Centenarian leader of religious Zionist movement and prominent Canadian Zionist leader passes away.

(Courtesy of Arutz Sheva) Kurt Rothschild, the president of the World Mizrachi movement, passed away Sunday. He was 101 years old.

“Rothschild, the president of the World Mizrachi, who dedicated his life to strengthening the State of Israel and to Jewish education was one of the leaders of Canadian Jewry and a partner with Religious Zionism, passed away today,” the World Bnei Akiva movement announced Sunday night.

“He will be laid to rest tomorrow in Jerusalem.”

Ehud Tal, secretary-general of the World Bnei Akiva movement, said Rothschild was “known throughout the entire Zionist enterprise in Israel and around the world.”

“He was a true friend of the Bnei Akiva Movement and dedicated his life to the spirit of Torah V’Avodah. Thanks to him, many connected to their Jewish identity and to the Jewish people and the Torah.”

Born in Germany in 1920, Rothschild was sent to England by his parents in 1937, before being relocated by the British to Canada in 1940.

Along with other German refugees, Rothschild was interned in Canada for 18 months.

For more than half a century, Rothschild was actively involved in philanthropic activities, working on behalf of Israeli institutions including Bar-Ilan University, Shaare Zedek Medical Center, Yeshivat Hakotel, the Jerusalem College of Technology, the Bnei Akiva movement, and towns across Israel.

As a Zionist activist, Rothschild worked in a variety of Jewish organizations, including United Jewish Appeal, Canadian Zionist Federation, Canadian Jewish Congress,Jewish National Fund, Israel Bonds, the Jewish Agency for Israel, and the World Zionist Organization.

In 2012, Rothschild and his wife Edith immigrated to Israel from Toronto.

World Mizrachi eulogized Rothschild in a statement Sunday night, dubbing him the “legendary president” of the organization.

“Kurt was ‘one in a generation’ with an unmatched love of the People, Torah and Land of Israel with his signature humility, unshakable determination and exceptional menschlichkeit.”

Rabbi Doron Perez, executive chairman of World Mizrachi said, “Kurt was small in physical stature but was a giant of a man in his never-ending contribution and commitment to Klal Yisrael in general and Religious Zionism in particular. We are heartbroken and our hearts go out to his wife Edith, and children Lenny, Naomi, Michael and the extended Rothschild family at this time.”