AFHU_News_Vol.21_9.13.18 Spreads (1)

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AMERICAN FRIENDS OF THE HEBREW UNIVERSITY
AFHU NEWS VOL. 21 PAGE 13
Alumni Spotlight: Andre Friedman
Throughout his life, Andre Friedman has forged
his own path, seizing opportunities and never
letting adversity stop his progress on the path to
success.
Andre was born in 1928 in Salgotarjan, a small
Hungarian town. Salgotarjan had a Jewish community
of approximately 300 families out of a total population
of 15,000. He grew up as an observant Jew,
attending a state-run school in the mornings followed
by Hebrew school in the afternoons.
As a young teenager, his parents sent him
to Budapest to study when the continued rise of
anti-Semitism barred Jews from attending the local
school. When the Germans occupied Hungary in
March 1944, Andre returned to Salgotarjan to be with
his mother. His father had been sent to a labor camp
the previous year. The Salgotarjan Jews were soon
confined to a ghetto, and at 16, Andre was transferred
to a forced labor camp along with other men
ranging in age from 16-50. Those remaining in the
ghetto were sent to Auschwitz, where most perished,
including his mother.
Miraculously, Andre and his father survived.
After the war, Andre returned to Budapest to finish
high school. Following graduation, he enrolled in a
university there to study economics, but left after
one year when the Communists seized control.
Andre knew he would have to leave Hungary to
find opportunity, but emigration was declared illegal.
Following a circuitous journey through several countries,
Andre connected with an outpost run by the new
Israeli government and arrived in Israel in April 1949.
In Israel, Andre joined the Israeli armed forces, serving
two years in the Air Force. His time in the military
afforded him the opportunity to learn Hebrew and Israeli
culture, and focused his interest in the field of law, which
led him to the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HU).
In 1951, Andre matriculated at the Hebrew
University’s Faculty of Law, then housed in an old
French monastery in Jerusalem. He was a member of
the Faculty’s fourth class and graduated in 1956.
At the time, there were no fees for attending HU,
but most students still needed to work to cover the
cost of living. Recognizing this, the university held
classes in the late afternoon and evenings. Andre’s
first job was in the Israeli Ministry of Commerce. Rising
quickly through the ranks, he subsequently joined the
State Controller’s office where he oversaw activities
within the Foreign Exchange Division of the Treasury.
Andre Friedman pictured here and on next page.
After completing his degree, Andre received a
scholarship for post-graduate studies in France. He
returned to Israel for a short time before leaving for
another educational opportunity, this time in the
United States. Andre had been accepted by Baruch
College’s Business School in New York City.
Andre worked a variety of jobs to support himself
when he came to New York. Employed as a file clerk at
an export company, he worked his way up to become
an assistant trader. His plan was to stay in New York
for two years to earn his M.B.A. and return to Israel,
but frequent business travel to the Far East made it
impossible for him to continue his studies at Baruch.
However, there was something else that would ultimately
keep him in New York.
In 1960, Andre met his wife, Rita, and called New
York home. At the time, American regulations didn’t
allow graduates of foreign law schools to practice law,
so in 1964 Andre married Rita and launched his own
business exporting construction materials around the
world.
During the 1980s, law practice regulations
changed; Andre took the bar exam and could finally
practice law in the U.S. At age 56, he sold his export
firm—which by then had a presence in over 10 countries—and
began his international law career.
With decades of experience in international trading,
Andre went on to lead a successful legal career
that took him all over the world, including back to
Israel and Hungary. He represented many high-profile
clients, and served as Regional General Counsel of
Teva Pharmaceutical Company in Eastern Europe.
Andre retired in 2016, and in March 2018 he
celebrated his 90th birthday in Israel. He recently
completed his memoirs, which he wrote because
“I felt that I represent a generation in history who
survived the depths of an inferno, experienced
the heights of grandeur, and still lived an ordinary
life. Sharing my story is also a tribute to my fellow
contemporaries who prevailed and in honor of those
that succumbed.”
Andre’s story is indeed one worthy of note, filled
with courage, tenacity, and a love of life. The Hebrew
University is proud to be part of his remarkable
life journey.