The Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem is suing the estate of Miami Beach multi-millionaire Erwin Herling, a Holocaust survivor. The hospital claims that his widow, Tova Leidesdorf-Herling, is ignoring the deceased's promises to grant it donations amounting to $22.4 million.
Herling revised his will a few days before his death in 1998, leaving all his property to his wife. He also appointed her executrix of his will.
According to a report published yesterday in the "Miami Herald", the 63-year-old widow is claiming that Herling's estate includes only a car and a penthouse on Collins Avenue, a boulevard of hotels and luxury residential towers on the Miami Beach coastline. The widow claims the estate does not exceed $100,000 in value.
Former Miss Israel Leidesdorf-Herling was given a $4.5 million sapphire by her husband on their wedding day in 1997.
Shaare Zedek and other Jewish institutions, including the Washington DC Holocaust Museum and Yeshiva University in New York are claiming that Herling and his first wife Madeleine (Magda), who died in 1995, pledged to contribute over $40 million under binding agreements.
Shaare Zedek and other institutions filed eight court actions, after the widow blocked attempts on the part of certain institutions to realize a claim for $44 million out of the estate in probate court.
Herling donated $3.6 million to Shaare Zedek before his death, but the hospital claims that Herling and his first wife pledged $26 million to it, and is suing for the balance.
Published by Israel's Business Arena on December 30, 1999