President of the Diamond Exchange from 1951 to 1958, Vice President of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses.
Moshe (Moses – Moritz) Intrater was born in 1895 in Przemysl (Poland), at that time Austro–Hungary.
In 1933,motivated by Zionism and fearful of developments in Europe, he moved from Vienna to Israel with his wife and children, where he continued to be active in commerce and trade, first in Tel Aviv and later in Haifa.
In1938 he returned to Tel Aviv and began working in the diamond trade, mainly through his own as well as his family's contacts with diamantaires in Belgium and Holland. During World War II he traveled several times to South Africa in order to bring rough diamonds to Israel, a route fraught with hardship and dangers. Moshe returned safely from these trips to his home in Tel Aviv, where he managed his rough and polished diamond trading business.
In the early years of his career he was a member of the Eretz Israel Diamond Club, the Importers Association and the Israel Diamond Society and later in the Israel Diamond Club (a modification of the Israel Diamond Club) and the Israel Diamond Exchange.
In 1951, he was elected Chairman of the Diamond Club and President of the Diamond Exchange, a position he held until 1958. During these years a merger took place between the Diamond Club and the Diamond Exchange and the first International Congress was held in Israel (in 1956).
Even after his retirement, Intrater eagerly continued his weekly visits to the Diamond Exchange.
Moshe Intrater passed away in 1968.
From the book "The Jewel in the Crown" by Shira Ami.
