The Man Who Turned Down NIS 300,000
It isn’t every day that someone gives up a guaranteed profit of hundreds of thousands of shekels. But that’s just what Michael Strod did, wholeheartedly • Read More
It isn’t every day that someone gives up a guaranteed profit of hundreds of thousands of shekels. But that’s just what Michael Strod did, wholeheartedly.
Michael Strod’s business involves identifying properties that have no known claimant or owner. Michael finds the legal heirs of these properties, often purchased many decades ago, notifies them of the existence of these assets, and helps get them transferred to their hands. In return, he receives a hefty commission.
“This is not a simple job,” Michael explains. “It requires a great investment in time, effort and resources – and of course, much Siyatta D’Shmaya. You can work on a case for a long time, advancing step by step, and then hit a brick wall. Sometimes you can’t prove the identity of the owner, and sometimes there are problems with the heirs. In such cases, all your hard work goes down the drain.”
But one recent case was straightforward. Michael had indisputable proof of ownership of the original purchaser, and had only to identify what he calls the inheritance chain. “I traced the inheritance chain and reached people in Europe who were heirs. I was making good progress in wrapping things up and was set to earn a commission of NIS 300,000.
“There weren’t a lot of heirs to deal with, and since the property had not been listed in the will, they needed me and my knowledge in order to move the process forward.”
But closing the deal proved to be anything but smooth. The first warning light began flashing at a relatively early stage. “I discovered early on that a missionary figure, who was not a relative of the deceased owner, had interfered with the initial bequest process. At first, I wanted to turn the case down for fear that the inheritance would end up in missionary hands. But then I thought that I should at least try to check out where the property would indeed end up.”
Meticulous detective work revealed that the heirs are all private individuals and that the original owner stipulated in his will that the land should go to Mr. D. In turn, Mr. D., in his will, left the land to Mr. S. “I obtained a copy of Mr. S.’s will and realized that all my dreams of earning a windfall would be unrealized. The final destination of most of the money was missionary cults engaged in persuading Jews to convert.”
According to Mr. S.’s will, symbolic amounts were to be distributed among friends, with the lion’s share going to organizations associated with Messianic sects – with the exception of a number of Jewish-Israeli nonprofits. In order to verify whether these groups were indeed engaged in persuading Jews to convert, Michael contacted Yad L’Achim, which has been leading the battle against missionaries for some 70 years.
Yad L’Achim quickly checked the names on the list Michael provided them and delivered a report that left no room for doubt. “It turned out that the situation was more dangerous than I suspected,” Michael recalls. “If I thought that one of the groups was engaged in helping people addicted to dangerous substances, Yad L’Achim clarified that the group used missionary preaching, combined with idolatry, as part of its method of detoxification.
“Also, an organization that claimed to offer assistance to the needy was found to be preaching their false faith and converting Jews to their religion.”
Another designated beneficiary was a social club of a certain nursing home. Yad L’Achim discovered that though the nursing home was intended for a non-Jewish population, its club attracts elderly Jews and exposes them to Christian symbols and active missionary preaching.
Yad L’Achim’s report left no room for doubt in Michael’s mind. “As far as I am concerned,” he said, “the case is closed. I am a member of the Jewish people and will not lend a hand to increasing the power of missionary sects that unfortunately still exist in the country.
“I likely have ancestors who sacrificed their comfort and perhaps even their lives on the altar of Jewish faith, and so this wasn’t a difficult decision for me.”
Yad L’Achim hailed Michael’s principled stand. “It is said of him and others like him that those who come to be purified are helped from Above. It is to his great merit that he did not assist organizations that threaten to destroy our people spiritually. The A-mighty will surely see to it that the commission he gave up will come back to him in blessed ways.”
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