LA’s Chabad Campus for Jewish Life to Be Largest Jewish Center in North America
West Coast Chabad announced today the acquisition of a 16-story complex in Los Angeles that will become the Chabad Campus for Jewish Life, the largest Jewish center in North America. The gift of the $100 million campus—one of the largest contributions to a Jewish organization in history—comes from real estate professional Alon Abady and his wife, Monique, in honor of Alon’s mother, Liora Abady.
The 300,000-square-foot, 1,200-car facility at 9911 W. Pico Blvd. sits in the heart of Jewish Los Angeles, at the gateway to Century City and Beverly Hills. It is located directly across from Hillcrest Country Club and adjacent to the Fox Studios lot and the Simon Wiesenthal Center.
The Chabad Campus for Jewish Life will house a range of Jewish communal functions: a synagogue; Jewish life-cycle venues; youth and senior programming; mental-health and social services; support for thousands of Jewish students on college campuses; and infrastructure for large communal gatherings and international events.
The campus will address urgent communal challenges.
It will host educational facilities, and offer specialized programming for children with special needs, comprehensive services for California’s growing aging population, and state-of-the-art museums using multimedia to engage both Jews and non-Jews with Jewish history, heritage and the story of the Land of Israel.
“It will be an epicenter of Jewish life,” says Rabbi Chaim Nochum Cunin. “It will transform the landscape of Jewish life in Los Angeles and throughout the world.”
He adds, “The scope and reach of the center will reverberate globally, as we scale new heights in expanding the Rebbe’s reach through Jewish philanthropy, community outreach, education, and social services.”
‘A Beacon of Light’
When the Abady family arrived in the United States in the 1970s, they arrived with little means. Within two years, facing financial hardship and with no support network to turn to, they met Rabbi Baruch Shlomo Cunin, the West Coast Director of Chabad-Lubavitch, then a young emissary of the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory, sent to grow Chabad-Lubavitch across California, with the goal of building Jewish life in the region. Rabbi Cunin helped the family navigate their hardship, and helped provide the foundation to rebuild their lives.
Alon Abady went on to build a real estate empire, and Rabbi Cunin continued his mission given by the Rebbe, transforming Jewish life on the West Coast.
But the Abadys never forgot.
When West Coast Chabad approached Abady about 9911 W. Pico Blvd., which he had recently acquired, the response was immediate. He shared that the family had never forgotten what Chabad and Rabbi Cunin had done for them in their time of need, and that it was time to repay that kindness.
“This gift reflects our deep commitment to the Los Angeles community of all faiths and backgrounds, and our desire to leave a lasting impact that will endure for future generations,” said Alon Abady. “The Abady Family Center, owned and operated by the Chabad Campus for Jewish Life, is intended not only as a physical home for the Los Angeles community, but also as a platform for growth, adaptability and long-term community benefit. This is a lifelong dream that also allows me to honor my parents and my children. When my family immigrated to Los Angeles in the 1970s, Chabad was there for us. That was never forgotten.”
The closing occurred on the afternoon of Friday, Jan. 9. As Shabbat approached, leaders and friends of West Coast Chabad hurried to the property to celebrate and affix the first mezuzah on the building’s door.
The Jewish date of the closing coincided with 20 Tevet, the yahrtzeit of the Rambam, also known as Maimonides. In 1984 the Rebbe established a cycle of daily study of the Rambam’s monumental work, Mishneh Torah, explaining that this would unify the Jewish people no matter their background. Rabbi Cunin felt it was a particularly auspicious date, as the new center will likewise be a point of unity for Angelinos from all walks of life.
The announcement comes during a period marked by rising antisemitism and harrowing events—most recently, with the Bondi Chanukah Massacre in Australia that claimed the lives of 15 people, including Chabad Rabbi Eli Schlanger and Rabbi Yaakov Levitan, chief operating officer at Chabad of Bondi.
The closing occurred on the afternoon of Friday, Jan. 9.
West Coast Chabad sees the acquisition of what will be the largest Jewish center in North America as a direct response to the darkness and hatred, and a concrete way to channel the Rebbe’s teaching to double down on good works in the face of difficulties.
“This extraordinary gift reflects the Rebbe’s mission to illuminate the world through goodness and kindness,” says Rabbi Baruch Sholom Cunin. “The Chabad Campus for Jewish Life will serve as a beacon of light, strengthening Jewish life while uplifting and serving the entire Los Angeles and global community for generations to come.”
