Taken too soon: In memory of Avi Davis

Avi’s funeral will be held Tuesday 22-Dec-2015 at 11:00 am at the Home of Peace cemetery, 4334 Whittier Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90023.

UPDATE III: It is with a heavy heart that I report that Avi Davis has passed away in the early morning hours of December 21, 2015. Avi leaves behind two sons, Mati and Amiad. Avi’s parents are Betty and Jack, a sister Yvette and brothers Yoni and Shimmi.

A Message from Avi’s Family:

It is with tremendous sadness that we wish to inform you that Avi passed away peacefully at the UCLA Medical Centre surrounded by family this morning 21 December at 06.59 Los Angeles time.

We are grief stricken but comforted by the fact that he was greatly loved and deeply respected by so many people.

We would like to thank the many friends who visited him in hospital and those who sent prayers for a speedy recovery.

Avi always lived life to the full, several lives, rich with energy, joy, passion and intellect. He still had much to do but realised many dreams.

We will advise you of funeral arrangements, to take place in Los Angeles today, very shortly.

Davis Family

Some friends are posting at Avi’s Facebook page here. Information about Avi’s foundation and whether the family is accepting donations will be forthcoming.

*****

UPDATE II: Friends, there are no updates as of December regarding Avi’s health. Please continue to pray for Avi and I will update this post when I can provide solid information.

UPDATE: Avi is currently being brought out of an induced coma. Today and tomorrow will be pivotal in determining how his brain is functioning. Avi’s family has been overwhelmed by the outpouring of friends and supporters. It is clear that Avi has touched many lives in a positive way.

As Avi’s close friend Jeffrey said this morning, it is a “good time for miracles to happen.” Tonight, on the last evening of Hanukkah, please continue to pray for Avi.

_________

I just received some very upsetting news.

My friend Avi Davis, president of the American Freedom Alliance, is in the UCLA Ronald Reagan Hospital fighting for his life.

avidavis

Avi was cycling in Los Angeles when he suffered a major heart event. He is currently in an induced coma while doctors run neurological tests. The prognosis is very unclear at this stage.

Avi is physically as tough as nails and extremely strong-willed, but this is a serious injury and he needs all the prayers and support you can give him.

Whatever you believe, or don’t believe, please pray for Avi’s recovery and strong recuperation.

Avi’s good friend Jeffrey Stromberg has offered to be a contact person for any of Avi’s many, many friends seeking further information.

Please contact Jeffrey on 424-232-5251 or email him at jleg1908@gmail.com.

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Author: Trevor

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77 thoughts on “Taken too soon: In memory of Avi Davis

  1. To the family of Avi Davis:

    Those of us outside of his family knew him as a man generous in spirit and brilliant in thought. It was one of life’s rarest of pleasures to know Avi.

    Sharon

  2. We are all in shock with the news of Avi’s tragic passing. The words, “Baruch Dyan Emet” is all we can say with great pain and bewilderment. We reach out to Avi’s children and family and wish them strength and condolences during this nightmare. Avi is someone who I have known since his first visit to America. One of his first jobs in Los Angeles was working at UCLA Hillel where he was hired to organize cultural programs for UCLA. At that time, Avi was living in the original UCLA Hillel building. He was a unique leader in our Jewish community from his early days of being in LA to his final moments. Avi had an impressive skill to bring together authors and scholars from around the world who contributed to the study of human rights and freedoms. He ran programs to intellectually challenge political correctness in America as well as Europe. Avi’s skill was to find scholars who no one else knew about except Avi. Avi’s writings on many topics that related to Israel and the Jewish world were always profound and extremely well written. Besides Avi’s love of Israel and his pride in owning, building and restoring an ancient home in Sefad, Avi love nature and the outdoors. He was famous for his love of riding his bike. I remember his cross country bike ride through out much of Europe. He also loved kayaking. He had a folding kayak and was known for his adventurous kayaking trips in exotic locations of the planet. Few Jewish men are adventurous as Avi was and many of us just admired him for his love of the outdoors and his drive for adventure. How symbolic that it was on his bike that he loved riding where he experienced his last moments in this world. Avi, clearly, you will be missed by not only by your family but by a community who came to depend upon you for filling a void and for contributing in many ways to our community’s intellectual growth and leadership. We thank G-d for the years that we benefited from your endless energy and enthusiasm for living life with the fullness which you continually found. We thank you for how you lived your life to help others grow and develop their understanding of this complex world. For all of us who aim to teach others and lead our community to reach a clearer understanding of today’s realities. Avi you will always be our model and our inspiration to contribute more and to work all the harder to accomplish all that we can. Thank you Avi Davis. From the heavens may you continue to shine your light upon us and may we do all we can to live up to that which you have taught us.

  3. Shoshana Shilo and Raphaella Segal from Kedumim in Shomron-Israel are shocked tohear that our great friend Avi passed away.
    We were great friends . he was very supportive of of the communities in Judea and samaria, he visited us few times , he spent time with us whenever we came to LA , invited us to his outstanding events, and introduced us to many of his friends in LA .
    He was so taklented and had so many different activities .
    wewere impressed by his love and time he put in his boys.
    it is very painful and hard to believe that Avi-Symbol of life and energy is not with us.

  4. I am shocked and saddened to hear this news today. This is a terrible loss for our Alliance which Avi represented with unbounded faith and courage.

  5. I am so very sorry to hear this. I never had the honor of meeting Avi. I prayed for his recovery. He was a good man and will be missed by so many. If there is anything I can do for his family Trevor, please let me know.

  6. so sad to hear such devastating news, Avi – a man of wisdom, kindness, lights up a room and the warmest and most hospitable man we know! You were and are a light to many. Knowing you is a blessing…May your family find comfort and peace during this difficult time.
    Debbie (Hartman), Richard and family

  7. Avi, good bye my dear friend,some twenty plus years ago you came to help me in a project for the Golan, Since then we become good friends, I will miss the time with you, the projects, the so many events we worked on , the talk we had on so many things about life children, Israel, and the world. Your phone call that say “Moti I need you!” I will miss your diners, The amazing “American Freedom Alliance” and like me, your concern about terrorism and the future of the Western Civilization. I will miss your brilliant mind. You only 57, you will be missed greatly. Rest in peace my friend. Moti

  8. This, from Avi’s friend Karen:

    “I was fortunate enough to have been at this celebration – KohelethFest 5776 – last October at Avi Davis’ home. That the man who wrote this is no longer with us is something I can’t wrap my mind around.

    But if happiness comes from giving, I do expect that Avi was – incredibly, the past tense – one of the happiest men there is.”

    From Avi:

    “What is happiness? It is actually a question few of us ask ourselves. We may ponder whether we are happy and then wonder why we are not; we might be able to list the things that might make us happy – or the things which do not – but rarely do we take the time to conjecture and discuss the very nature of happiness itself and how its pursuit defines us as individuals and as human beings. Its one of life’s deepest philosophical questions – as well as one of its most neglected.
    So every year at this time, for the past 20 years, I have opened my home in Los Angeles to the community – not just Jews, but Christians, Buddhists, atheists and just about anyone who is interested, to hold a discussion – about fundamental issues regarding the purpose of life, the meaning of happiness, the formulation for success in life, the goal of our working lives etc….. pretty fundamental things which define us on this journey though time.
    I do it because smack bang in the middle of the eight day festival of Sukkoth , Jewish congregations throughout the world read the Book of Koheleth, also known in English (and in Christian circles) as Ecclesiastes. It is a remarkable book because as a work of philosophy it is, on its face, almost existential in its tone – a fact which would make it completely antithetical to the philosophical and spiritual ethos of Judaism. Why, i have asked, did our sages then allow this heretical work into the canon at all? What would be the point of permitting its author to advise adherents of the Jewish faith that nothing they do in this world – the accumulation of wealth, the acquisition of fame, the raising of children, the gathering of wisdom – even the planting of crops, has any inherent or lasting value?
    This year, the theme was the meaning of happiness and so fifteen of us, from a variety of religious backgrounds and moral view points gathered under the palm fronds in the sukkah to debate and discuss Koheleth again – and to find in the author’s curmudgeonly voice some deeper truths about life, purpose and meaning. it is always a fascinating discussion because there is no ‘right’ answers to the myriad questions Koheleth poses. Every one approaches the issues raised by the book with often fundamentally different perspectives. Nevertheless, there are some universal truths which can be extracted from Koheleth’s doughty, cynical view of the world and it is these pearls which i so deeply treasure since they help me lace together an agenda for my own personal quest for meaning and purpose in this life.
    My friend and associate Michael Greer has written an account of the three hour discussion held on the afternoon of October 3rd which i will post in the next few days. But as for happiness and the question i asked at the beginning of this piece – i personally learned, many years ago, that if i could actually VISUALIZE happiness, i stood a much greater chance of achieving it. i thought to myself, ‘ what if i build a wall of happiness and placed on this wall, all the things that i would want for myself and my children? ‘
    The Davis Wall of Happiness began life on a refrigerator, graduating to an actual wall when we moved out of my townhouse in 2010 and into a single family residence. It grew to contain not only photographs but mementos, souvenirs, shells, bottled sand, beads, dried leaves and fridge magnets that my sons and i collected as we traveled around the world together during our vacations. For over twelve years we have now been collectively adding to the wall – and through the photographs and other assorted knick knacks i can trace my sons’ transformation from small children into young adults and ultimately into men – and my own reverse transformation from harried father into just one of the boys.
    This wonderful and ever growing mosaic never ceases to amaze and inspire me – providing a reminder of how rich and beautiful life can be when not focused exclusively on one’s personal ambitions and needs but rather on others’ happiness.
    And so maybe this is the answer – or rather my personal response- to the question i posed above. Happiness comes in life not by wanting but by giving; and then, of course, by expressing gratitude and humility for whatever small portion of good luck we are privileged to enjoy as a result. To BE happy, in the end, is to be grateful – thankful for our extraordinary good fortune to be alive – a sentiment even Koheleth himself might somehow find a way to agree with.”

  9. I believe in miracles. I pray for you to have a miraculous recovery.
    God knows we need more people like you in these chaotic times.
    May you enjoy old age with those you love.

  10. Avi was scheduled to host his annual donor dinner last night. My wife played the voicemail of him inviting us. It broke my heart to hear his voice, even as I am tearing up writing this. I prayed over him at his hospital bed on Sunday and continue to pray for a miraculous recovery. רְפוּאָה שְׁלֵמָהרְפוּאָה שְׁלֵמָה.

  11. Avi, You must feel all of the prayers and love from your friends around the world. May G-d heal you and return you to your family, friends and colleagues. There is so much left for you to write, so many places to explore, so much music to discover. Come back healthy.

  12. Dear Avi: We were shocked to hear this news. We wish you a speedy and complete recovery. You are in our thoughts and prayers.

  13. Dear Avi,
    We and your many other friends are praying for a speedy recovery, a total healing, and a return to all of your activities with even more power, vigor, and enthusiasm than ever. Your creative mind is needed here and now to address all the many challenges facing America, Israel and the entire civilized world.
    Joyce and Aubrey

  14. Avi, As you can see, you have so many friends and colleagues who are thinking of you at this difficult time, and praying for your return to good health. I join them in wishing you a Refuah Shleimah.

  15. Dear Avi,
    We know that you can hear our private and collective prayers for your full and speedy recovery. We know that you can feel the love and support that everyone who has ever come in contact with you is feeling for you. We trust–we know–that our love and prayers for you must bring you back to all of us. Personally and collectively, we need your smile, your humor, your boundless energy, and the appetite you have for life at its fullest.May Hashem grant all of our prayers.

  16. We are praying for Avi from the bottom of our hearts. Please post his mother’s name. We send prayers also of love and support for his wonderful boys and family to be strong. May Avi have a speedy and complete refuah shlema. Please, if there is anything we can do for him or his family, let us know. Batya and Arie

      1. Dear Naomi

        I was very saddened to read of Avi’s medical condition and today read of his passing today. I thought it may comfort you and your sons that Avi’s friends and former classmates from Mt Scopus College in Melbourne are shocked and want to send our condolences to your family.

        Avi and I were close friends at Mt Scopus College where we first met. As teenagers we became true buddies, like brother and sister, and shared so much. I knew his parents and his siblings and recall spending hours in his room at his family home in Doncaster talking about so many things. We collaborated on many projects at school and outside of school and spent time together after graduating from Mt Scopus and at university. In 1990 I was in Los Angeles to visit friends and family and Avi and I had dinner together which I recall to this day. I learned of his marriage to you and the birth of your sons from Avi’s Melbourne friends and I did have the opportunity to see him a few years ago on one of his visits to Melbourne where we reminisced about our times together as teenagers and young adults prior to him leaving Australia.

        I wish you and your sons a long life.

        Nicole Stransky

  17. Dear Avi,
    Shosh and me together with the community Kedumim in the Shomron are praying for your recovery.
    your clear voice is needed especially in these days.
    your many merits will bring your recovery soon.
    we love you and are praying for you.
    Raphaella Shosh and Hananel the Mayor of kedumim

  18. Dear Avi we have been praying for your full recovery since this evening when we learned of your accident. We know you will be well very soon. Matt is not in Los Angeles but is sending his best.
    Marta & Jim Enstrom and Matt Malkan.

  19. Speaking with Avi a wee while ago about our high school reunion and how he wanted to be on the organising committee. Pray for a Refuah shlema .

  20. Avi, so many people are praying for your full and complete recovery. We pray that everything you have given others will now be given to you.

  21. Avi,

    There are many people who are virtually surrounding you. Please feel us with you, even when our bodies are not. We are thinking and praying for you, and when you get better, and you are ready for us, one by one, we will come to you bearing spiritual and physical gifts, so that you can be with us again, full-throttle, in body, with your go-gett-em spirit.

    Signed,

    All of us

  22. Avi,

    our thoughts and prayers are with you. We hope you have a quick and full recovery soon.

    -Hal Schloss, the Schloss family, and Boy Scout Troop 360

  23. Avi, so enjoyed catching up with you a few weeks ago, wishing you a speedy and complete recovery
    Love Debbie, Richard and family

  24. Avi, My thoughts and prayers are with you and your boys. I went to temple last night to pray for a speedy and full recovery. I still need to hear about Your house in Tzfat. Love, Gila

  25. Avi, may God be with you and heal you for all the work that needs to be done at this difficult time in our world’s history. Amen.

  26. I implore thee Lord Jesus to have mercy upon Avi and bring him back to us quickly and completely. We know the power of prayer and in this season of good will to men, please heal Avi. We place our trust in Thee and in Thy Divine Mercy.

  27. Dear Avi, our prayers are with you for a full recovery. You are a great leader and we are inspired by you. Always a pleasure to see you and we look forward to seeing you again soon.

  28. Sending you angles, love and prayers for a full recovery. We all need you in our lives
    You have more to do on this earth.

  29. Shalom to Avi, his friends and family…We are praying for your full recovery. You are a very strong man. We pray for the doctors and medical staff that are caring for you Avi. G-d bless you and keep you and help you to heal.

  30. For those who inquired, Avi’s Hebrew name is: Avraham Tzvi Ben Bat Sheva
    We are hoping and praying for his full recovery. My sons and I are very grateful for your prayers and kind words

    1. Dear Naomi,
      As an old school friend of Avi, it is with great sadness I read of his untimely death. wishing you and your sons Matti and Aviad long life.
      warmest regards,
      Ilana Nayman

  31. Dear Lord, please be with Avi and his family as they go through this ordeal. Give the doctors wisdom and skill, and may the prognosis be favorable. We ask in Your Name Jesus, because You said we should.

  32. Dear Avi. My entire community is praying for you. You have always been a great friend and an inspiration for your love of your family, friends and Israel and liberty. We love you. May Hashem give you a refuah shelema

  33. Avi and your Boys,

    You have touched many lives , your very important work has made this world a better place! We earnestly pray that you will receive the blessing of a full and speedy recovery.

    Your Texas Friends
    Chuck and Anita

  34. On behalf of Mitchell Flint and the “Angels in the Sky” team we send you prayers and good thoughts. I happen to be at the Hospital visiting my agent and good friend. If Jeff allows I will stop by to say a prayer in person.

  35. Dear Avi, I am with you in this difficult moment.
    I am praying for you from Paris and I hope to see you soon to celebrate your recovery.
    Very wrm regards and refuah shlema.

    Philippe

  36. Avi,

    Wishing you a full Refuah Shlema. Have a full and complete recovery very soon!
    Our prayers are with you!

    Your friend
    …Benjamin Abrams

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