Bernard Leyden Israel Memorial Fund

In memory and in honor of my father, Bernard Leyden, the Bernard Leyden Israel Memorial Fund is now being established.

This fund will provide emergency financial assistance to:

1. Anglo immigrants who have made Aliya to Israel and cannot afford to purchase food.

2. Anglo immigrants who have made Aliya to Israel and cannot afford to make a Bar or Bat Mitzvah for their children.


The Bernard Leyden Israel Memorial Fund will also provide free Israel advocacy programs which will include but not be limited to training in Public Relations, Public Affairs, Digital PR, Journalism, Internet Marketing, Search engine optimization (SEO) and Social Networking for the State of Israel.

Bernard Leyden, was a respected international shipping executive and Jewish philanthropist, who succumbed to prostate cancer at the age of 85.

Leyden, born in Brooklyn, New York to the son an immigrant tailor from Poland, made his way from poverty to wealth through developing modern methods of both sea and air cargo transportation.

Bernard Leyden became a leading figure in the Jewish community.

"My father raised millions of dollars through the International Shipping Division of UJA Federation in New York," said the younger Leyden who resides in Israel and works as an Internet public relations, marketing SEO pioneer and journalist.

"The money my father contributed and raised went to impoverished Jews in the New York area and to the Israel Emergency Fund, which aids Israel during war time. At one point he served as a shipping consultant to Israel's Ministry of Defense."

Leyden says that his father Bernard was a loving and dedicated father.

"My dad grew up in the Great Depression. This left a profound impact on him. He would work 18 hour days to make sure that there was food on the family table. He also had several friends who were Holocaust survivors. He became active in both Temple Shalom in Westbury, New York and volunteered hundreds of hours with the United Jewish Appeal. He became a supporter of several Jewish and Israel organizations including the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), Magan David Adom and the Simon Wiesenthal Center."

"My father was a brave and elegant man who understood and was able to reach out to everyone around him. He had a gift of making people smile. He stands as an inspiration today as both a family man and industry leader who created a better quality of life from New York, London and Madrid to Tel Aviv, Tokyo and Paris."

Bernard Leyden, who was married to Helen Katzman, is survived today by his wife Alice, his sons Joel and Brian, daughter-in-law Diane and his grandchildren Lior, David, Amanda, Lauren and Brandon.

Applicants may apply for a one time grant to:

Bernard Leyden Israel Memorial Fund
P.O.B. 10209 Ramat Gan, Israel