The Ofer brothers, Sammy and Yuli, established a formidable company in Israel – the Ofer Brothers Group – which is today one of the largest companies in Israel.
Sammy Ofer was born on February 22nd, 1922, and died at the age of 89 on June 3rd, 2011. He was born in Romania, in the town of Galatz. When he was two years old Sammy left Romania with his parents and two brothers, David and Yehuda (Yuli) and arrived in Israel, which was at that time still the British Mandate of Palestine where they went to live in Haifa.
During the 1930’s Joseph Hershkovitz, Sammy’s father, began a business which supplied ship chandlery (maritime supplies) to boats harbored in the port of Haifa. The original business customers were ships docked in Haifa mainly from Bulgaria and Romania.
After the World War II the Ofer brothers joined their father in his chandlery business. Originally the oldest brother David was also involved in the family business, but he eventually left it to pursue a career in public service. David eventually rose to the equivalent of the rank of General in the Israeli police force. In 1994 David Ofer passed away.
In the 1960s the Ofer brothers and the rest of the family changed their name from Hershkovitz to Ofer, and the family business became established as the Ofer Brothers Group.
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Ofer Family