Dr. Irving Moskowitz and Mr. Joseph Gruss: Two American Jewish Philanthropists on Har Hazeitim
Photo: Daniel Luria
When the noted American Jewish philanthropist Irwin Moskowitz was buried on Har Hazeitim on June 20th, in a funeral attended by thousands and many notables, it again pointed out the sanctity and importance of the international cemetery of the Jewish people. Amongst the 150,000 Jews buried there are many notable American Jews, including Joseph Gruss, a philanthropist who funded Jewish education. Mr. Gruss who was a personal friend of Menachem Begin is buried next to the late Prime Minister. The story goes that Begin had asked Gruss whether he owned a plot which Gruss answered in the affirmative but in the States. “No, you won’t,” Begin is reported to have retorted. “You will be buried next to me.
Moskowitz was a firm believer in a United Jerusalem and his foundation gave millions to organizations helping settle the Eastern part of the city. Moskowitz was a major supporter of El’ad and Ateret Cohanim. 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, who was a Miami resident is said to have lost 120 residents in the Holocaust.
Moskowitz was buried in the coveted Chelkat Hanevi’im on Har Hazeitim.
