Dr. Reuben R. Hecht was an Israel

Israel

The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

i industrialist, and founder of the Hecht Museum. Hecht was also a Zionist - revisionist , and winner of the Israel Prize for "TRIP" on contribution to society and county.

Biography

Reuben was born in Antwerp, Belgium

Belgium

Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

, to Jacob and Ella Hecht. Jacob and his brother Herman founded the Neptun Rhenania shipping company. At age 9, Reuben and family moved to Basel, Switzerland. At the young age of 11 Hecht was interested in Zionism

Zionism

Zionism is a Jewish political movement that, in its broadest sense, has supported the self-determination of the Jewish people in a sovereign Jewish national homeland. Since the establishment of the State of Israel, the Zionist movement continues primarily to advocate on behalf of the Jewish state...

, after being disturbed by materials published by the Centralverein deutscher Staatsbürger jüdischen Glaubens

Centralverein deutscher Staatsbürger jüdischen Glaubens

The Centralverein deutscher Staatsbürger jüdischen Glaubens was founded by German Jewish intellectuals on 26 March 1893 in Berlin, with the intention of opposing the rise of Anti-Semitism in the German Empire...

 encouraging Jewish assimilation

Jewish assimilation

Jewish assimilation refers to the cultural assimilation and social integration of Jews in their surrounding culture. Assimilation became legally possible in Europe during the Age of Enlightenment.-Background:Judaism forbids the worship of other gods...

. Reuben served as a counselor in the Zionist youth movement "Blue and White."

External links

• CV at Haifa University's site