Andy Hauerstock, Immigrant Success Story, Dies In Israel
Jerusalem----October
8......The phone rang as I was eating lunch with one of my children. It was a
good friend from Netanya, Bat Sheva Hauerstock, who operates one of Israel's most
popular Internet Web stores. "Bat Sheva, let me call you back in a short
while," I told her, thinking it was another telephone call for Internet marketing
consultation. I had first met Andy Hauerstock in 1982, while on a business trip to Israel. This tall, thin, long black haired Canadian owned a t-shirt and army navy surplus gift store in Kikar Atarim, in Tel Aviv. His was the first inspirational image I ever had of a North American immigrant who was successfully making it in Israel. Andy was a fighter. And he sold to the world IDF fighting souvenirs and gifts. For the last ten years Andy had been fighting cancer. Each and every time his wife would call me I would get a fright, thinking the worst. But Andy never dies. He fights and wins. All the same I finally had no fright answering this one phone call. And this one phone call was the very one I had dreaded for years. Andy or Andrew Hauerstock was born in Budapest in 1946. His parents escaped the Communist revolution and arrived in Montreal, Canada in 1956. He attended McGill university earning a number of degrees including a MBA in mathematics, physics and economics. He made aliya to Israel in 1978. As a walking encyclopedia, he arrived with over 5,000 books with subjects related to Jewish and army history. At first he worked as an aviation consultant flying off to build airports in Peru and Thailand. He then worked for some time as a salesperson with Arkia, until they cut several of their routes. He served in the Israel Defense Forces as an artillery and anti-aircraft sergeant. Andy opened his first store in Israel in 1979. As one who spoke fluent French, English, Hungarian, Yiddish, Hebrew and German, his prospects looked good as he opened a second store in Tel Aviv's prestigious Dizengoff Center. Every time I was in the area of Dizengoff Center we would share a meal and a few cups of coffee. Andy always made time for his friends. He never failed to greet me in the most caring, charming of ways. Always asking with sincere interest about my family or work. He always admired my contact with the IDF, first with the combat engineers and then with the IDF Spokesperson's Office. Before leaving his store he would always give me an IDF army pin, an "I Love Israel" support t-shirt or a baseball hat. I would return the favor by buying him a Casio watch from the States where he would be able to store dozens of telephone numbers. Among those telephone numbers would be friends and relatives but he also entered the names of many international diplomatic, military and media personnel in that watch. Andy's Israel army navy stores became Israel landmarks. He supplied the IDF, the US Armed Forces and became the source of local treats during the first Gulf War for CNN and several other news networks which covered the war. His store is decorated with dozens of thank you letters including one from Israel's Chief of Staff. Andy may have done more for Israel's PR than any Ministry in this tiny, Jewish democratic nation.
It was a joy to witness Andy greet each and every person who walked into his stores. He would always ask or guess where they came from, made whatever warm comment that would place them at ease. He treated his employees no different. Andy defined all that was good, understanding and giving in a human being. He was the definition of a friend and would never have money come between us. On the home front, Andy created a baseball league in Israel, and sponsored his own team named after his two stores - Crazy Richards. The US Ambassador and several other celebrities became regulars coming to the games to relax and getaway from the everyday stress. When Dizengoff Center became the target of Islamic suicide bombers he was only feet away when they detonated their lethal bombs. Many storekeepers picked up and left, relocating to areas which were less high profile. But Andy refused to give ground to those "idiots." But
the subsequent and dramatic drop in tourism eventually took its financial impact
on Israel and her tourist hot spots. In 1996, I tried to convince Andy to put all that he had onto the Internet and sell his goods over the Web. After about two years, Andy established what was to become one of the first commercial Internet marketing and SEO (search engine optimization) success stories. Whatever knowledge I had about Internet marketing was turned over to his wife Bat Sheva. Andy and I would spend hours across the street at an Internet cafe, discussing new areas for him to branch off into. Within a year, one would see stores come and go at Dizengoff Center, but Crazy Richards held fast. Hundreds of pro-Israel t-shirts, hats, videos, army uniforms, US and Israel flag pins, maps, and bumper stickers saying: "Support the IDF," and "US and Israel Together Against Terrorism" would fill the many white envelopes with destinations to New York, Miami, Chicago, Ohio, California, Toronto, Italy, France, Spain, Turkey and the UK. Andy would spend hours proudly talking about his son Jonathan and his adventures in the IDF's Spokesperson's Office. Jonathan was always positioned where the hazardous action was taking place and performing a shining job for the IDF. Andy spent days agonizing over whether to send him off to university in Canada, the States or to a nearby college. His daughter Anushka could be seen helping out at the store or visiting her father on one of his many stays at the hospital. Aways there for her father who was sweating literally to make and keep a living. Her constant kind and easy smile was hard to miss for she came from the same quality merchandise that her dad had come from. Andy was always the eternal optimist. But on one visit to Israel's Tel Hashomer hospital where Andy was again fighting for his life he started to express doubt. "Joel, you know I really hate making the train ride between Netanya and Tel Aviv he remarked." I looked and smiled at him. As if we were now in the same combat unit and said: "Andy, think of the alternative." I was alluding to death. Something that Andy would wrestle with on a daily basis. His body suffered, twisted and turned as he went from steroids to other experimental drugs to stay alive. He would use the Internet to search for the latest drugs and treatment. He never gave up. He never stopped talking about his love for his wife and two children. Andy's body was ravaged by cancer and cancer treatment drugs, drugs which destroyed his fragile immune system. Yet, Andy went to work each and every day exposing himself as he greeted tourists from every country in the world in his store. This working class hero refused to become a recluse. Rather he was determined to make a living for his family and get the word out that Israel was and is a beautiful, fun and romantic place to visit. Tomorrow we will bury Andy in Netanya. But the warm smile and the words: "how ya doin buddy" will never leave many of the thousands who had the opportunity and pleasure to have walked into his store, into his world called Israel. Andy Hauerstock is survived by his wife Bat Sheva, his son Jonathan and daughter Anushka. Below is a letter that Andy wrote just a few weeks ago to his global customers as the second Lebanon war drew to a close. You can feel Andy's sincerity and spirit of Zionism with each and every word. "Dear
Valued Customer, Israel Military products would like to extend its infinite appreciation
and gratification for your support for Israel and the Israeli population over
the past month. Although it was a difficult time for many of us here and stressful,
we were very heart-warmed and grateful for the number of emails, letters, faxes,
prayers, etc. expressing support and solidarity for us from those of you around
the world.
Sponsored by IsraelPr.com |
