Febraury 14 • 2019 53
jn

soul

of blessed memory

Yael, works at the ICFJ as global exec-
utive vice president.
Despite the posthumous embrace, 
Eckstein had a thorny relationship 
with the Jewish establishment most 
everywhere he went. Critics consid-
ered him a tacky manipulator of pub-
lic opinion with a mercurial temper 
and an overgrown ego.
Most recently, he clashed publicly 
with the Jewish Agency, to which his 
group had donated many millions of 
dollars over the years. The funding 
stopped in 2014 amid a fight over 
recognition for the ICFJ by the agency 
and Eckstein’
s long-held reservations 
about the agency’
s efficiency in fulfill-
ing its main task: facilitating immigra-
tion of Jews to Israel, or aliyah.
That year, Eckstein had the ICFJ 
start its own aliyah operation. He 
offered every new immigrant a $1,000 
grant on top of benefits offered by 
the Jewish Agency. And he helped 
bring thousands of immigrants from 
Ukraine during its conflict with 
Russia, France, Venezuela, Yemen and 
other trouble spots for Jews.
But Eckstein’
s outreach to 
Christians made him a pariah for 
many years of Israel’
s chief rabbinate.
In 2001, Israel’
s then chief 
Ashkenazi rabbi, Avraham Shapira, 
published a letter condemning 
Eckstein’
s use of Christian money to 
“expand Christian missionary propa-
ganda.
” Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, 
an influential haredi Orthodox 
Talmud scholar, signed a letter for-
bidding cooperation with Eckstein, 
calling it “close to idolatry.
”
Eckstein, who dismissed the chief 
rabbinate’
s attacks as not worthy of a 
response, angered some of his nation-
alist critics with his group’
s support 
to the tune of millions of dollars for 
Israeli Arabs, Christians and Muslims.
Despite repeated conflicts over 
the years with establishment figures 
and bodies, the scale of Eckstein’
s 
work made his organization too big 
to ignore or sideline, forcing even his 
most outspoken critics to work with 
him or get out of his way.
Thanks to Eckstein, “today so many 
Christians from around the world 
stand in fellowship with Israel,
” Rabbi 
Tuly Weisz, an author and publisher 
of the Israel National News website, 
wrote in an obituary. “We, Jews and 
Christians together, mourn the tragic 
loss of a true bridge builder.
” ■

continued from page 51

W
e hear kind words consistently
.W
e’re proud that
people feel comfortable enough with us to openly tell
us how much they appreciate what we did for them.
In fact,it’s this appreciation that drives us to offer the
very best in comfort,compassion and service.

‘‘They were
wonderful.
’’

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