Irving Moskowitz
Irving Moskowitz was a highly controversial American physician, businessman, and activist. His activism, in part, sought to create a Jewish majority in Palestinian Arab neighborhoods of East Jerusalem by purchasing land.
Biography
Irving Moskowitz was the ninth of thirteen children born to Jewish immigrants from Poland. He stated that 120 of his relatives were killed in the Holocaust. He grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and received a medical degree from the University of Wisconsin. He then moved to California where he started his medical practice, later building and managing hospitals. He started the foundation in 1968. At the time of his death Moskowitz resided in Miami Beach, Florida. 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 activities was establishing a foundation to help Shinlung immigration to Israel. The family also established the Moskowitz Prize for Zionism in 2008.
He built a business running hospitals, as well as gambling in California. 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 East Jerusalem through its bingo hall in Hawaiian Gardens, California. The funding is channeled through two settler organizations El'ad and Ateret Cohanim that work to create a Jewish majority in Palestinian neighborhoods of East Jerusalem.
Moskowitz had battled Alzheimer's disease for many years and eventually succumbed to it on June 16, 2016, at the age of 88.