The Dan Hotel

Tel Aviv, Israel

Year built: 1953

On May 14, 1948 the United Nations voted to create the State of Israel, establishing the first Jewish State in over 2,000 years.  The first President, Chiam Weizmann, declared that the new state needed resources to develop from a war torn desert outpost.  Waves of immigrants were arriving in Palestine on the Mediterranean Sea shore, rescue ships filled with hopeful survivors saved from the European camps. One of the last boats was arriving on the Tel Aviv shore where two Jews from Miami were vacationing, Rabbi Lehrman and Mr. Max Orvitz.  As the story goes, the captain of the ship refused to release the ailing refugees because he hadn’t been paid yet by the Israeli government.  Lehrman and Orvitz courageously moved to help the passengers and secure their freedom, “an experience that left an indelible impression on their minds” as stated in the pictured article from the Jerusalem Post.  These men formed “the Miami Group”, of which Bruce’s grandfather I.L. Mintzer was a founding member.  Their mission was to develop Israel through sound business investments, and they started with the area they knew best, hotels.  At that very same beach in Tel Aviv where the last Jewish refugees had landed, the Miami Group partnered with Israeli developers the Federmann Brothers, and built the fabulous Dan Hotel that opened in 1953.

The Dan Hotel today is a five-star resort and stands as one of the finest hotels in Israel.  In 1986 the hotel got a makeover featuring a rainbow colored façade designed by famed artist Yaacov Agam, and is pictured above.  Below you can see some of the earliest photos of the hotel when it first opened in 1953.