Israel Polack - Biography

Israel Polack (1909-1993) was an Austro-Hungarian-born Romanian, Chilean and Israeli textile industrialist. He is best known for creating and managing the Israel-based Polgat company.

Polack was born to a Jewish family in Borşa, Transylvania, and, in 1925, moved to Gura Humorului, Bukovina, and later to Cernăuţi. While in Cernăuţi, he studied at yeshiva and at a textile plant. In 1935, he founded an enterprise of its kind in the city.

After World War II, he emigrated to Chile where he founded a textile plant. In 1960, Pinhas Sapir, then Minister of Industry of Israel, invited Polack to establish a textile plant at Kiryat Gat. Polack's new company, Polgat, grew into the largest textile, clothing and knitwear company in Israel. It eventually became a public corporation whose shares were traded on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange.

Awards

In 1990, Polack was awarded the Israel Prize for his special contribution to society and the State of Israel.

In 1992, he was honored by the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

See also

• List of Israel Prize recipients