01-24-2011, 09:19 AM
Irving Moskowitz
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Irving I. Moskowitz (born 1928, New York City) is a Florida-based businessman who built a fortune running hospitals and legal gambling in California. He is the founder of the eponymous "Moskowitz Foundation" which claims to "to help people in need regardless of race, creed, politics or religion".[1] The foundation raises funds for contentious Jewish housing projects in the Arab neighborhoods of East Jerusalem projects through its charity bingo hall in Hawaiian Gardens, California.[2] The funding provided by Moskowitz is channeled through the organizations El'ad and Ateret Cohanim.[3]
In 2007, he initiated plans to build 122 apartments on the site of the Shepherd Hotel in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem. The plan was downsized in 2009, and it has been condemned by the United States [4][5][6] and British governments.[7] Final approval was given for the 20 apartments for Jewish families on March 23, 2010, only hours before Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu met with President Barack Obama at the White House.[8] The historic Shepherd Hotel has been torn down to make room for the housing units.[9] A three-story parking structure and an access road will also be constructed on site.[10]