Arcadi Gaydamak

Arcadi Aleksandrovich Gaydamak (in Hebrew: ארקדי אלכסנדרוביץ' גאידמק; in Russian: Аркадий Александрович Гайдамак; born April 8, 1952, Moscow) is a Franco-Israeli businessman of Russian origin, philanthropist, and president of the Congress of Jewish Religious Communities and Organizations of Russia (KEROOR). In the 1990s, he was awarded the Ordre national du Mérite and the Ordre du Mérite Agricole by France for his efforts in rescuing personnel during the Bosnian War.

Biography

Arcadi Gaydamak was born in 1952 in Moscow, the capital of the USSR. At the age of 20, he became one of the first Jews to emigrate from the Soviet Union under Leonid Brezhnev and acquire Israeli citizenship. He lived in Kibbutz Beit HaShita and studied Hebrew at an ulpan. He stated that he originally intended to serve in the Israeli army but eventually moved to France, where he opened a translation office.

In 1982, Gaydamak Translations opened a branch in Canada. During that period, he began engaging in international trade, focusing on import and export. After the collapse of the USSR, he established business connections in Russia and Kazakhstan and founded several business organizations across Europe.

Gaydamak owns a house in Caesarea, Israel. He is married to Irene Tzirolnicova, with whom he has one son. He speaks Russian, French, and English fluently, and Portuguese and Hebrew at a basic level.

In December 2008, Gaydamak returned to Russia, settling in Moscow. In February 2009, it was reported that he sought to regain his Russian citizenship, which he lost upon emigrating to Israel decades earlier.

Gaydamak also holds honorary Angolan citizenship. He possesses French, Canadian, and Israeli passports.

Sports Clubs and Media Ownership

In July 2005, Gaydamak became a sponsor of the Hapoel Jerusalem basketball team. The following month, he donated $400,000 to the Arab-Israeli football club Bnei Sakhnin. On the same day, Gaydamak announced the purchase of a 55% stake in Beitar Jerusalem football club, and two days later, he announced full ownership. He is a patron of several Jewish charitable organizations and president of KEROOR, Russia's oldest Jewish organization. In the summer of 2008, Gaydamak stated that his son Alexandre owned Portsmouth F.C., which was later confirmed by the Premier League.

In March 2006, Gaydamak announced the purchase of the French newspaper France Soir through his company Moscow News. In 2004, he acquired the Russian newspaper Moskovskie Novosti, dismissed several senior journalists, and shifted the newspaper's editorial stance to a firmly pro-government, pro-Putin line.

In January 2006, Milan Mandarić sold Portsmouth F.C. to his son, Alexandre Gaydamak. Alexandre later sold the club to Ali al-Faraj in 2009.

In July 2009, Gaydamak announced his decision to relinquish ownership of Beitar Jerusalem to Itzik Kornfein and Guma Aguiar. Kornfein would oversee player transfers, while Aguiar would handle the club's finances.

Philanthropy and Community Service

Gaydamak has made significant donations to various Israeli organizations, including Magen David Adom and Hatzalah. He also pledged $50 million to the Jewish Agency for Israel but later withdrew the offer following money laundering allegations. Ultimately, he donated $10 million.

During the 2006 Lebanon War, Gaydamak built a tent village on Nitzanim beach to house thousands of families who fled northern Israel under rocket attacks and had no shelter. His contributions totaled $15 million (approximately $500,000 per day). In November 2006, he financed a week-long vacation in Eilat for hundreds of Sderot residents affected by rocket attacks from Gaza.