

gambling Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of Value (economics), value ("the stakes") on a Event (probability theory), random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy (ga ...

. 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 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 14,149 at the 2020 census, down sl ...

. The funding is channeled through two settler organizations

El'ad El'ad () is a city in the Central District of Israel. In the 1990s, it was built for a Haredi population and to a lesser extent, it was also built for a Religious Zionist Jewish population. Located about east of Tel Aviv on Route 444 between R ...

and

Ateret Cohanim Ateret Cohanim (), 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 creation of a Jewish majority in the Old City and in Arab neighborhoods in ...

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.

East Jerusalem 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 in the

Sheikh Jarrah Sheikh Jarrah (, ) 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 Hussam al-Din al-Jarrahi, a physician of Saladin, located ...

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 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. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Benjamin Netanyahu Benjamin Netanyahu (born 21 October 1949) is an Israeli politician who has served as the prime minister of Israel since 2022, having previously held the office from 1996 to 1999 and from 2009 to 2021. Netanyahu is the longest-serving prime min ...

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: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

at the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

. 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.

US 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 ...

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 founder and former president of the organization is Frank J. Gaffney Jr., who now serves as the group's executive chairman. The c ...

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

American Red Cross The American National Red Cross is a Nonprofit organization, nonprofit Humanitarianism, humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. Clara Barton founded ...

for the

2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami On 11 March 2011, at 14:46:24 Japan Standard Time, JST (05:46:24 UTC), a 9.0–9.1 Submarine earthquake, undersea megathrust earthquake occurred in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Oshika Peninsula of the Tōhoku region. It lasted approx ...

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 an extremely powerful and catastrophic tropical cyclone that is among List of the most intense tropical cyclones, the most powerful tropical cyclones ever recorded. Upon ...

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. It is the product of the February 2019 merger of GuideStar with Foundation Center. ...

''
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 businesspeople in real estate American Zionists Businesspeople from California Businesspeople from Miami Businesspeople from New York City Businesspeople from Milwaukee 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