MARCH 9 • 2023 | 39
to study the winery business
by Baron Rothschild. When
Israel became a state, Yehuda
Kaufman changed his last name
to Israeli.
After graduating from Pardes
Hanna, Coby enlisted in the
Israel Defense Forces. This
mandatory military service
“changed my direction,
” he said.
The military responsibilities
of the unit to which Coby was
assigned specialized in the
relationship between Israel and
Lebanon, primarily protecting
the Christian minority and
doing the work necessary to
avoid the flourishing of terror-
ists and terrorism.
Coby was forever changed
by his time in the IDF. Being
a farmer was no longer his life
path. “I missed the train,
” he
shares. His grandfather had
passed, and the farm was sold.
Coby started working for a
company selling welding sup-
plies from Israel to the United
States. Through this work,
he first visited Michigan. At
the time, the America-Israel
Chamber of Commerce was
based at the JCC. There, Coby
met Shelley Jackier, who con-
nected him with Warren-based
General Dynamics. In 1989,
Coby moved to Michigan and
took a job at General Dynamics.
In addition to working at
General Dynamics, Coby
worked for grocery store
Farmer Jack, importing frozen
vegetarian food from Israel.
Then, Coby founded Decks by
Coby, a company specializing in
construction and maintenance
of custom decks. The company
thrived and still exists today
under different ownership.
OVERCOMING
CHALLENGES
In 1994, Coby was in a car acci-
dent that broke his neck and
back and derailed his life. He
sold Decks by Coby. For three
years, he was out of work and
fighting to regain his health and
physical ability. At the time,
Coby had five children at Hillel
Day School. Coby said he is
continued on page 40
Coby helps
Telena
Shulman
select
mezuzahs.
Coby and his
good pal Moose.
NMLS #718852
B I R M I N G H A M
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