Not many of those who support the fight against anti-Semitism and against the delegitimization of Israel will recognize the name of Newton Becker. A little known philanthropist, Newton Becker who died on Jan. 2, 2012 was one of the biggest supporters of the pro-Israel and Jewish community. Roz Rothstein of StandWithUs describes him as: “He shifted the paradigm of pro-Israel activism.” “Without him, the pro-Israel community would not be as strong and effective as it is today.”
Becker was a prolific donor who had a reputation for humility. The ZOA’s Morton Klein told The Jewish Journal that Becker “was an unusually great human being, a mensch.” He donated to organizations that shared his belief in Israel’s importance to the Jewish people and to the world, due to its democratic nature.
He gave funds to organizations such as StandWithUs, which fosters pro-Israeli activism on campus, CAMERA (Committee for Accuracy on Middle East Reporting in America), the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA), MEMRI which translates Mideast media into English, and the AIPAC Student Program.
CAMERA executive director Andrea Levin emphasized his hands-on approach to philanthropy. “He wanted to know, ‘How are you going to execute, why don’t you try this, why don’t you consider a global approach, how are you going maximize the impact of this event,’” Levin said.
StandWithUs CEO Roz Rothstein, who worked with Becker on founding StandWithUs, recalled Becker in-action: a man who was confident, in-demand and giving of his time. In a statement, StandWithUs said he “was a giant in pro-Israel philanthropy through his generous funding and, even more so, through his far-sighted, strategic thinking, creative entrepreneurialism, and tireless devotion to protecting Israel.
“Newton's passing is a painful loss to StandWithUs,” the statement said. “When StandWithUs was founded in 2001, Newton immediately recognized the urgent need for the organization and supported it. He mentored StandWithUs founders with his characteristic hands-on approach, encouraged their work, always found time to strategize with them, and connected them to the myriad of people he knew around the world who would benefit from their work and who would complement or enhance their efforts. Newton remained on the StandWithUs Board of Directors since its founding 10 years ago.”
He served on numerous boards of directors for Jewish organizations, including the Jewish Federation Council of Los Angeles, the Jewish Community Foundation of Los Angeles and the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee.
Via several foundations he established, including the Newton and Rochelle Becker Foundation, he will continue to support the pro-Israel community.
Becker earned his fortune by developing a CPA training program in 1957 for the staff of Price Waterhouse, the Becker CPA Exam Review course, that became popular internationally and developed into multiple languages. The course is available in more than 400 cities throughout the U.S.A. and around the world with more than 400,000 CPA alumni, constituting almost one-half of all CPA's in the U.S.A. He sold it to DeVry University shortly before his retirement in 1998.
Newton Becker is also considered by some as “the Father” of solar thermal electric generation. In 1980, he became the founding investor and chairman of the board of Luz International. The company was at one time the world's largest solar power plant manufacturer, with research and manufacturing facilities in Jerusalem. From 1984 to 1991 Luz built and sold nine plants (SEGS I-IX) with 350 MW of capacity, enough to supply the residential needs of 540,000 people in the Los Angeles area.
Newton also invested in and was a chairman of the Board of Directors of “Electric Fuel” during its start-up period 1993-5. Electric Fuel made Zinc Air Batteries for Electric Vehicles (about 400 miles for the EV1 and about 250 miles for a Mercedes Van) and could be refueled with new zinc plates in about 10 minutes.
Newton received his BS in Business Administration from Kent State University and earned an MBA from Case Western Reserve University. Newton received an honorary Doctorate from Kent State University in l984.
