“To be the biggest unit in the north for maternal and fetal medicine and one of the leaders in its field is a binding reality,” explains Professor Weiner. “We have a great responsibility to provide the best treatment to women who are dealing with abnormal pregnancies that can place them and their unborn babies in danger. This requires extra sensitivity, unique expertise, and experience in treating these situations. Currently, thanks to the gift that we received from my friend Dr. Avi Katz, we can continue to this work in a better way.”

Investors in Haifa: An American Businessman Born in the City Closes a Circle

Dr. Avi Katz, a businessman currently based in San Francisco, is the man behind the significant donation given to Rambam. Dr. Katz, a graduate of the Technion who was born and raised in Haifa, has become a success story over the years, with an exit of $250 million after selling the company GigPeak to IDT a year ago who today holds the position of investment fund manager at the shelf company GigCapital, which specializes in technological activity acquisitions and is traded on the New York Stock Exchange. One month ago, he was appointed the chairman of the Kfar Saba-based wireless charging company Humavox, which is responsible for developing a unique wireless technology.

His decision to translate some of his business successes into investment in the Haifa public sphere is credited to his parents, Mrs. Edith and Professor Dov Katz, who were active all their lives for the good of the city and for Israel. The Katzes, both of whom were Holocaust survivors (each one was the sole survivor of their families) met at random in Israel in 1946 following a long war for survival. Together they decided to “start from the beginning” and build a new life in Israel while giving of themselves in their own ways to the state, to the IDF, to education in Israel, as they built a family.

After many years of contributing to the defense establishment, Professor Katz focused on education for excellence and knowledge, utilizing his professionalism for inventions and improvements for the benefit of medicine. Professor Katz was a pioneer in the invention of bone glue in the 1980s and its use, together with Rambam researchers and doctors. Edith Katz spent her entire life promoting the Technion, the students and researchers, and teaching the lessons of the Holocaust to the younger generation and to visitors from abroad. She was also a strong proponent of education, improving medical treatment conditions and options for compassion, making a quiet contribution to the advancement of the community and the state.

“This gift to Rambam represents in retrospect the important principles of their lives,” says Dr. Katz at the inauguration ceremony for the renovated unit in the name of his parents. “These were the values that stood before them all of their lives, and these are the values that we are excited and happy to continue and to promote in their names today.”

Dr. Avi Katz was accompanied by his wife Dr. Raluca Dina and his brother Arnon Katz, who resides in Haifa.