A Long Life Dedicated to Israel and Family
My father, Murray Greenfield, who passed away on September 23, 2024 at the age of 98, was unabashedly Zionist and a self-proclaimed enfant terrible. He combined American ingenuity with Israeli chutzpah, and remained active almost to the last. He didn't just support causes, but founded and remained involved in many enterprises, all from a deep sense of Yiddishkeit and feeling for fellow Jews.
Born on September 11, 1926 to immigrant parents, he grew up in Far Rockaway, New York, the fourth of five brothers. After serving in the merchant marine, where he earned the rank of an officer, he was approached by Aliyah Bet (clandestine Immigration). You may go to jail. It's dangerous, he was warned. And there is no pay. He was 20, so he signed on as a volunteer aboard Hatikvah, one of ten Aliyah Bet ships run by American volunteers.
After this adventure in Zionism, which included internment in Cyprus along with the ships' passengers, he settled in Israel and established one enterprise after another. His first venture was raising funds for the newborn State of Israel, among others from Jewish gangsters in Chicago.
My father was instrumental in helping North American olim. Knowing how the red tape and runaround of 'קIsrael's early days could discourage them, he helped found the Association of Americans and Canadians in Israel in the 1950s. He went on to become its executive director, raising funds for mortgages and arranging for the construction of housing. He went on to set up his own company: "Murray S. Greenfield – One Stop Duty Free Shopping" that catered to olim, enabling them to buy all the goods they were entitled to import as new immigrants through him. He even wrote a book: "How to be an Oleh or Things the Jewish Agency Never Told You" (Revised edition: Gefen Publishing).
To make sure that the story of the unsung heroes of Aliyah Bet's American volunteers would be told, Murray wrote "The Jew's Secret Fleet" (published by Gefen, the publishing house he and my mother founded, and which our family continues to operate). The product of ten years of research, the book chronicles the 200 sailors and the voyages of the ten ships purchased in North America to carry thousands of Holocaust survivors to Palestine between 1946 and 1948. A documentary film, "Waves of Freedom," is based on the book. He toured the US and Israel lecturing about the book and showing the film, particularly to youngsters, instilling pride about the heroic deeds of the American volunteers, who helped bring refugees – Holocaust survivors – to Palestine.
Together with my mother, Hana, he owned an art gallery that exhibited and promoted only Israeli artists. He wanted to make sure that every American Jew would have a Jewish artwork in their home. My parents travelled frequently to North America, arranging art exhibitions to promote Israeli artists.
The jewel in the crown of their enterprises is Gefen Publishing House, which my parents established in 1981. Gefen specializes in books of Jewish interest, in English, covering topics from Jewish thought and religion to Zionism, history, biographies and fiction.
But in Murray's eyes, I believe, his most important achievement was his family. He married Hana, a Holocaust survivor from Czechoslovakia, in 1954. Together they had three children: my sister Meira, my brother Dror, who died in 2003, and me. My mother passed away on January 27, 2014. Today there are ten grandchildren, all living in Israel, and 21 great-grandchildren, with four more on the way.
At the last family brit, Murray said: "I am getting close to the ground and I am not sure what good I did during my life. What I do know is that all our children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren are living in Israel."
I was very fortunate to have had a father like Murray. He was not just a father, but also a teacher and a mentor. An amazing optimist who always had a smile on his face, he woke up every morning appreciating the chorus of the birds, the blue sky, and the greenery around him.
For the past 15 years I had my Tuesdays with Murray. Almost every Tuesday, I would visit him at home. We would have breakfast, and I would update him on Gefen's forthcoming publications. We would take long walks, and from time to time a day trip. He has left us with a priceless legacy, which we will carry on.
Partnered with Gefen Publishing House
