News

Since one of the purposes of the Horowitz Families Association is to document the history of Horowitz families in general and the contribution of outstanding Horowitz individuals to their community, we intend to gather and to publish relevant information on these subjects. We appeal to all our Members and Friends to send us relevant testimonies about historical and familial events and personal biographies. We welcome all kind of materials related to the Horowitz heritage. For further details, please contact us.


July 30, 2008 - We are organizing a Horowitz trip to Jerusalem for July 30, 2008. We will be visiting the must important places of the holly city for the Horowitz Family.
Click the link for information and registration in English or in Hebrew


April 2008 - The Horowitz Association's discussion group in Russian language has recently started at http://groups.google.com/group/horowitzfamilies. You are welcome to join.


April 2008 - Read here about the Horowitz DNA project by Dave Howard in the december isue of the JewishGen Latvia SIG newsletter. To read more about DNA and the proyect go to the FamilyTreeDNA.com website.


March 01, 2008 - Horwitz Beer. Photo taken at the Horwitz Brewery in Dvinsk, Latvia in 1913 was send by Dave Howard.
Our Horwitz family was living in Rezekne but the Horwitz families living in Latvia were related and connected economically. Our own Henoch Hirsch was well off financially. This probably explains why he had 3 or even maybe 4 wives sequentially and 17 or more children. Bessie told me that he had business ventures with his brothers and other relatives who lived in other areas. When Nathan (Abe’s twin brother) went to Riga to be a pharmacist he married the girl who lived next door. That family was a Horwitz family and she was his cousin. (I do not have that family linked to ours yet.)
Generally I have found our Horwitz family members to be in the beer business, timber business, clothing business, and a few Rabbis.
If you look at a map of Latvia you will find that the called Dvinsk in 1913 is today called Daugavpils and occupies a strategic location along the Daugava River. Daugavpils was important for the exportation of timber from the Latvian groves to England and France for construction. Our family, was involved in the timber business. The harvested trees would be dumped into the river and floated to Riga. Other members of our family and other Jewish families gathered up the lumber and then sold it in Riga for shipment to England and France. The British boats were in the Riga port so often there is still standing today an Episcopal church (church of England) near the banks of the river. Se the map with Daugavpils about in the middle. You will notice that our family’s city of Rezekne is just a few miles (about 60) north and slightly east of Daugavpils.
I am corresponding with Edna Bonkes of England who now lives in Canada whose grandmother was a Horwitz from the Dvinsk family. The first names of the males in her Horwitz family are very similar to the first names of the males in our family. I know we are all cousins. I am sure we will eventually link up. We might have to use DNA to prove it. I have been including her family information in our website.


January 09, 2008 - Mr. Michael Honey send us two diagrams of The Jewish Historical Clock that show the history of the Horowitz name from the 14th century to this day. He made the original diagram 1 about 1994 when he was chairman of the Education and Culture Committee of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Great Britain when he lived there. He was a founder member of that society. I made Alia in 2002, joined the Israel Genealogical Society and shortly after gave three lectures here to the Israel Genealogical Society in Jerusalem, in Omer and in Natanya.
As a result of the three lectures there were three families here in Israel who claimed descent from Josef and Pessel Horowitz in Gen. 10 of the diagram. One member from Omer, Avihu Yanai, still a member today claimed his descent, from these ancestors and he pointed out that the connection is described in a book “Igeret Shlomo - Sefer Hayuchasin Lemishpachot Fruchter- Stern-Adler by Shlomo Fruchter, Publ. Jerusalem 1960” . A result he create a new diagram 2 showing the descendants of these 3 Israel based families here in Israel to the present day. The Jewish Historical Clock of the Horowitz name can be seen of our Family Trees pages.


November 29, 2007 - Horowitz family conference, Dec. 5 on Tracing the Tribe: The Jewish Genealogy Blog. Tracing the Tribe is a JTA blog about Jewish genealogy, all the developments, tools and resources you'll need to peer more closely into your family tree. Reed more..


October 2007 - Professor Leo Hurwicz wins 2007 Nobel Prize in Economics: Leonid “Leo” Hurwicz (born August 21, 1917, Moscow, Russia) is a Jewish Russian-American professor of economics. Prof. Hurwicz is Regents’ Professor of Economics Emeritus at the University of Minnesota. He initiated the development of mechanism design used in economics, political science and social science; he is also a pioneer in the application of game theory to economics. For that work, he was awarded the 2007 Nobel Prize in Economics, and became the oldest recipient of any Nobel Prize. Hurwicz shares the Economics Prize with Eric Maskin and Roger Myerson, who refined his work in the techniques of analyzing imperfect markets. Their work is used to help find the “most efficient method for allocating resources given the available information, including the incentives of those involved.” Read more about Leonid Hurwicz here.


09.03.06. The H&M Family Association by Shlomo Gurevich
With deep sorrow we came to know that the Horowitz-Margareten Family Association's President and Executive Board at the special meeting held on November 27, 2005 had voted unanimously to discontinue activities and resign till March 31, 2006.
The reasons for that decision were:
1. Aging of the Board and difficulty attracting future leadership.
2. Participation declining due to family, social and educational obligations.
3. Burgeoning growth of the family geographically dispersed. Traveling had become burdensome.
4. Journal publication and postage costs have increased dramatically.
5. Changing needs. The need to bond in friendship among relatives is met in new ways – smaller family group socials, e-mail and phone (cell) communications.
The H&M Association was formed in 1921 with the purpose to keep the family members united, to have them cooperate socially and otherwise, to assist in promoting each others general welfare, to strengthen the bond of friendship among relatives, to publish a periodic journal containing news of interest to members only.
For almost 85 years the organization fulfilled its purpose admirably.
But, unfortunately, for last years efforts to hold meetings and attract successors have been unsuccessful. Just to note, about 20 years ago, the California branch of the organization formally dissolved their group for similar reasons.


09.03.06. CD The Horowitz Family History And Genealogy by Shlomo Gurevich
After 5 years of work, my new creation - CD "The Horowitz Family History And Genealogy" is now available. More information about it can be found at my website.


02.10.05. My Trip To Germany After Many Doubts by Shlomo Gurevich
This Summer I travelled to Germany. I visited the places interesting from the point of view of our history, Jewish in general and Horowitz in particular. The full story can be found at my website.


04.01.04. Horowitz Gift To the Aaron Garber Library by Shlomo Gurevich
The family of Rabbi Philip Horowitz recently made a gift of books from his collection to Siegal College’s Aaron Garber Library. The books will be housed together in a room adjacent to the library. His family also donated bookcases to protect the collection, which is available to students for reference purposes.
According to Jean Lettofsky, Director of Library and Information Services, “The breadth and depth of Rabbi Philip Horowitz's learning is reflected in his book collection. It is very appropriate that the Aaron Garber Library--which he loved and generously supported--has become the repository of a portion of his great personal library. The 18th and 19th century imprints are a unique asset for our Library.”
Rabbi Horowitz’s support of the library was a loyalty born of his intense love of scholarship. College President David Ariel recounts:
“When I met Rabbi Philip Horowitz for the first time, I was instantly struck by his erudition. Rabbi Horowitz's knowledge of classical Jewish sources in the original Hebrew was encyclopedic and comprehensive. He would weave passages from Bible, Talmud, and modern Hebrew poetry into our conversations. He was a Jewish scholar of the classical variety who was also deeply rooted in the renaissance of modern Hebrew language and literature. He possessed a photographic memory that allowed him to recall entire passages in Hebrew. He had insights into these sources and they came at a lightning pace. When you spoke with him, you knew you were in the presence of a great intellect. But he was also a great liberal thinker whose personal path led from Viennese Jewish culture, to the yeshiva, to the Reform rabbinate. He was a man who transcended his time- a classical scholar, a renaissance man, a freethinker.”
Rabbi Stanley Schachter was Rabbi Horowitz’s study partner for many years. He recalled, “Philip Horowitz exemplified the study of classical Jewish writings in ways which were both traditional and modern. His personal library collection of Judaica is devoted to both kinds of Jewish literature. When he suffered his stroke, I lost a wonderful friend and study partner.”
Rabbi Horowitz’s personal library reflects his own life, his own journey, his own intellectual preoccupations. If you were to ask the question, "What is it that is worth knowing for a Jew today?" the answer would be: "It is to be found in Rabbi Horowitz's library. Go and learn." May Rabbi Philip Horowitz's memory be for a blessing.
The Ruach students are using the newly reconfigured library area that houses the Horowitz collection as their beit midrash.
Contributed by Ilana Horowitz Ratner, Cleveland, Ohio


31.12.03. Lecture on Horowitz Family history
Shlomo Gurevich will lecture (in Hebrew) on the Horowitz Family history and genealogy on Sunday January the 11th , 2004, at 7:30 p.m. at Galil Genealogical Society at Yad Le-Banim Library, Kiryat Tivon. Welcome!


11.03.03. Rabbi Elnatan Horowitz and his wife slain by Arab terrorists

Rabbi Elnatan (Eli) Horowitz and his wife Dina were murdered in their home in Kiryat Arba by Palestinian terrorists on Friday, the 7th of March when the family was eating its Shabbat night meal.

The attack began when two Palestinian terrorists entered Kiryat Arba - a Jewish city alongside Hevron - dressed as Jews, with white shirts and kippot (yarmulkes). Their entry sparked an electronic alarm, but a search of the area turned up nothing. They first fired at a couple on the street, seriously wounding the woman. The terrorists then chased her husband towards a building, where they fired and threw grenades at a ground floor apartment, where the Horowitz family lived.

Eli Horowitz, a son of Rabbi Moshe Horowitz who for many years headed BMT - Beit Medrash L'Torah - in Jerusalem, where hundreds of American and overseas students studied, was born 51 years ago in Kfar Haroeh. After half a year, the family left for the United States. They returned 16 years later.

He chose to live near Hebron 19 years ago, because it was the burying place of the patriarchs and thus deeply rooted in Jewish tradition and history.

At the time of his murder, R. Elnatan taught at Shavei Hevron, Midreshet Harova in Jerusalem's Old City, Mitzpe Ramon, and Netzarim in Gush Katif.

His wife, american-born Dina, nee Wolf, 49, taught at the Kiryat Arba Ulpana girls high school and at Midreshet Harova. She also taught piano.

The couple leaves four children: Bat-Sheva, 30, Tzvi, 26, Nechama, 22, and Shulamit, 20 - three of whom are married, and five grandchildren.


05.03.03. Family meeting and Conference

Our annual Family meeting and Conference which will take place on Monday, the 26th of May, 2003 in Tel-Aviv. This year the topic of the Conference will be "The Periods of Rise and Decay in the History of Russian Jews". The full agenda of the event will be posted later.


2.02.03. In search for Monolith

One of the central characters of "2001: A Space Odyssey" is neither a person nor a computer. Instead, it's a giant, black, rectangular slab called the Monolith. It has a knack for showing up just as things start to get really interesting in the history of human evolution. Because of when and where it appears, the Monolith also serves as proof that there's intelligent life beyond our Earth.

Finding a real Monolith hasn't turned out to be so easy. One person trying to find one is Paul Horowitz, head of the SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) program at Harvard University. Horowitz doesn't really expect to fine an alien artifact buried somewhere on the Earth or moon. He's looking for other signs, such as radio signals or laser beams from other planets.

"The way I look at is the following," Horowitz says. "It's plausible that there are other civilizations. It's entirely plausible that they wish to communicate. After all, we got where we are by being curious and communicating among ourselves. It's hard to imagine turning that off." Horowitz says space travel is far more difficult and requires much more energy than space communication.

"If you wanted to take a trip to the nearest star with the technology we have now it would take you 50,000 years," he says. "It may simply be that these advanced civilizations, being composed of reasonably smart folks, have decided they're going to do the efficient thing, and send messages, rather than do the inefficient thing and send objects and do the risky, inefficient thing and send moving creatures over these distances."

From CNN


18.12.02. H. Robert Horvitz - The 2002 Nobel Prize Winner in Physiology or Medicine

The prominent american scientist, Professor of Biology at Massachusetts Institute of Technology H. Robert Horvitz (b. 1947), together with UK Sydney Brenner and John E. Sulston won 2002 Nobel Prize for "their discoveries concerning genetic regulation of organ development and programmed cell death". For more information, click here


17.10.02. In the Footsteps of Our Forefathers

The report on my and my friends trip to Katlonia and Provence in the footsteps of the great Spanish rabbinical dynasty which descendants founded the Horowitz Family was finally written and published (click here).

Shlomo Gurevich


03.10.02. The Horowitz Family Association Discussion Group

The Horowitz Families Association's Discussion Group has been created recently. Its URL is http://groups.yahoo.com/group/horowitzassociation. Every subscriber can post his message, and it will be delivered to all other subscribers of the group. All the messages are stored in the archive.

The subscription, unlike the access to the Message Board, is limited to the registered Members and Friends of the Association. If you have not been registered yet, you can do it by clicking on Members

03.10.02.The Horowitz Family History Update

The following information is the essence of my book’s update, which I am glad to put to your attention.

This information was found in two main sources: “Epitaphs From The Ancient Jewish Cemetery Of Prague” by Otto Muneles (in Hebrew, Jerusalem, 1985) and “Horowitz Family” by Paul J. Jakobi (Manuscript, in possession of the Horowitz Families Association. Jerusalem, 1985).

According to these findings, there were three brothers, the sons of R. Yosef Ha-Levi – Israel, Asher and Yuda, known under the name “Horowitz” who lived in Prague in the end of 15th century. R. Yishayahu Ha-Levi, the progenitor of the known branches of the family, was the son of R. Asher. But, as we just know from “Toldot Mishpachat Horowitz” by R. Zvi Hirsh Ish-Horowitz, R. Yishayahu was a son of Moshe, who might be a son of Asher (ben Asher?). Because the two names are related to the same person, the most probable solution is that R. Yishayahu’s father’s full name was not Moshe ben Asher, but Moshe Asher – he was known by the first name among the Jews and by the second name among the authorities.

It is also mentioned in the latter work that R. Yishayahu had 7 sons, the author of another “Toldot Mishpachat Horowitz”, Chaim Doverish Friedberg maintains that there were only 3, and there is an epitaph proving that R. Israel ben R. Yishayahu (who was not mentioned in the former source) had been killed in the year 1569 (5329, Jewish calendar), 55 years after him, so he could not be his Great grandson either. In the first edition of my book I supposed that this R. Israel was the son of R. Yishayahu “the progenitor”. Now it seems much more probable that R.Israel was actually a son of another R. Yishayahu, a son of R. Yuda or a son of R. Israel, brothers of R. Moshe Asher. According to Jacobi, the mentioned R. Israel was a son of the latter, R. Yishayahu ben Israel, so in my genealogical model I have identified this R. Yishayahu as a son of R. Israel.

Another important update was attributing of R. Yehoshua Ha-Arokh of Peremyshl to R. Pinchas Horowitz as his father. The connection of R. Yakov Yitzhak Ha-levi Horowitz, “the Seer from Lublin” to the family was also established.

New names were also added to the family tree of the dynasty of the Spanish ancestors of the Horowitz family: R. Shlomo - the progenitor of the family, the father of R. Yom-Tov Ha-Levi; R. Berakhyah, the brother of R. Zerachyah Ha-Levi (the author of Ha-Maor) and their children: the second son of R. Zerachyah, R. Yitzhak and a son of R. Berakhyah, R. Yehuda; the second son of R. Pinchas Ha-Levi, R. Yehoshua.

There are also minor corrections of some dates and names in the book. This kind of data may be found in the Rabbinical Horowitz family database which is now available on a diskette. The database contains more than 2,000 names. It was developed with the Dorotree genealogical software. The diskette contains the database in two parallel files: .dte file which can be opened only with this particular software and .GEDCOM file which can be opened with many genealogical software. The diskette also contains the list of bibliography (MS Word file) used for creation of the database. For more information, click here


19.09.02.The International Conference on Jewish Genealogy
I just came back and had time to think it over. Yes, undoubtedly, the 22nd International Conference on Jewish genealogy in Toronto was really great event. There were about 750 full-time registrants and a great number of day registrants. With these and guests, it was estimated that about 1,000 people visited different venues at the Conference. More than 100 presentations were made on various issues of Jewish Genealogy beginning with the problems of adequacy of the Jewish tombstone inscriptions and ending with DNA analysis application for verification of a family tree. Much interest was paid to the presentations of Olga Muzychuk from Kiev and Oleg Perzashkevich from Minsk who spoke about the Ukrainian and Belorussian archival assets containing Jewish genealogical information and the due procedures for reaching this information. Batya Unterschatz-Landsman from Israel told about the activities of the Search Bureau for Missing Relatives in Jerusalem which she had worked with for many years and which now, after her retirement, ceased to exist. Dr. Neil Rosenstein and Rabbi Asher Bar-Zev from USA shared their experience of rabbinical research with the audience. Dorotree, the Israel-based company presented the new version of its genealogical software. The full list of the presentaions can be found at the website of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Canada (Toronto) which hosted the Conference, at http://www.jgstoronto2002.ca

There were also interesting exhibitions, excursions, films and bookselling.

My presentation on Horowitz family history and genealogy was heartily met by the audience who suffered my conversational English with great patience. I also introduced the updated edition of my book and the Horowitz Rabbinical Family Database which was the result of my last year's work.

Shlomo Gurevich


26.07.02.The Horowitz Family History at International Conference on Jewish Genealogy

Shlomo Gurevich's presentation on the Horowitz Family History at International Conference on Jewish Genealogy will take place at Sheraton Center in Toronto, Canada on Monday, the 5th of August, at 11:15. Updated edition of his book and Horowitz Rabbinical Family Database will also be presented.


06.06.02.The Golden Age of the Romanian Jewry

A study day on the history of the Romanian Jews in common and the Horowitz families in Romania in paticular will be held on the 25th of June 2002 at 16:00 at Beith Ha-Tanach, 16 Rotschild Ave., Tel Aviv. Click to see its full agenda: Hebrew - English


02.05.02.The Horowitz Families In Romania

An article on the history of Horowitz families in Romania by Dr. Chaim Horovitz was added to the site: click here


24.02.02.Yedion International

The first issue of the internet edition of our newsletter in MS Word format was sent by E-mail to the subscribers-Members and Friends of the Association.
It contains:
-Journey to Prague
-Certificate of Recognition to Paltiel Horowitz
-In Memory of Binyamin Siegel Ish-Horowitz
-Other Forms of Horowitz Spelling
-The 15th Convention of the Horowitz Families Association-Conference on the Golden Age of Lithuanian Jewry
-Invitation to the painting exhibition
-Invitation to the Spring 2002 Excursion


17.02.02.Eli Hurvitz Surprises (data gathered from the internet)

In his last appearance as Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.'s chief executive, Eli Hurvitz presented yet another impressive quarter of financial results with a nine-percent rise in revenues and a 54% increase in net income. Teva announced yesterday at a Tel Aviv luncheon that president and CEO Hurvitz was retiring after 25 years at the helm of the world's most successful generic drug company. He will be replaced on April 22 by current chief operating officer, Israel Makov. Hurvitz, 69, is expected to become chairman of the board .


17.02.02.Invitation to the the painting exhibition

You are cordially invited to the painting exhibition “First days of Rishon LeZion” - a personal account by Rina Hurwitz at the Hall of Culture (Heichal ha-Tarbuth) Jabotinsky street 16, Rishon LeZion Opening: Saturday night , February 16, 2002 In the presence of Mr. Meir Nitzan, Mayor of Rishon LeZion, Until April 11, 2002 .


06.02.02.Spring Excursion 2002

Information about our ongoing Spring excursion has been placed on the "Events" page.


28.12.01.Other forms of Horowitz spelling

If you thought that the Hebrew spelling of surname Horowitz has had only two forms : “hei, vav ,reish, vav, beit, yud, tzadi” or “hei, vav ,reish, vav, vav, yud, tzadi”, here is news for you: recently I found three more: “hei, vav, reish, vav, vav, yud, tet, tzadi”, “hei, alef, reish, vav, vav, yud, tzadi” and “hei, alef, reish, vav, vav, yud, tet, tzadi” (“Birkat Yitzhak” by Rabbi Yitzhak Ha-Levi A.B.D. of Hamburg (Yitzik’l Hamburger)).

And there is also news for those who still think that Gurevichs do not belong to the family: I found a letter addressed to the famous Shimon Dubnow sent in 1912 from St. Petersburg and signed by Dr. Chaim Horowitz (hei, vav ,reish, vav, vav, yud, tzadi) and, below that, in Russian: "Gurevich". For those who still do not believe, I scanned it and placed at the site (click here). Shlomo Gurevich


26.11.01. Annual Hanukkah Meeting of the Horowitz Families Association
Invitation to the Annual Hanukkah Meeting of the Horowitz Families Association and its agenda (in English) now can be seen from this site: (click here)


08.10.01. Library
The list of publications on Horowitz Family history and genealogy available at our library as well as additional materials and bibliography was updated recently and can be found at our website at "library"


27.06.01. Horowitz protesting against Sudan policy (data gathered from the internet)

The former DC Congressional Delegate Walter Fauntroy, activist and radio talk show host Joe Madison and Hudson Institute fellow Michael Horowitz handcuffed themselves to the building of the Embassy of Sudan in Washington, on April 13, 2001. The men were protesting against what they see as acts of genocide, slavery and starvation by the Sudanese government against its people.They were charged with unlawful entry, a misdemeanor, and were represented by former White House special prosecutor Ken Starr and criminal defense attorney Johnnie Cochran. Their trial was scheduled to start in June, but prosecutors in DC have dismissed their case, due to lack of evidence. Horowitz asked the judge in the case to proceed with the trial, since he wanted to put the Sudanese government on trial, but the judge declined. Horowitz says he's thinking about holding more protests outside the embassy.


28.09.00. Deputy Governor Gurevich To Encourage Production Of Kosher Vodka In Birobidzhan (data gathered from the internet)

Officials in Russia's autonomous region of Birobidzhan in the far east announced today that a company called "Taiga-Vostok" is launching the production of a new kosher vodka, according to a press release.

Under Soviet regime, Birobidzhan was proclaimed "USSR's Jewish Autonomous Republic". Present Deputy Governor Valery Gurevich said the company has decided to launch a product reflecting Birobidzhan's "ethnic" interests.

Mikhail Gurevitch, International master of chess (data gathered from the internet)

Born 1959 in Kharkov (Ukraine, former USSR), Mikhail Gurevitch is a brilliant theoretician and player of chess, living presently in Belgium.

In 1985, he was classed 1st ex aequo at the prestigious chess championship of URSS; two years later, after numerous victories, he climbed to the top of the international chess elite.

During summer 2000 he won several tournaments, in Sarajevo, Frankfurt, Denmark, Czech Republic, Netherlands. In October 2000, he achieved a beautiful victory against Anatoly Karpov at the Trophee des Continents of Cap d’Agde, France.

As chess grandmaster from Belgium, he participated in the prestigious national chess championship of Belgium, hold in July 2001 at Charleroi.

Mikhail Gurevitch is considered one of the best chess players of the world, and is presently classed around the top 20 on the world ranking list.

Colonel Scott J. "Doc" Horowitz, NASA Astronaut, assigned to command the next spaceship (data gathered from the internet)

Born March 24, 1957, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Seymour B. Horowitz and Iris D. Chester, Scott J. Horowitz married to Lisa Marie Kern and they have one child.

Following his graduation and doctoral research in aerospace engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology in 1982, Scott worked as an associate scientist for the Lockheed-Georgia Company, Marietta, Georgia, where he performed background studies related to aerospace technology. In 1983 he joined US Air Force and served as test pilot.

In March 1992, he was selected as a pilot by NASA. After a year of training, he worked on various assignments, including the support crew at the Kennedy Space Center for Shuttle launches and landings. He already participated in three space flights, and has logged altogether over 853 hours in space.

His first space experience was in 1996, on the Columbia, which was launched from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida. The spaceship returned to land after 252 orbits of the Earth, covering 6.5 million miles.

His second mission, in 1997, on the Discovery, was related to the Hubble Space Telescope maintenance. In five space walks, two teams installed and repared various instruments of the Telescope, allowing its redeployement at a higher orbit. The mission was completed in 149 orbits covering 3.8 million miles.

The third mission, in 2000, was devoted to the International Space Station construction. Objectives included transporting and installing over 5,000 pounds of equipment and supplies, and one space walk. The mission was accomplished in 155 orbits, traveling 4.1 million miles. Among numerous honors, he was awarded the NASA Exceptional Service Medal and the Defense Meritorious Service Medal.

Scott Horowitz is assigned to command the crew of the spaceship scheduled for launch in 2001.