THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS Levison Suicide Shocks The Jewish News. Sponsors Israeli Labor Establishment Piston 'Salute to Israel' By MOSHE RON The Jewish News Special Israel Correspondent TEL AVIV —The popula- tion of Israel was shocked to hear that the finance genius of the Histadrut, Yaakov Levinson, had committed suicide. Levinson left a letter in the style of "J'accuse" — "I had only two ways left," he wrote. "To fight against all who have defiled and ac- cused me or to commit suicide. I have no strength left to fight against the His- tadrut gang, Bank Hapoalim and the Hevrat Ovdim" (the central authority of all Histadrut economic enterprises). According to Levinson's last letter, which is re- garded by his friends as a testament, he decided to commit suicide because the Israeli press, which had re- ceived secret documents, waged a bitter public cam- paign against him, accusing him of misconduct when he was the managing director of Bank Hapoalim. They said he set up a number of sister companies which be- came independent of Bank Hapoalim. In his last letter, Levin- son accused the present directors of the bank of being behind the cam- paign in the press, and that they were protected by some leaders of the Histadrut and Hevrat Ovdim. His wife, Nurit, excluded five leaders from attending Levin- son's funeral: the General Secretary of the Histad- rut Yeruham Meshel, the Director of Bank Hapoalim Giora Gazit, the Secretary of Hevrat Ovdim Danny Rosolio, a member of the manage- ment of Bank Hapoalim Moshe Olenik and the judicial counselor of Bank Hapoalim Aviv Le- vin. She also asked that nobody from the Labor Party eulogize her late husband. Levinson was born in 1932 in Tel Aviv. His father, Gershon Levinson, was the director of the Financial Department of the Histad- rut. His uncle, Abraham Levinson, was a writer and director of the Cultural De- partment of the Histadrut. Yaakov was for 12 years a member of Kibutz Rosh Hanikra. He studied economy and science at He- brew University. After finishing his studies he be- came direCtor of Hevrat Ovdim, and 16 years ago chairman of Bank Hapoalim. He turned this bank into one of the biggest in the country with many branches abroad. Ten years ago the late Prime Minter Golda Meir asked him to be Finance Minister, but he re- fused. A year ago, on the eve of the last Knesset elections, Levinson was again seen as the chief candidate for Fi- nance Minister of the Labor Party. His speech at the Party Congress made a great impression. But the terms he put forward to party chairman Shimon Peres for accepting the can- didacy were rejected and Prof. Haim Shachar from the University of Tel Aviv was selected. Some leaders of the party were afraid of the strong personality of Levinson and were opposed to his candidacy. Two years ago, Levin- son left Bank Hapoalim and established with American capitalists a private company, U.S.I. in Delaware. There his troubles started. Some of his former comrades in Bank Hapoalim started to submit accusations to newspapers, accusing Levinson of misconduct. They said he transferred large sums of money to the U.S. in the name of Bank Hapoalim and its sister company, Ampal, without confirmation and control of the proper authorities. The secretary of Hevrat Haovdim, Danny Rosolio, set up an internal investi- gation on these accusations, carried out by the manager of the Solel Boneh construc- tion firm, Shraga Rotman, and the manager of Tiuss, Amiram Sivan. After finishing this inves- tigation it was decided by the Histadrut and Hevrat Haovdim to submit their findings to the Judicial Counselor of the govern- ment, Prof. Yitzhak Zamir, who decided to transfer the material to the police. Yaacov Levinson main- tained that all this was done by his opponents in the Labor Party, the Histadrut and the Hevrat Haovdim. What caused him most pain was that his best friends, who did not believe the ac- cusations, started to leave him. The tragic death of Yaacov Levinson caused a storm in Israeli political cir- cles. Leaders of the Labor Party, Cabinet members of Likud, leaders of the His- tadrut, Bank Hapoalim and Hevrat Haovdim mourned the tragic death. Some lead- ers, who had taken part in the campaign against him, shed crocodile-tears about the death. Some Knesset members, including Abraham Katz- Oz, Uzi Bar-Am, Ahron Harel and Haim Ronen, demanded that an inquiry commission deal with the Levinson affair. Ahron Harel charged that it was not suicide but murder. Former PrimeMinister Yitzhak Rabin opposed the establishment of an inquiry committee of the Labor Party. His opponents say that some supporters of Rabin took part in the cam- paign against Yaacov Levinson. The suicide of .9Yaakov Levinson will most prob- ably bring about changes in the leadership of the His- tadrut. But it could also lead to changes in the leadership of th4pfliabor Party The Jewish News will sponsor the first annual De- troit Pistons "Salute to Is- rael Night" at 7:35 p.m. April 10 at the Pontiac Sil- verdome. The Pistons will play the Indiana Pacers. Special discount tickets will be available in advance of the game to all Jewish organizations. Fund- raising opportunities will Seats Available for 'Anne Frank ALEXANDER'S 13400 W. 9 MILE & COOLIDGE OPEN 7 DAYS be available to Jewish groups and announcements will be made at the game welcoming the attending Jewish organizations. DAILY LUNCH & DINNER SPECIALS 11 a.m. ts 11 p.m. Sabena Belgian World Airlines and Expert Travel will offer a trip for two to Israel, and tickets to a Pistons-Celtics game (April 13) will be given away. For ticket information, call Piston group sales, 338-4500. FROM $2.95 EXTRA INCLUDES: SOUP, YES., COFFEE OR TEA OR 1 SOFT pow OR 1 NOT CNOCRATE AND DESSERT , Anoec, . 14 54 11p2;44 Mon. Thru Sat. 7 a.m. t Sun. 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. 1 DAILY BREAKFAST SPECIALS 7 DAYS A WEEK MOM-FRI 1 ae-11 am, SAT & SUN 1 am-2 pm From 1.15 to 2.95 2 EGGS, TOAST & COFFEE WAFFLE AND COFFEE $1.25 $1.95 A BRIGHT IDEA THE JEWISH NEWS send as a gift this Passover —01m1 .0 "'" 424-8833 NW' 010' HERE'S WHY WE ARE NO. 1 IN METROPOLITAN DETROIT Tickets are still available for the production of "Anne Frank," by Meyer Levin, based on Anne Frank's di- ary, which will be presented today through April 15 at the Actors Alliance Thea- ter, 30800 Evergreen, Southfield. IRVING'S I THE DELICIOUS ALL HOMEMADE Restaurant - Delicatessen Curtain time is 8:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 6:30 p.m. Sundays. Group discounts are available. For ticket information, call the Actors Alliance Theater, 642-1326. 21161 GREENFIELD RD. 559-1380 • 1 BIk. 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