A Bris at the Diamond Polishing Plant

Boaz Moldawsky is running in the Diamond Exchange elections out of the belief that members of the young generation should be involved in public activity alongside their more experienced elders, in order both to contribute ideas and to strengthen the relationship between the public and the industry’s institutions. Moldawsky started out along this road two years ago when he was elected to the Association’s Executive Board, and he hopes that many other younger diamond industry professionals will follow in his footsteps.

When he was only seven years old it was clear to Boaz Moldawsky that his destiny was linked with the Israeli diamond industry. In the year of his birth, 1967, Moldawsky Brothers founded a diamond production plant in Givatayim’s industrial center, and it was there that Boaz’s brit mila ceremony was performed. When he learned to walk his first steps led him to the company’s diamond plant and offices, and by the time he was discharged from the army the road ahead of him was clear.

Among the founders of the industry
Boaz Moldawsky is a member of the Moldawsky family, among the founders of the Israeli diamond industry. The late Arieh Moldawsky, the second of seven siblings, arrived in Palestine in 1935 and helped to found the country’s first diamond plant under the ownership of Hershel Rosenberg and the late Anshel Daskal. Within a short time Daskal would say of the 16 year-old: “Ze hakatan gadol yehiye” (“This young man is destined for great things”). Arieh was the first worker to begin polishing large diamonds, and during the entire period of his diamond industry activity he was considered to be a world-class expert in this field. In 1943 he struck out on his own, and gradually brought his brothers into the diamond trade as well. In 1948 he founded Moldawsky Brothers. His partner was the late Yeshayahu Moldawsky, father of Boaz and Yossi. Boaz’s first stop in the diamond trade was the Moldawsky diamond polishing plant where he worked as a polisher; he then went on to study rough diamonds at ISI. At the end of his period of apprenticeship he joined Moldawsky Brothers, which he now runs together with his brother, Yossi. Together with his wife, Ayala, Boaz is now raising a third generation of Moldawskys – Arieh, 9, Eden, 7 and Shay-Lee, 4½.

Not just in diamonds
Since its founding, Moldawsky Brothers has been involved in real estate as well, with extensive activity in Israel and Canada. About five years ago Boaz and Yossi expanded the company’s activities into additional areas. They established a venture capital fund that invested in twelve start-up companies in Israel and abroad, and raised $8 million from the Y. Teshuva Group. After the high-tech bubble burst the company was left with five good holdings, and “there is still a lot of money waiting to be invested.” The most successful of the start-ups, according to Boaz Moldawsky, is SimiGon, which was founded by former IDF pilots who developed PC-based simulation training systems. Among SimiGon’s more prominent clients are the air forces of Israel, the US and Turkey. Boaz and Yossi Moldawsky also entered the retail sector, both in the jewelry field via a key partnership in a venture to sell diamonds and jewelry to tourists in Spain, and in the fast food field, via the Domino’s Pizza franchises in Switzerland and Luxembourg. Still, diamonds remain the company’s main field of activity, with production of rough gems from 10 to 100 carats (mainly in Russia) and exporting to various consumer centers around the world.

Public activity
Boaz entered into public activity within the diamond industry two years ago, with his election to the Association’s Executive Board. As a member of the Next Generation Committee he became active with the Young Exporters Forum. He became increasingly aware of the need to involve the younger generation in public activity within the industry.

“During the Forum’s meetings we reached the conclusion that we want to involve young people in all of the industry’s institutions, including the administration of the Israel Diamond Exchange. With the encouragement of my colleagues, I submitted my candidacy for the elections. My uncle Yitzhak helped me to gain the support of the older industry people as well. One of the things that struck me was the lack of interaction between industry institutions and those working in the industry. The public is not aware of the decisions that are being made and the actions taken. I call upon members of the younger generation to become involved in the committees of the various institutions. You can take part in committee activities even without being elected. You just have to take the initiative and ask to participate.”

In the new Diamond Exchange administration, Boaz serves as Chairman of the Computer Committee and as a member of the Computers and the Finance committees. He also remains active in the Association’s Young Exporters Forum, within the framework of the Next Generation Committee.

In conclusion, Boaz Moldawsky comments:
“The Israeli diamond industry has relative advantages. Our diamonds have a good reputation and are in demand. The words “Made in Israel” speak both to the buyer and to the consumer; we have to learn to take advantage of this.”


May, 2003 ,Hayahalom 173