Maurice Wohl

Maurice Wohl CBE (4 January 1917 – 28 June 2007) was a British businessman and philanthropist.

Maurice Wohl
Born4 January 1917
London, UK
Died28 June 2007
Resting placeSanhedria Cemetery, Jerusalem, Israel
OccupationBusinessman
Spouse(s)Vivienne Wohl

Biography

Maurice Wohl was born in the East End of London to Eastern European parents. At a young age, Wohl became a property developer creating 'United Real Property Trust' in 1948.[1] He rose to success by innovation in raising modern office buildings in the damaged post-World War II London and his business also later spread to Australia. By the mid-1970s, he had retired to Switzerland. Wohl was made Commander of Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1992.[2]

Wohl died on 28 June 2007 (13th of Tammuz, 5767). He was buried in the Sanhedria Cemetery in Jerusalem the next day, eulogised by former Chief Rabbi of Israel, Yisrael Meir Lau. Vivienne, his wife who had also been very active and highly regarded, died on 24 April 2005 (15th of Nisan, 5765).[3][4] The couple had been childless.

Civic and philanthropic activities

Wohl was president of the Jerusalem Great Synagogue in Israel. In honour of his many contributions in Jerusalem, Wohl was given the title "Trustee of Jerusalem" (Ne-eman Yerushalayim) by Ehud Olmert when he was mayor of the city. Wohl also received an honorary doctorate from Bar-Ilan University in 2001.

Wohl contributed tens of millions of dollars to the construction of public structures and support of various foundations some of which include:

In Israel

In the United Kingdom

In Ukraine
  • the Wohl Centre[6] (Ukrainian: Єврейський Центр "WOHL") — jewish community center in Kharkiv city. Inside the building are located: Charitable Organization "Kharkiv Jewish Charitable Fund Hesed – Shaare Tikvah", jewish culture center "Beit Dan" and regional JDC Джойнт.

While many establishments carried the Wohl name, Maurice Wohl was also known for donating to many organisations and charities without that same publicity.

References
  1. "The Telegraph". Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  2. "Maurice Wohl" Sunday Times 'Rich List' 2004
  3. "In Memoriam, Vivienne Wohl" Jerusalem Foundation 25-Dec-06 Archived 8 November 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  4. "British Friends of Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz" www.steinsaltz.org (Winter Hanukkah 2005)
  5. "Jerusalem Wins International Rose Garden Competition" Jerusalem Foundation 1-Oct-03 Archived 11 November 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  6. Betsy Gidwitz Reports
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