Veteran askanim Rabbi Shia Markowitz and Rabbi Shmuel Bloom join forces for shemittah
Before Shia Markowitz, a decades-long communal activist whose stamp is on some of the most important communal initiatives in recent years, took over the international shemittah umbrella, he admits that he didn’t have much emotional connection to Eretz Yisrael. Today, joining forces with former Agudah executive Rabbi Shmuel Bloom, the two American askanim are working tirelessly so that the Holy Land can have its rest Reb Shia Markowitz might just be the most famous askan you never heard of. Although he’s managed to stay well below the radar, the Monsey resident’s fingerprints are on some of the frum community’s most important initiatives, from decades ago through the present. Reb Shia’s first claim to fame came early on, as a celebrated summertime hoopster, a magician on the courts who helped bring many a victory to Camp Torah Vodaath (CTV) in the frum sleepaway camp basketball leagues of the late 1960s and early 1970s.