Family and friends continue to mourn the death of Alan Weinkrantz, following shocking news of the PR executive’s death. Alan was dining outdoors at the Furama Chinese restaurant in Tel Aviv, Israel when a car smashed into the restaurant.
The crash killed the driver and his passenger, two other patrons of the restaurant, and injured another six. The driver of the car lost control of the vehicle after suffering a heart attack.
Work in Israel
Weinkrantz was in Israel on a business trip and was out for dinner at the time the crash occurred. He had flown to Israel on numerous occasions over the past 25 years for work. While in Israel, he usually met with tech-startups, and got involved in local community events.
He helped many tech startups create a presence in Israel. He wrote numerous articles for big names like the Geektime, and Times of Israel. He also worked specifically with Rackspace from November 2014 as a brand ambassador.
In his work, Weinkrantz stated that “he had worked with virtually every high-tech accelerator and cooperative work space in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Haifa, Nazareth, and Be’er Sheva.”
Family and Friends in Mourning
The American Embassy delivered the news to Weinkrantz’s two children, the day before Father’s Day. His daughter, Lauren, took to Facebook to express her remorse, and described her father as her “best friend.”
One of his close friends also shared how she heard about the crash before bed, and then woke up the following morning to learn that Weinkrantz had passed away as a result of it. “We met seven years ago and were pretty close,” Miriam Schwab remembers. “We would see each other whenever possible, during his visits to Israel. He was just a kind-hearted, honest, decent man with a positive attitude. He was always looking to help out.
Other colleagues in Israel also took to social media expressing their deep regret for their loss, and to share footage of their last encounters with him.
Alan Weinkrantz’s Legacy
Weinkrantz started his career with a background in technology and played a role in the growth of data networking, cyber security, and wireless internet, after the computer craze which began in the 1970s. For 35 years, Weinkrantz ran his own agency, before taking time off to travel, and do consultancy work.
Weinkrantz possessed a bachelor’s in business administration and volunteered as a mentor for startups from 2006 until his passing. He was a contributing columnist at Times of Israel for Startup Israel, and at Owner Magazine for the StartOver Economy.