Company Founder — Moshe Aviv, of blessed memory

From Halab to the Liberation of Jerusalem

Moshe Aviv was born in 1932 in Halab, Syria. When he was only 12 years old he fulfilled his dream and immigrated to Palestine with the Youth Aliyah organization. As an adolescent he enlisted in the Palmah and served in the Harel Brigade. With the outbreak of the War of Independence he took part in battles in the Negev region, Ramat Rahel, and the battle for the liberation of Jerusalem. He later served in the IDF in the Combat Engineering Corps, participated in all the Israel wars until the Lebanon War, and was discharged from military reserve duty with the rank of major.

First Steps

At the end of the War of Independence, as a young, penniless youth, Moshe began to look for work that would help him establish himself. He eventually chose the field of drainage and sewage, working as a contractor. During this period he met his wife, Rachel, and their first two children, Doron and Dafna, were born; in the years to come, Dalit and Dana were born.

A Quantum Leap

In 1963 Moshe founded Aviv & Co. Ltd. The first large project the fledgling company won was Hamoshavot Square in Tel Aviv, after promising the Tel Aviv municipality that it would finish it within nine months. When the project was unveiled after only six months, to everyone’s surprise, Aviv & Co. Ltd.’s reputation as a reliable and professional company began to become established. Moshe determinedly led the company from one project to the next, while presenting it with large and wide scale challenges.

A Family Man

Moshe Aviv was a man of vision and deed, but mostly a warm family man. He managed Aviv in this way for many years, and many of its employees who worked there from its earliest beginnings can testify to this.

The Bitter End

In October 2001, Moshe’s life came to a sudden end in a tragic riding accident while he was galloping on his beloved horse. As befitting a man who rose to see things beyond his times, the name of Israel’s highest tower — at the Elite Junction in Ramat Gan — was changed after his death from the Sha’ar Ha’ir Tower to the Moshe Aviv Tower.
He was 69 years old.