"There are men who love women - I love business," says Abe Feinberg, when asked what motivates him, at the age of 90, to get up in the morning and go to the office. His wife Lilian, who has been his assistant for nearly 70 years, is at home. His office is located in the Olympic Tower, the building on Fifth Avenue where the NBA offices are also situated.
Over his ninety years he's seen it all.
His thinking is lucid, although his health is not what it was. Over the last year he was unable to visit Israel. "It's not so simple now. Since I took ill with throat cancer, I do the doctor's bidding," he says. Apart from his doctor, practically no-one tells him what to do. Feinberg gives the orders.
He is a tolerant man, but lacks patience. From his point of view, there is no "hostile press", but he is hostile to the press. For nearly 90 years, he has made almost no exception to the rule not to see journalists. The interview for "Globes" was a rare occasion.
Feinberg answers only the questions he wants to, and in a conversation with him there are words better left unmentioned. One of them is Pepsi. "I don't want to mention that name," he says. "I only promote Coca Cola." When he thinks he hears a hint of "Pepsi" in a question, he does not hesitate to raise his voice: "If you came to talk about Pepsi, you may as well go now."
Feinberg, the largest shareholder in Coca Cola Israel, 60%, reached the "real thing" by accident. He was born into a family which dealt in textiles. As a youth he helped in his father's business, women's stockings; and during another stage he worked as a general dogsbody for another company. He has three university degrees. "One is in law," he says, "but I never worked as a lawyer for even a day."
When his third degree was in the bag, he began to expand the family business. Together with his brother in law, he increased the business beyond recognition, while turning to new sectors like real estate and banking. Along with his success in business, he also took a great interest in politics. As long as business looked bright, he was left with more time to become involved in public activities. This became known to Henry Morgentnau, the then head of the United Jewish Appeal, (UJA), and Harry Truman. The two were to have a decisive influence on his life.
Morgentnau offered him partnership in the Israel franchise of Coca Cola. "My active interest in Israel began 60 years ago," recalls Feinberg. "But I only started to take an interest in business in Israel in the 1960s." Around the time he invested in Coca Cola, Feinberg also began negotiations to buy the Jerusalem Hilton Hotel, together with a number of partners.
"Morgentnau approached me at the stage when I was hunting for opportunities. I gladly agreed to his proposition and he appointed me to take care of the groundwork and establishment in Israel. After I had already done much work, and the Coca Cola plant was taking shape, Morgentnau told me he wished to resign from the partnership. Relations between us were very good and cooperative, but he had personal reasons for leaving. I respected his decision, and carried on working."
"On April 1, 1968, the first bottles left the factory gates. I saw this as an historic event," says Feinberg. "Coca Cola had an international reputation and prestige. In my eyes, its presence in Israel symbolized the fact that Israel had been accepted into the family of the world's nations.
"I asked for the first case to be brought to the then Prime Minister, Levi Eshkol, and my request was granted. One night, at six o'clock, I took the case to his home. He asked me in Yiddish, 'What's this?' I explained that this was the world's leading soft drink, and that it was only natural there should be a large demand in a hot country such as Israel. 'The state will profit from its connection to Coca Cola,' I told him.
"Two or three days later I received a telephone call from his wife, Miriam. She asked me: 'What did you do to Levi? He is demanding Coca Cola with breakfast, lunch and dinner'".
"Globes": Despite the respect, Coca Cola took the franchise to market in the Territories away from you and transferred it to a Jordanian-Palestinian investor.
"I don't understand the question. We have the franchise rights for Israel. The Territories are no longer under Israel's control."
What constitutes a challenge for you?
"The usual challenges facing all businesspeople. Israel is not an important part of my commercial life; in the same token I am likely to explore investments in the UK or Portugal. However Israel is an important part of my personal life and I have invested a great deal of time in politics and the House of Representatives promoting the State's goals."
Is it more difficult today to promote Israel's interests throughout the world?
"I am never ashamed of Israel nor embarrassed by her. I am extremely proud of the State's achievements. It's impossible to stop a people with ideals.
"I first visited Israel in 1946, was very enthusiastic from that visit and predicted a great future. I visit Israel a lot, and see the dramatic changes, especially in economics. A healthy economy has contributed to the strength of the State."
The Israeli economy is not completely healthy, it still suffers from a recession, unemployment.
"If you are trying to say that the Israeli economy is socialist, I don't agree with you. I cannot find any problem with the Israeli economy. All in all, the government, when necessary, is developing areas that private businesspeople are not interested in getting into and taking a risk. It must be understood that there is a privatization evolution which takes time."
Harry Truman's Close Friend
Mary Sagi
US President Harry Truman and Abe Feinberg met at a New York cocktail party in 1945. Feinberg asked to be introduced to Truman, who was then the deputy of US President Franklyn D. Roosevelt. During the conversation he asked the Vice-President how he wished to be called. Truman replied: "Call me 'Senator.' That's the position I most enjoyed."
Four months later Roosevelt died, Truman was appointed to replace him, and Feinberg, who in the meantime had become his close friend, came and left the Oval Room as if it was his own living room. He became the intermediary between the Zionist movement and the US President. Four years ago, when he donated $1 million to establish a library in Truman's' memory, Feinberg recalled how, after the founding of the State, he found himself negotiating on US aid to Israel.
Summer 1949. President of the State of Israel Chaim Weizmann was due to arrive in Washington and Truman expected he would ask for aid. "How much do you think he'll ask for," Truman asked his friend. "I had no idea," says Feinberg, and so I quoted a random number: $250 million. 'I will never manage to pass that in Congress,' Truman replied. I asked him, 'How much do you think you can get?' He said: 'I can promise a loan of $100 million.' I answered him that this was a good start.
"Weizmann flew to Washington and asked me how much he should request. I answered: If I were you, I would accept whatever Truman offers. First of all, you have to get a foot in the door. And that's what happened.
"What attracted me to Truman was his healthy sense of logic," says Feinberg. During his Truman's Presidency, Feinberg was very active in promoting Israel, but when people tell him he influenced the president's decisions, he rushes to lower his profile. "That's exaggerated. Each time that someone is close to the president and the president acts in his interests, people say that he does his friend's bidding, but this is not always the case. Truman supported Israel because those were his beliefs."
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's media advisor David Bar Ilan explains the secret of Feinberg's influence on Truman. "Feinberg was dedicated to Truman even when the latter was at his lowest ebb. Truman had few friends and those who raised money for him were even fewer. He never forgot Feinberg's favor. There was a great mutual respect between them. It would be an understatement to say that I don't think that Israel would not have been recognized by the US so clearly and in such a way in 1948, if it had not had been for Abe Feinberg."