Bloomberg’s mother leaves rich legacy of Israel advocacy
Charlotte R. Bloomberg, mother of NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg – and a strong Israel advocate – died at the age of 102 on Sunday in Massachusetts.
By JUDY SIEGEL-ITZKOVICHBloomberg 311(photo credit: Associated Press)
Charlotte R. Bloomberg, mother of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg – and a strong advocate of Israel – died at the age of 102 on Sunday at her home in Massachusetts.A staunch Zionist, her son and her daughter, Marjorie Tiven, have previously honored her and their father, William, with two major health-related projects in Jerusalem.“Mrs. Bloomberg was a remarkable woman, dedicated to Israel and devoted to Hadassah,” said Hadassah Medical Organization Director- General Prof. Shlomo Mor-Yosef, who was present at her son’s dedication of the two-story Charlotte R.Bloomberg Mother and Child Center at Hadassah University Medical Center in Jerusalem’s Ein Kerem in 2003. Charlotte Bloomberg had flown to Israel with her family for the ceremony.“Her connection to Hadassah goes back to her early days in Young Judaea, and culminated in our Mother and Child Center bearing her name. We are honored and proud of the Bloomberg family’s commitment to Hadassah and send our deep condolences to Mayor Bloomberg and the entire family,” Mor-Yosef said.“The center is a living testament to this great woman for generations to come.”“Today, my sister Marjorie and I lost our mother, Charlotte, after an extraordinary 102 years of life,” read a statement from Michael Bloomberg. “As the center of our family, our mother’s unimpeachable integrity, fierce independence and constant love were gifts that profoundly shaped our lives and the lives of so many who knew her.”Charlotte, whose health had been declining in recent months, was born to the Rubens family in 1909, and earned a degree in accounting at New York University in 1929. She married William Bloomberg five years later; he died in 1963.She was also present in 2007 at the groundbreaking for renovating and expanding Jerusalem’s Magen David Adom station in William Bloomberg’s memory.The billionaire businessman and mayor donated significant funds for the project, which is still under construction.
Bloomberg said then that the station will bear his father’s name, but that “it was a gift of my father because he taught my sister and me to help others.”The station, designed by architect Erwin Wiesenthal, will be transformed from a rundown facility built in 1963 to a state-of-the-art blood-collection, first-aid, ambulancedispatch and training center – with pedestrian walkways, access roads and separate parking levels for civilian cars and MDA ambulances.Bloomberg said at the ceremony four years ago that it was an “honor” to be able to contribute to a project that will save lives in Israel. “My mother is thrilled,” he said as Charlotte looked on.
