Leon Charney
Encyclopedia
Leon Charney is an American real estate tycoon, author, philanthropist, political pundit, media personality, and Jewish cantor
. He lives in Manhattan in New York City, dividing his time between his residences in Tel Aviv
and Boca Raton, Florida
. Forbes
lists Charney as #308 among the wealthiest Americans.
Charney is best known as a New York real estate baron, but in recent years, his role as one of the backdoor players integral to sealing the Camp David Peace Treaty between Israel and Egypt has emerged. In 1979, Charney played an important role as the unofficial adviser to former U.S. President
Jimmy Carter
, most well known for his behind-the-scenes role in the Camp David accord which created the first comprehensive peace between Israel
and Egypt
in 1978 and 1979.
In 2008, some thirty years later, Charney, a major real estate owner in New York's Times Square
, appeared for the first time on the Forbes 400
list of the wealthiest Americans, debuting at #321. The 2009 list - the first to reflect the world financial crisis, indicates Charney's net worth
had fallen $200 million in the previous year, although his rank had jumped to #296, up 35 notches, indicating that while he lost wealth, he lost comparatively less than other fellow billionaires. For 2010, Charney ranked #308 on the Forbes 400.
of Indiana
. Through Hartke, Charney became more involved in international politics and diplomacy. He became close to Golda Meir
, Prime Minister of Israel
, with whom Charney worked on Israel's initiative to free Soviet Jews and help them migrate to Israel.
That effort saw the emigration of 1,000 Jews from the Soviet Union to Israel. Later, United States President Jimmy Carter
asked Charney to help advise him during the Camp David Accords
. Charney refers to his efforts as using "back door channels", and he advised President Carter from 1976-1980. In a forward for one of Charney's books, Carter referred to Charney as "the unsung hero of the Camp David Peace Treaty."
In 1986 Charney went to Tunisia
to meet with Yasser Arafat
in the hope of a possible peaceful resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
.
documentary film starring former U.S. President Jimmy Carter entitled Back Door Channels: The Price of Peace
which is opening in the heart of the Arab world in Abu Dhabi in October, 2010 at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival, also known as the Middle East International Film Festival
. The film is the source of much buzz in the diplomatic sphere, as it is rumored that many never before revealed aspects of the original peace process were unveiled, some of which paint a less than rosy picture of American diplomatic efforts at the time. It has only been verified that the movie has been shown once, in Monte-Carlo, due to a special request made by Albert II, Prince of Monaco
, the President of the Festival, to Arick Wierson
, the film's executive producer.
The film itself was a source of some controversy in New York political circles. The film deals with the 1979 Peace Treaty between Israel and Egypt and the real-life behind-the scenes drama that led to the historic peace treaty. The film's title is actually an opaque reference to Charney himself, considered by many to be the "back door channel" that enabled the Camp David peace to materialize. In addition to Carter and Charney, the film features former Secretary-General of the U.N. Boutros Boutros-Ghali
, Dr. Henry Kissinger
, the former U.S. Secretary of State, CNN's Wolf Blitzer
, and Senior Adviser to the His Majesty King Mohammed VI of Morocco
, André Azoulay
and many other international dignitaries who played roles both major and minor in the Israeli-Egyptian peace.
, social issues and popular culture. Although his show has been seen weekly on WNYE-TV
for years, in recent years it has gained ground since the station became NYCTV
in 2005, after Mayor Bloomberg took control of the school system and enabled his top media executive Arick Wierson
, to merge the stations with the existing NYC TV cable channels. Via NYC TV, The Charney Report began podcasting its audio version on NPR and began a nationally syndicated the audio component as radio programming.
Since February 7, 2010, the Leon Charney Report has only broadcast repeats of previous shows.
, the Jewish prayer for the dead, which was published in December 2006 by Barricade Books
. The book is The Mystery of the Kaddish: Its Profound Influence on Judaism, ISBN 1-5698-0300-5 (hardcover), ISBN 1-5698-0347-1 (paperback).
Medical Center for a new cardiac wing of the hospital. He is also the major benefactor of the University of Haifa
's Leon H. Charney School of Marine Sciences, for which he reportedly donated more than $3 Million in 2007.
in Israel
. Although not considered to be overtly religious, Charney is a renowned Jewish cantor
, singing on Sabbaths and Holy Jewish Holidays at places of worship across the United States. He is married to Israeli-born Tzili Doron and with her he has two twin boys, Mickey and Nati. Doron is a first cousin of Israeli super model Bar Rafaeli. Charney's nephew Jay Blumenreich currently lives in Ra'anana Israel. Charney attended his great nephew Kfir Blumenreich's bar-mitzvah on June 28, 2009, in Herzliya, Israel.
Hazzan
A hazzan or chazzan is a Jewish cantor, a musician trained in the vocal arts who helps lead the congregation in songful prayer.There are many rules relating to how a cantor should lead services, but the idea of a cantor as a paid professional does not exist in classical rabbinic sources...
. He lives in Manhattan in New York City, dividing his time between his residences in Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
and Boca Raton, Florida
Boca Raton, Florida
Boca Raton is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, USA, incorporated in May 1925. In the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 74,764; the 2006 population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau was 86,396. However, the majority of the people under the postal address of Boca Raton, about...
. Forbes
Forbes
Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
lists Charney as #308 among the wealthiest Americans.
Charney is best known as a New York real estate baron, but in recent years, his role as one of the backdoor players integral to sealing the Camp David Peace Treaty between Israel and Egypt has emerged. In 1979, Charney played an important role as the unofficial adviser to former U.S. President
President
A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
, most well known for his behind-the-scenes role in the Camp David accord which created the first comprehensive peace between Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
and Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
in 1978 and 1979.
In 2008, some thirty years later, Charney, a major real estate owner in New York's Times Square
Times Square
Times Square is a major commercial intersection in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue and stretching from West 42nd to West 47th Streets...
, appeared for the first time on the Forbes 400
Forbes 400
The Forbes 400 or 400 Richest Americans is a list published by Forbes Magazine magazine of the wealthiest 400 Americans, ranked by net worth. The list is published annually in September, and 2010 marks the 29th issue. The 400 was started by Malcom Forbes in 1982 and treats those in the list like...
list of the wealthiest Americans, debuting at #321. The 2009 list - the first to reflect the world financial crisis, indicates Charney's net worth
Net worth
In business, net worth is the total assets minus total outside liabilities of an individual or a company. For a company, this is called shareholders' preference and may be referred to as book value. Net worth is stated as at a particular year in time...
had fallen $200 million in the previous year, although his rank had jumped to #296, up 35 notches, indicating that while he lost wealth, he lost comparatively less than other fellow billionaires. For 2010, Charney ranked #308 on the Forbes 400.
Rise to Prominence
At age 36 and a half, Charney, an aspiring entertainment lawyer in New York City, became counsel and adviser to Senator Vance HartkeVance Hartke
Rupert Vance Hartke was a Democratic United States Senator from Indiana from 1959 until 1977.-Early life, education, military service:...
of Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
. Through Hartke, Charney became more involved in international politics and diplomacy. He became close to Golda Meir
Golda Meir
Golda Meir ; May 3, 1898 – December 8, 1978) was a teacher, kibbutznik and politician who became the fourth Prime Minister of the State of Israel....
, Prime Minister of Israel
Prime Minister of Israel
The Prime Minister of Israel is the head of the Israeli government and the most powerful political figure in Israel . The prime minister is the country's chief executive. The official residence of the prime minister, Beit Rosh Hamemshala is in Jerusalem...
, with whom Charney worked on Israel's initiative to free Soviet Jews and help them migrate to Israel.
That effort saw the emigration of 1,000 Jews from the Soviet Union to Israel. Later, United States President Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
asked Charney to help advise him during the Camp David Accords
Camp David Accords
The Camp David Accords were signed by Egyptian President Anwar El Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin on September 17, 1978, following thirteen days of secret negotiations at Camp David. The two framework agreements were signed at the White House, and were witnessed by United States...
. Charney refers to his efforts as using "back door channels", and he advised President Carter from 1976-1980. In a forward for one of Charney's books, Carter referred to Charney as "the unsung hero of the Camp David Peace Treaty."
In 1986 Charney went to Tunisia
Tunisia
Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...
to meet with Yasser Arafat
Yasser Arafat
Mohammed Yasser Abdel Rahman Abdel Raouf Arafat al-Qudwa al-Husseini , popularly known as Yasser Arafat or by his kunya Abu Ammar , was a Palestinian leader and a Laureate of the Nobel Prize. He was Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization , President of the Palestinian National Authority...
in the hope of a possible peaceful resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Israeli-Palestinian conflict
The Israeli–Palestinian conflict is the ongoing conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. The conflict is wide-ranging, and the term is also used in reference to the earlier phases of the same conflict, between Jewish and Zionist yishuv and the Arab population living in Palestine under Ottoman or...
.
The Back Door Channel
In 2009, Charney was a featured interviewee in a Harry HunkeleHarry Hunkele
Harry Hunkele is an American Film and Television Director, Producer and Editor. He is a ten-time Emmy Award winning television director and producer and is the director of the feature documentary "Back Door Channels: The Price of Peace" . -Biography:Hunkele was born in rural Vermont, and came to...
documentary film starring former U.S. President Jimmy Carter entitled Back Door Channels: The Price of Peace
Back Door Channels: The Price of Peace
Back Door Channels: The Price of Peace, directed by Harry Hunkele,and produced by Arick Wierson, Donald Tanselle, and Matthew Tollin, is an American documentary film about the interplay between the official government channels and the men who acted largely behind the scenes during the course of...
which is opening in the heart of the Arab world in Abu Dhabi in October, 2010 at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival, also known as the Middle East International Film Festival
Middle East International Film Festival
Abu Dhabi Film Festival is an international film festival. Created in 2007, the ceremony is held annually in October in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates by the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage , under the patronage of Sheikh Sultan Bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan, Chairman of the ADACH...
. The film is the source of much buzz in the diplomatic sphere, as it is rumored that many never before revealed aspects of the original peace process were unveiled, some of which paint a less than rosy picture of American diplomatic efforts at the time. It has only been verified that the movie has been shown once, in Monte-Carlo, due to a special request made by Albert II, Prince of Monaco
Albert II, Prince of Monaco
Albert II, Sovereign Prince of Monaco is the head of the House of Grimaldi and the ruler of the Principality of Monaco. He is the son of Rainier III, Prince of Monaco, and the American actress Grace Kelly...
, the President of the Festival, to Arick Wierson
Arick Wierson
Arick Wierson is an American-born media executive and entrepreneur. His has business interests that span television and film production, political consultancy, and a variety of business interests in the Middle East, Latin America, Europe and Africa...
, the film's executive producer.
The film itself was a source of some controversy in New York political circles. The film deals with the 1979 Peace Treaty between Israel and Egypt and the real-life behind-the scenes drama that led to the historic peace treaty. The film's title is actually an opaque reference to Charney himself, considered by many to be the "back door channel" that enabled the Camp David peace to materialize. In addition to Carter and Charney, the film features former Secretary-General of the U.N. Boutros Boutros-Ghali
Boutros Boutros-Ghali
Boutros Boutros-Ghali is an Egyptian politician and diplomat who was the sixth Secretary-General of the United Nations from January 1992 to December 1996...
, Dr. Henry Kissinger
Henry Kissinger
Heinz Alfred "Henry" Kissinger is a German-born American academic, political scientist, diplomat, and businessman. He is a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. He served as National Security Advisor and later concurrently as Secretary of State in the administrations of Presidents Richard Nixon and...
, the former U.S. Secretary of State, CNN's Wolf Blitzer
Wolf Blitzer
Wolf Isaac Blitzer is an American journalist who has been a CNN reporter since 1990. Blitzer is currently the host of the newscast The Situation Room and was the host of the Sunday talk show Late Edition until it was discontinued on January 11, 2009...
, and Senior Adviser to the His Majesty King Mohammed VI of Morocco
Mohammed VI of Morocco
Mohammed VI is the present King of Morocco and Amir al-Mu'minin . He ascended to the throne on 23 July 1999 upon the death of his father.-Education:...
, André Azoulay
André Azoulay
André Azoulay is a senior adviser to King Mohammed VI of Morocco. He previously advised Mohammed's father, King Hassan II. He currently presides over the Anna Lindh Euro-Mediterranean Foundation for the Dialogue Between Cultures, based in Alexandria, Egypt...
and many other international dignitaries who played roles both major and minor in the Israeli-Egyptian peace.
The Charney Report
Charney hosts a national weekly TV talk show Leon Charney Report which deals with local New York politics, foreign affairs and the Middle EastMiddle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
, social issues and popular culture. Although his show has been seen weekly on WNYE-TV
WNYE-TV
WNYE-TV, channel 25 is an non-commercial educational, independent television station located in New York City, USA. WNYE-TV is part of the NYC Media Group and has its studios located in Brooklyn and Manhattan, and transmitter at the Conde Nast Building....
for years, in recent years it has gained ground since the station became NYCTV
NYCTV
NYC TV is a group of Government-access television broadcast and cable TV channels operated by NYC Media Group, a division of the New York City Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications...
in 2005, after Mayor Bloomberg took control of the school system and enabled his top media executive Arick Wierson
Arick Wierson
Arick Wierson is an American-born media executive and entrepreneur. His has business interests that span television and film production, political consultancy, and a variety of business interests in the Middle East, Latin America, Europe and Africa...
, to merge the stations with the existing NYC TV cable channels. Via NYC TV, The Charney Report began podcasting its audio version on NPR and began a nationally syndicated the audio component as radio programming.
Since February 7, 2010, the Leon Charney Report has only broadcast repeats of previous shows.
Author
Charney is the author of four books, his most recent on the mystery of kaddishKaddish
Kaddish is a prayer found in the Jewish prayer service. The central theme of the Kaddish is the magnification and sanctification of God's name. In the liturgy different versions of the Kaddish are used functionally as separators between sections of the service...
, the Jewish prayer for the dead, which was published in December 2006 by Barricade Books
Barricade Books
Barricade Books is a New York, NY publishing house specializing in non-fiction books. Among its most famous publications is The Last Party, the memoir of Adele Morales about her marriage to author-playwright Norman Mailer....
. The book is The Mystery of the Kaddish: Its Profound Influence on Judaism, ISBN 1-5698-0300-5 (hardcover), ISBN 1-5698-0347-1 (paperback).
Philanthropy
In 2003, Charney donated $10 million to New York UniversityNew York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
Medical Center for a new cardiac wing of the hospital. He is also the major benefactor of the University of Haifa
University of Haifa
The University of Haifa is a university in Haifa, Israel.The University of Haifa was founded in 1963 by Haifa mayor Abba Hushi, to operate under the academic auspices of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem....
's Leon H. Charney School of Marine Sciences, for which he reportedly donated more than $3 Million in 2007.
Personal
Charney holds an honorary title as the Chairman of the University of HaifaUniversity of Haifa
The University of Haifa is a university in Haifa, Israel.The University of Haifa was founded in 1963 by Haifa mayor Abba Hushi, to operate under the academic auspices of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem....
in Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
. Although not considered to be overtly religious, Charney is a renowned Jewish cantor
Hazzan
A hazzan or chazzan is a Jewish cantor, a musician trained in the vocal arts who helps lead the congregation in songful prayer.There are many rules relating to how a cantor should lead services, but the idea of a cantor as a paid professional does not exist in classical rabbinic sources...
, singing on Sabbaths and Holy Jewish Holidays at places of worship across the United States. He is married to Israeli-born Tzili Doron and with her he has two twin boys, Mickey and Nati. Doron is a first cousin of Israeli super model Bar Rafaeli. Charney's nephew Jay Blumenreich currently lives in Ra'anana Israel. Charney attended his great nephew Kfir Blumenreich's bar-mitzvah on June 28, 2009, in Herzliya, Israel.