From Gal Beckerman at the Forward:
In his lively introduction of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the recent General Assembly in Washington, Leonid Nevzlin reminded the audience just how unexpected and unusual a role this was for him.“There was a time not so long ago when I couldn’t even imagine standing here in this place, in this country, only blocks from the decision-making capital of the world, with this responsibility,” Nevzlin said, describing his life as a businessman and apathetic Jew in Moscow before he made aliyah in 2003 and became a heavyweight among Jewish philanthropists.
His prominent speech — which earned him a standing ovation by the collected leadership of the American Jewish federation world — was the privilege given to him as international chairman of the yearly gathering and its major sponsor. And though the exact figure has not been disclosed, organizers of the G.A. have told the Forward that his money played a significant part in making the three-day event happen. Nevzlin’s charity, NADAV, was also conspicuous as one of the main organizers of the conference’s many forums and workshops.
The speech represented a crowning moment of what has been a complete rebranding effort by Nevzlin, 50, erasing his past as a Russian oligarch who just narrowly escaped jail, convicted in absentia last year in a Moscow courtroom to life in prison for ordering the murder of five people. …
Israel, which has refused repeated attempts to extradite him to Russia, has helped greatly in this transformation. He has become an important philanthropist there, using his charity to fund projects that promote “Jewish peoplehood” and to gain influence and respectability in the process. This past September, he made a donation of $6 million to establish the Museum of the Jewish People, a new iteration of Beit Hatfutsot, Tel Aviv’s Diaspora Museum.
Now, with a very visible onstage handshake with the Israeli prime minister and a visit with President Obama at the White House as one of 50 invited guests during the G.A., Nevzlin is effectively positioning himself to become a philanthropic force in the United States, as well.
According to Dede Feinberg, co-chair of this year’s G.A. and former president of the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington, Nevzlin’s problems with the Russian authorities were not an issue in granting him the chairmanship. “I did not know about it. And it was only after the G.A. that I asked,” Feinberg said. “And I learned that he was completely exonerated by courts in Israel. I said, okay, good enough for me.” Feinberg was referring to Israeli courts’ refusal to extradite Nevzlin.
Read the full article.
