Brothers’ pride in Israel ‘goes to their heads’

Co-founders of Hats for Israel hope to educate as they support Israel

Jeffrey and Adam Levin’s passion for Israel may be felt in their hearts, but the brothers are also clearly thinking with their heads. The two native Milwaukeeans recently founded Hats for Israel, a not-for-profit business featuring baseball caps embroidered with an Israeli flag whose proceeds go to Israel.

“If Ralph Lauren can make a hat with an American flag, why can’t we make a hat with an Israeli flag?” asked Jeffrey, in a recent telephone interview. The 33-year-old brothers, now Washington D.C. area residents, said the company’s mission is to foster renewed Jewish pride and peace in Israel.

Jeffrey got the idea for the hats after attending the national solidarity rally for Israel on April 15 on Capitol Hill. “It was a great feeling to see so many Americans standing up and supporting the American stance regarding Israel,” he explained. He turned to his father, Milwaukeean Lloyd Levin, who also attended, and said, “This would have been a perfect opportunity to sell t-shirts or hats and donate the proceeds to Israel.”

That night, he said, “A light flickered and I thought, ‘Why can’t we make hats and sell them to support Israel?’”

So Jeffrey contacted Milwaukeean Todd Richheimer of Visual Impressions, a silk screening and embroidery company, who made a prototype. While visiting his family for Passover, Jeffrey showed the model cap to community shaliach Nir Barkin, who thought the idea was great.

Caps currently come in three styles in white and navy blue. One has the Israeli flag embroidered on the front and “est. 1948” on the back. Another has “48” on the front and the flag on the back. For children, there is a denim bucket style hat with the flag on its front.

“Est. 1948,” partially conceived by native Milwaukeean Elie Zarem, a Baltimore resident, is a “talking point” that refers to the year of Israel’s independence. “A lot of parents buy hats for their children and a lot of children don’t know” the year of modern Israel’s birth, Jeffrey said.

The company is staffed by volunteers, including its worldwide advisory board. All net proceeds of the $20 adult hats and $18 childrens’ hats are split between the Israel Emergency Campaign of United Jewish Communities and the Friends of the Israel Defense Forces.

Jeffrey and Adam, along with their sister Jodi Coplan of Highland Park, Ill., are triplets to Sheri and Lloyd Levin of Fox Point. Jeffrey credits his parents for his extensive Jewish involvement and passion for Israel.

“They’re my role models,” he said, citing in detail their longtime work with local and national Jewish organizations.

The Levin’s commitment to Israel is not new. The family toured Israel on a family mission in the late 1970s. Then, in 1983, the family “picked up and moved to Israel,” said Jeffrey. They returned after a year because the children, in their first year of high school, had difficulty adjusting to the new culture.

Jeffrey returned to Israel to participate in Hetz V’Keshet, a volunteer army program for sons and daughters of Israelis living abroad. He also spent a semester his junior year of college at Tel Aviv University.

He believes strongly that “Israel is not a given.” We must “show our support — and support means different things. Support means education and supporting organizations that lobby for Israel, not just monetary [contributions].”

In addition to running Hats for Israel, Adam and Jeffrey own and operate an online management company (eHome Companies) and a real estate brokerage (iWantaLowRate.com).

Hats for Israel has sold more than 500 hats, and the brothers’ dreams for the company are far from complete. They’d like to “co-brand” with other Jewish organizations, so that the organizations can have their name, logo or event included in the hat design. A recent mission to Israel featured such co-branded hats.

Jeffrey said he also would like to create a new hat each year and have people view them as keepsakes. As part of his goal to help children form an attachment to Israel, he envisions donations of hats to entire camps of children.

For more information, visit their website, www.hatsforisrael.com.