Pinchas Tibor Rosenbaum (; 2 November 1923 – 23 October 1980) was a Hungarian-born Swiss

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 t ...

and businessman. One of the heads of the Jewish community in Switzerland, he saved hundreds of Jews during

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 ...

. After the war, he was involved in extensive businesses relating to the

economy of Israel An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with ...

. He was also instrumental in helping the new

State of Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

with security issues and worked for the

Mossad The Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations (), popularly known as Mossad ( , ), is the national intelligence agency of the Israel, State of Israel. It is one of the main entities in the Israeli Intelligence Community, along with M ...

on intelligence matters.

Early life and career

Tibor Rosenbaum was born to Shmuel Shmelke Rosenbaum, the

chief rabbi Chief Rabbi () is a title given in several countries to the recognized religious leader of that country's Jewish community, or to a rabbinic leader appointed by the local secular authorities. Since 1911, through a capitulation by Ben-Zion Meir ...

Kisvárda Kisvárda (; , ) is a town in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg County, in the Northern Great Plain region of eastern Hungary near the border of Slovakia and Ukraine. It is the 3rd largest town in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg after Nyíregyháza and Mátészalka ...

, Hungary. His grandfather, Moshe Chaim Rosenbaum, was also the Rabbi of Kisvárda and author of ''Lechem Rav'' (). The family's lineage went back to

Judah Loew ben Bezalel Judah Loew ben Bezalel (; 1512 – 17 September 1609), also known as Rabbi Loew ( Löw, Loewe, Löwe or Levai), the Maharal of Prague (), or simply the Maharal (the Hebrew language, Hebrew Hebrew abbreviations, acronym of "''Moreinu ha-Rav Loew'' ...

. At age 18, he received ''

semikhah ''Semikhah'' () is the traditional term for rabbiinic ordination in Judaism. The original ''semikhah'' was the formal "transmission of authority" from Moses through the generations. This form of ''semikhah'' ceased between 360 and 425 CE. Si ...

'' (rabbinical ordination) from Yitzhak HaLevi Herzog. During

, Rosenbaum saved hundreds of Jews while being disguised as a German SS officer, a soldier in the Hungarian Arrow Cross, or as a member of the Hungarian

Levente Levente (between 1010 and 1015 – 1047) was a member of the House of Árpád, a great-grandson of Taksony, Grand Prince of the Hungarians. He was expelled from Hungary in 1031 or 1032, and spent many years in Bohemia, Poland and the Kievan Rus' ...

, depending on the situation. Upon returning to Kisvárda after the war, Rosenbaum found that the Jewish population had been reduced from the 5,000 who lived there previously to only 400. He was installed as the city's rabbi, replacing his late father. Rosenbaum earned a doctorate in economics and published two books.

Fraudulent business activities

Soon after the establishment of Israel, Rosenbaum started an organization called "Helvis Company" to actively promote Israeli‐Swiss trade. A decade later, Helvis was alleged to have given kickbacks into a special fund of the

National Religious party The National Religious Party (, ''Miflaga Datit Leumit''), commonly known in Israel by its Hebrew abbreviation Mafdal (), was an Israeli political party representing the interests of the Israeli settlers and religious Zionist movement. Formed ...

to obtain contracts from the Ministry of Health in connection with two hospitals near

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

. Together with his friend Bernard Cornfeld, Rosenbaum founded the Banque De Credit International Genève in

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

in 1959, which went bankrupt in 1976. This led to a considerable loss of prestige for the Hessische Landesbank, which was most recently closely associated with it. Rosenbaum originally financed arms purchases for Israel through the bank. In 1963, the bank's board of directors was composed of Pierre Audéoud (chair), Samuel Scheps (deputy chair), Jacques Leimbacher (assistant director), Chaim Haller (Deputy) and Rosenbaum. Sylvain Ferdman, who was BCI's office manager in Geneva, acted as "money courier" for

Jewish-American organized crime Jewish-American organized crime initially emerged within the American Jewish community during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In media and popular culture, it has variously been referred to as the Jewish Mob, the Jewish Mafia, the Kos ...

figure

Meyer Lansky Meyer Lansky (born Maier Suchowljansky; July 4, 1902 – January 15, 1983), known as the "Mob's Accountant", was an American organized crime figure who, along with his associate Lucky Luciano, Charles "Lucky" Luciano, was instrumental in the dev ...

and other U.S. customers of the bank. It also opened up a connection to Israel for Lansky, who first met Rosenbaum in 1965. In 1973, the bank had two branches in

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

and London. During its active time, the bank had deposits from 8,000 members of the Jewish community living in France. According to Richard Gilbride's book ''Matrix for Assassination: The JFK Conspiracy'', the bank was responsible for handling up to 90% of the Israeli Defense Ministry's arms purchases. The bank is also notable for Avner Less, the

Adolf Eichmann Otto Adolf Eichmann ( ;"Eichmann"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. ; 19 March 1906 – 1 Ju ...

interrogator, having worked there from 1968 to 1973. It went into liquidation and was deleted from the Swiss commercial register in 2011.

Personal life and death

Rosenbaum married Stephanie Stern, who survived the war by reaching Switzerland via the

Kastner train The Kastner train is the name usually given to a rescue operation which saved the lives of over 1,600 Jews from Hungary during World War II. It consisted of 35 cattle wagons that left Budapest on 30 June 1944, during the German occupation of Hun ...

. They lived in Geneva. Their son Moshe (Eric) Rosenbaum teaches in Yeshivas Derech Etz Chaim in Har Nof, Jerusalem. A daughter, Leah Rowe, lives in Rehavya, Jerusalem. Their son Shmuel (Charles, born 1952) was head of Geneva-based investment vehicle Cifco. He was an associate of Ephraim Margulies, notable for the

Guinness share-trading fraud The Guinness share-trading fraud was a major business scandal of the 1980s. It involved the manipulation of the London stock market to inflate the price of Guinness shares to thereby assist Guinness's £4 billion takeover bid for the Scotland, Sco ...

related to Ivan Boesky, the Jewish-American stock trader. Rosenbaum died from a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

in Geneva on , leaving behind his wife, two sons and a daughter. He was buried on Har HaMenuchot.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rosenbaum, Tibor 1923 births 1980 deaths People from Kisvárda 20th-century Hungarian businesspeople 20th-century Hungarian rabbis Hungarian Ashkenazi Jews Hungarian Orthodox rabbis Hungarian Holocaust survivors Hungarian emigrants to Switzerland Swiss Ashkenazi Jews Swiss Orthodox rabbis 20th-century Swiss businesspeople 20th-century Swiss rabbis Businesspeople from Geneva Burials at Har HaMenuchot