Adam Milstein

Adam Milstein
File:Adam Milstein.jpg
Born	1952 (age 71–72) Haifa, Israel
Nationality	Israeli-American
Occupation	Real Estate Investor
Spouse(s)	Gila Milstein
Children	Three
Website	http://www.adammilstein.org https://twitter.com/AdamMilstein

Adam Milstein is an Israeli real estate investor and philanthropist, and a managing partner with Hager Pacific Properties. In 2000, Milstein and his wife Gila founded the Adam and Gila Milstein Family Foundation.

Early life

Milstein was born in Haifa, Israel, the son of Eva Milshtein (née Temkin), a home maker and Hillel Milshtein, a real estate developer. Eva (Temkin) Milshtein immigrated to Israel from Mexico in 1949 (at the age of 18) and Hillel Milshtein immigrated to Israel from Argentina when the State of Israel was founded in 1948 (at an age of 19). Hillel took part in Israel’s independence war as a combat sailor. The Milsteins were married in Haifa in 1950; the family moved from Haifa to Kiryat Yam and then to Kiryat Motzkin where Adam spent his early years.

In 1971, Milstein joined the Israeli Defense Forces for his mandatory service and served during the 1973 Yom Kippur War. He was assigned to Ariel Sharon’s army Division that crossed the Suez Canal into Egypt surrendering the Third Egyptian Army Division. After the Army, he enrolled in the Technion, where he graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in business and economics in 1978. During his higher education years, he joined his father in expanding their real estate construction and development business.

File:Adam and Gila Milstein.JPG

Adam and Gila Milstein

In 1974, Milstein married Gila Elgrably in Haifa. Merav, their first daughter was born in 1976 and Lyron, their second daughter, was born in 1980. In 1981, the family moved to the United States. In 1983, Milstein received a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Southern California. He then started working in commercial real estate as a sales agent.

Career

Milstein is a managing partner of Hager Pacific Properties, overseeing the firm’s financing, disposition and accounting. The firm specializes in acquiring, rehabilitating and repositioning industrial, retail, office and multi-family properties.

Philanthropy

In 2000, Milstein and his wife Gila founded the Adam and Gila Milstein Family Foundation (MFF). The mission of MFF is 1) to strengthen the State of Israel, the homeland of the Jewish People, and its special ties with the United States of America; and 2) to ensure the Jewish identity and the special affinity to the State of Israel of the young and the future Jewish generations. Specifically, the organization sponsors education of students and young professionals to identify with their Jewish roots, connect with the State of Israel, ignite their Jewish pride, and provide them with facts and the knowledge to advocate for the State of Israel and the Jewish people. Through his philanthropy Milstein connects pro-Israel organizations, helping these groups actively work together to achieve mutually-beneficially goals.

Milstein is a co-founder of the Israeli-American Council, the fastest-growing Jewish organization in America, and was recently named National Chairman of this group. The group’s 2nd Annual National Conference was held in November 2015 and drew over 1,300 attendees.

In December 2015 the IAC launched their Talk Israel Mobile App, a platform “through which pro-Israel activists would be able to receive and see content based on their own personal preferences."

In February 2016, the IAC facilitated an agreement between Israel’s Science & Technology Ministry and the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine to further research collaboration between the United States and Israel in biotechnology, specifically the study of stem cell research. Milstein said the organization is “excited by the opportunity to promote one of the most pressing issues facing humanity, and strengthen the bond between the people of Israel and the American people.”

He also sits on the Board of StandWithUs, Israel on Campus Coalition, Hasbara Fellowships, Jewish Funders Network, Birthright Israel, Stand By Me and American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) National Council. Adam Milstein and his wife Gila are co-founders of Sifriyat Pijama B’America, which provides free monthly books in Hebrew to more than 70 Israeli-Jewish-American families in the United States.

In June 2015, Milstein joined with philanthropists Sheldon Adelson and Haim Saban to organize the inaugural Campus Maccabees summit. The event brought together more than 50 organizations to "harness the full might of the pro-Israel community to defeat the hate groups now spreading anti-Semitism and lies about the Jewish State on America’s college campuses." In an op-ed that followed the summit, Milstein wrote, "We will defend Jewish students and the Jewish state on American universities and beyond. The time has come for the pro-Israel community to fight fire with fire, to shift from the defensive to the offensive." Milstein has also suggested that Israeli Americans can serve as an important strategic asset in pro-Israel advocacy efforts.

Milstein is strongly outspoken against the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) Movement, and has written many opinion pieces regarding the movement’s threat to both Israel and Western nations.

Milstein recently launched a podcast featuring lively conversations with respected leaders – elected officials and policymakers, thinkers, artists, and activists – who are at the forefront of important issues for the pro-Israel, Israeli-American, and Jewish-American communities.

In 2016, Adam Milstein was named one of “The Top 100 People Positively Influencing Jewish Life,” and also one of the top 25 Twitter activists.

Criticism

In 2014, it was alleged that Milstein provided campaign financing to Avi Oved, a pro-Israel student who was nominated to the University Of California Board Of Regents Xii. In his public response, Milstein denied that he and/or his family foundation ever contributed to Oved and/or his political platform, Bruins United .. According to reports in the Jewish Journal, the alleged Milstein’s contributions did not violate campaign election codes . Ultimately, the University Of California Board Of Regents approved Oved as the new student regent-designate in July 2014.

As is the case with many advocates for Israel, the growth of Milstein’s public profile has been accompanied by public criticism and what he considers to be defamation. Two anti-Israel websites, The Electronic Intifada and Mondoweiss, used a past conviction on tax evasion as a jumping-off point for broader coverage on Milstein. The Electronic Intifada ran with the headline, "Why did Israel intervene for convicted U.S. felon Adam Milstein?"

Milstein said that the Electronic Intifada's headline was a mischaracterization of one of the character reference letters he gave to the judge in his tax case. He said the letter was written by the Consul General of Israel in Los Angeles as a personal letter of support, and not an official letter from the Israeli government.

Personal life

Milstein and his wife Gila live in Encino, CA and have three daughters, two grandsons and one granddaughter.