HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

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 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 diamond industry, Israel's diamond industry. The exchange is a private company that inco ...
(IDE), which became the world's largest diamond exchange.


Early years

Schnitzer was born in Chernowitz, then in
Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
, in 1921. He
emigrated Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanentl ...
to British-ruled Palestine in 1934, and later studied history and philosophy at the
Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; ) is an Israeli public university, public research university based in Jerusalem. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Chaim Weizmann in July 1918, the public university officially opened on 1 April 1925. ...
. In 1942, pushed by his father, he entered the diamond business. He left university to work in a diamond polishing plant only under protest. Schnitzer learned sawing and cutting at Pickel's factory in Tel Aviv, where he became a work manager in 1944. In 1945 he and Shlomo Vinikov founded the ''Society for the Development of the Diamond Industry in Palestine''. In 1944 he initiated and became publisher of ''HaYahalom'' (''The Diamond''), the industry's journal, which appears until today. In 1946 Schnitzer and Elhanan Halperin co-authored ''Diamonds'' (''Yahalomim''), an instruction book in Hebrew. Schnitzer also fought in the
Irgun The Irgun (), officially the National Military Organization in the Land of Israel, often abbreviated as Etzel or IZL (), was a Zionist paramilitary organization that operated in Mandatory Palestine between 1931 and 1948. It was an offshoot of th ...
, a
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 ...
paramilitary A paramilitary is a military that is not a part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. The Oxford English Dictionary traces the use of the term "paramilitary" as far back as 1934. Overview Though a paramilitary is, by definiti ...
group that was seeking to establish a Jewish state in
Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...
. The connections he made there with future leaders helped him later in his business life. He became an Irgun member in 1941, and a soldier of the Israeli army after its amalgamation into the army in 1948.Israel Diamond Exchange, ''The Fourth President– Moshe Schnitzer, of blessed memory'

accessed 26 March 2018
In 1947 he was one of the founders of the Israel Diamond Exchange (ISDE), created by the unification of all diamond institutions in the country. Schnitzer was elected ISDE Vice President in 1949. Schnitzer and a partner launched the firm of Schnitzer-Greenstein in 1952. In 1960 he opened his own firm, M. Schnitzer & Co., with his son Shmuel Schnitzer and son-in-law Shai Schnitzer.


Israel Diamond Exchange President

From 1967 to 1993 Schnitzer was President of the Israel Diamond Exchange. During his long tenure the exchange was transformed from an organization with a relatively marginal position in the international market into the largest and most modern exchange in the world. Annual exports on polished diamonds from Israel grew during his tenure 17-fold, from $200 million to $3.4 billion.


Related activities

Schnitzer was also the President of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB) from 1968 to 1972, and from 1978 to 1982. He was responsible for the establishment in 1982 of the ''Schnitzer Foundation for Research on the Israeli Economy and Society'' at
Bar-Ilan University Bar-Ilan University (BIU, , ''Universitat Bar-Ilan'') is a public research university in the Tel Aviv District city of Ramat Gan, Israel. Established in 1955, Bar Ilan is Israel's second-largest academic university institution. It has 20,000 ...
, dedicated to funding academic research on economic and social topics. Schnitzer arranged to establish the Harry Oppenheimer Diamond Museum in
Ramat Gan Ramat Gan (, ) is a city in the Tel Aviv District of Israel, located east of the municipality of Tel Aviv, and is part of the Gush Dan, Gush Dan metropolitan area. It is home to a Diamond Exchange District (one of the world's major diamond exch ...
in 1986 and was the museum's Chairman until July 2003.


Diplomatic activity

There were political aspects to his position. Israeli Prime Ministers
Yitzhak Rabin Yitzhak Rabin (; , ; 1 March 1922 – 4 November 1995) was an Israeli politician, statesman and general. He was the prime minister of Israel, serving two terms in office, 1974–1977, and from 1992 until Assassination of Yitzhak Rabin, his ass ...
and
Golda Meir Golda Meir (; 3 May 1898 – 8 December 1978) was the prime minister of Israel, serving from 1969 to 1974. She was Israel's first and only female head of government. Born into a Jewish family in Kyiv, Kiev, Russian Empire (present-day Ukraine) ...
both used Schnitzer to convey messages to the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
under the disguise of conducting diamond transactions. Under
Indira Gandhi Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (Given name, ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and stateswoman who served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India from 1966 to 1977 and again from 1980 un ...
,
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
had been highly critical of Israel's policy, and public hostility persisted after her death in 1984. For this reason, when India applied to join the World Federation of Diamond Bourses in July 1986, Moshe Schnitzer said Israel was against admitting India. However, the next month officials of the Israel Diamond Exchange said the application had not been rejected.


Honors and legacy

Moshe Schnitzer was awarded the
Israel Prize The Israel Prize (; ''pras israél'') is an award bestowed by the State of Israel, and regarded as the state's highest cultural honor. History Prior to the Israel Prize, the most significant award in the arts was the Dizengoff Prize and in Israel ...
in 2004, the highest civilian award given by Israel. The award was given for "making a special contribution to the State of Israel and Israeli society". It recognized his pivotal role in making Israel one of the main diamond manufacturing centers in the world. He was also awarded the Order of King Leopold of Belgium for his contribution to the international diamond industry. He was given an honorary doctorate from Bar-Ilan University. The plaza adjacent to the diamond exchange in
Ramat Gan Ramat Gan (, ) is a city in the Tel Aviv District of Israel, located east of the municipality of Tel Aviv, and is part of the Gush Dan, Gush Dan metropolitan area. It is home to a Diamond Exchange District (one of the world's major diamond exch ...
is called the Moshe Schnitzer Plaza. Schnitzer died in August 2007. At his funeral, he was eulogized by former Israel Prime Minister
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 ...
, former Chief Rabbi Israel Meir Lau and other prominent men. In May 2008, during the opening ceremony of the World Diamond Congress in Shanghai, he posthumously received the first-ever Diamantaire of the Year award. His son, Shmuel Schnitzer, was also a president of the IDE and the WFDB. His grandson
Dan Gertler Dan Gertler (; born 23 December 1973) is an Israeli billionaire businessman in natural resources and the founder and president of the DGI (Dan Gertler International) group of companies. Until 2022, his group had mining and oil interests in the D ...
became prominent in the diamond business in Africa. Gertler is the first in his family to deal in rough diamonds rather than polished stones, which complements Shmuel Schnitzer's ambition for Israel to displace
Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...
, Belgium as the world's largest diamond center. According to WFDB president Ernest Blom, "Moshe Schnitzer was a visionary. After laying the foundation in Israel for what would grow, largely according to his plan, into one of the world’s most important diamond centers, he turned his attention to the WFDB and the international diamond trade. He realized that our strength lay in our ability to complement one another, working together as an international network of colleagues, rather than as competitors. Generations of diamantaires from all over the world considered him a mentor and a leader".


References


Further reading

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Schnitzer, Moshe 1921 births 2007 deaths Diamond dealers Hebrew University of Jerusalem alumni Israeli chief executives Israel Prize for special contribution to society and the State recipients Israeli soldiers Naturalized citizens of Israel Businesspeople from Tel Aviv Romanian emigrants to Mandatory Palestine Romanian Jews Burials at Nahalat Yitzhak Cemetery