Shaare Zedek Medical Center is honored that Mr. Kurt Rothschild is a close friend and champion. Kurt is the longest serving member of Shaare Zedek Medical Center’s International Board of Directors which he joined in 1976. Since that time, Kurt has been actively involved in Shaare Zedek, attending meetings, providing insights and encouraging fellow Canadians to become more involved in Shaare Zedek.
Mr. Kurt Rothschild was born in Cologne, Germany, in 1920. His parents sent him to England to finish high school. He was then deported by the British to Canada where he later studied electrical engineering at Queens University in Kingston, Ontario. He married Edith in 1950 and he developed an electrical and mechanical contracting firm engaged in industrial and commercial construction from coast to coast. In 1987, Rothschild retired and devoted himself to Jewish communal and educational affairs. In 2011, at the age of 91, he and his caring wife, Edith, fulfilled their dream and moved to Jerusalem.
Mr. Rothschild always tried to help others in need and he supported Jewish institutional life and Torah education in Canada and in Israel across numerous institutions. Uri Schwarz, the Director of Shaare Zedek’s Resource Development Department shared, “It has been a pleasure to work with Kurt since I joined Shaare Zedek almost 30 years ago. Kurt is very sharp, has extraordinary vision and very high moral integrity. He knows a lot of people and people are drawn to him. He always wants to help and he persuades others to get involved. I remember sitting near him at a community function several years ago in Canada. 1500 people attended the event and I think every one of them came over to say hello to Kurt. I am proud to call him a friend.”
Looking forward Kurt said, “We will try as long as the good Lord lets us. Some die early, and some die late. I happen to be the one who has lived the longest in the whole family…I strongly feel that we should contribute to society while we have the opportunity…As survivors of that catastrophe to the Jewish people [the Holocaust], we ought to be part of the continued future existence, most particularly, to assist the resettlement of Jews in the State of Israel and in assisting those in its development.”
Kurt, we wish you your wife much good health, we thank you for all of your assistance and support and look forward to continuing to work together.
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