Irving Moskowitz, pro-settler American Jewish philanthropist, dies at 88
Dr. Irving Moskowitz, an American Jewish philanthropist who stirred controversy by donating millions of dollars to Jewish settlement efforts in the West Bank and eastern Jerusalem, has died at 88.
Arutz Sheva, a right-wing Israeli news site that he helped establish, reported his death on June 16.
The Moskowitz Foundation he founded in 1968 along with his wife, Cherna, was a major supporter of El’ad and Ateret Cohanim, two organizations involved in moving Jews to live in predominantly Arab neighborhoods of eastern Jerusalem. It also was a major donor to the One Israel Fund, which according to a filing on the foundation’s 2014 tax form “supports the welfare and safety of the men, women and children of Judea and Samaria.” Judea and Samaria are the biblical names for the West Bank.
In 2008, the Moskowitzes established the Moskowitz Prize for Zionism, whose winners included Moshe Levinger, an early settler in Hebron after the 1967 Six-Day War who later was jailed in Israel for violence against Arabs; Noam Arnon, another prominent settler in Hebron; and Yehuda Glick, an activist pushing for greater Jewish access to the Temple Mount who recently became a Knesset member.
Moskowitz will be buried in Jerusalem, according to a Facebook post by Dov Hikind, a New York state assemblyman from Brooklyn and a right-wing Israel advocate.
Moskowitz was born in New York City in 1928, the ninth child of Jewish immigrants from Poland. According to a 1997 profile in Time magazine, Moskowitz lost 120 relatives in the Holocaust.
He grew up in Milwaukee, where he earned his medical degree. He later moved to California, where he created a business building hospitals and ran a legal gambling business. He moved later to Miami Beach.
—JTA News and Features
Jacob Charles Kirschbaum
Jacob Charles Kirschbaum, of Rockville, died on June 14. He was the beloved husband of Natalie Kirschbaum for 58 years, devoted father of Lloyd (Susan) Kirschbaum, Kevin Kirschbaum and Reyna (Andrew) Tunnicliffe; loving brother of Hannah (Berry) Livman. Also survived by grandchildren Blake Andrew and Grace Jillian. Memorial contributions may be made to a charity of choice.
Arrangements by Sagel Bloomfield Danzansky Goldberg Funeral Care Inc.
Anton Yelchin, Russian-Jewish ‘Star Trek’ actor, crushed to death by own car at 27
Russian-Jewish actor Anton Yelchin, who starred in the new Star Trek movies reboot, was killed by his own car rolling down the driveway.
Friends found Yelchin, 27, at his house Sunday pinned between his car and a brick pillar; the vehicle was in neutral and running, TMZ reported.
It is not known why Yelchin got out of the car. Police do not suspect foul play, according to the website.
Yelchin starred as Chekov in the two latest Star Trek movies and will be seen in the third film in the series, Star Trek Beyond, set for release next month. A tribute to Yelchin was posted on the official Star Trek website.
He also appeared in films including Like Crazy, Alpha Dog, Terminator Salvation and Fright Night.
Yelchin, a native of St. Petersburg, immigrated to the United States with his family as an infant. He was the son of two figure skaters, Irina Korina and Viktor Yelchin, who reportedly were persecuted for being Jewish.
—JTA News and Features
