Africa Israel Chairman of the Board Lev Leviev is remaining steadfast in his position, opposing demands by the Ramat Aviv Municipality to open a parking lot in his Africa Israel Building on Shabbos.
According to Ramat Aviv City Hall, a deal was reached with Africa Israel concerning the 17-story building, by which a designated number of parking spaces would be made available for neighborhood residents during certain hours, including Shabbos.
Leviev, a frum Jew, remains unwilling to open the parking lot to cars on Shabbos; a move he feels will make him an accomplice to chilul Shabbos. In the meantime, proponents of opening the lot are accusing him to robbing neighborhood residents of parking spaces, seemingly in an effort to pressure him into agreeing to the move.
Talks between Leviev’s representatives and city officials are ongoing as both sides seek a mutually acceptable solution.
Sadly, the story as it appears in some of the media highlights Leviev’s stubbornness, which is resulting in a loss of parking spaces, as opposed to highlighting his actions which are a Kiddush Hashem.
(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)
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12 Responses
Today, he is the wealthiest man in Israel, which is why he is going to win.
Not to mention that he single handly supports about 10% of Chabad activity around the world!!
See the artical from a rabbi from israel
IDF Rav Ronsky Responds to Accusation of Chilul Shabbos
The rabbi who got his jewish education in israel shuold learn from Leviev who got is jweish education in the soviet union and is not a rabbi what shabos is
chazak uboruch. may we all learn from him
#2 poor and inaccurate comparison
May hashem reward Lieviev for his steadfastness in shabbos observances and bless him with more bucks for tzedakah.
# 1 –
He is actually not the wealthiest Israeli, since he has recently relocated to the U.K. The richest Israeli is probably Eitan Wertheimer, President of Iscar corporation that was bought out by Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway Holding Group back in 2006 for $5 Billion.
to #1:
He is actually a resident in Great Britain who used to be the wealthiest man in Israel. Also he gives Chabad nearly 50 million a year, and Chabad’s budget according to my estimation, as well as most estimations which I have heard, exceeds a billion dollars annually.
Point well taken though.
To stan the man
Do you mean he should not learn from him?
Please explain.
Bravo Lev! Something is terribly wrong when a Yid has to fight for kedushas Shabbos in the “Jewish State”. Let’s hope that more folks will learn from his example and kedushas Shabbos will be the norm instead of the exception.
From an NY Times Magazine interview with Leviev in September of 2007:
“As a boy, they used to make us stand at attention and salute the statue of Lenin, I’d curse him and the other Communists under my breath. They sent my grandfather to Siberia. They wouldn’t let us keep the Sabbath — we had to go to school on Saturdays. Just being Jewish was dangerous.”
Ironic that the Israeli socialist anti-religious govt. (which claims to be Jewish) now wants to coerce him into desecrating Shabbos just as the Communists did in his youth.
I applaud any Yid who is not only shomer Shabbat, but one who will go against the mainstream to fight for Shabbat observance. It’s too bad that whenever a frum Yid is for Torah observance and HaShem-commanded practices and laws, he is criticized for his efforts. Don’t get me started on this business of Lashon Hara that many of us seem to practice against one another…
To # 5 & # 6
I know they he moved to London as I davened in shul with him a few weeks ago at the Lubavitch Yeshiva Gedolo in Hamstead Garden Suburb.
Thing is, since he still has a home in Bney Brak, Israel still considers him a resident.
Yochi, I hear you. So in that sense I believe that you are correct.