Born in Tel Aviv in 1937, Lustig served on the Israel Diamond Exchange’s board of directors and eventually became vice-president. He was also a board member of the Israel Diamond Manufacturers Association (IsDMA).
Lustig began his 50-year career in the diamond industry when he joined the family business—one of the first diamond polishing plants in Israel—in 1958. He later founded his own company, Moshe Lustig Diamonds Ltd., focusing on the Far East and building it into one of Israel’s three largest exporters of polished diamonds.
“Simcha Lustig was a visionary and a leader,” said IDI chair and IsDMA president Moti Ganz. “He believed in the industry and its people, and he was willing to invest great efforts in realizing his vision. During his term as IDI chair he played a key role in strengthening the Israeli industry’s relations with the global diamond industry. His legacy will remain with us always.”
As a volunteer for the Israel Defense Forces’ paratroopers unit, Lustig sustained a serious injury that left him confined to a wheelchair ever since. Despite the challenge, he maintained an active lifestyle, becoming a table tennis champion, a member of the Israeli basketball team, and winning a bronze medal in the 1964 Paraplegic Olympic Games in Tokyo.
Last February, the IDI presented Lustig with a lifetime achievement award during the Third International Rough Diamond Conference. A few months later, the IsDMA presented him with the title ‘Dignitary of the Industry.’
Lustig is survived by his wife Naomi and daughters Ronili, Daphna, and Tamar.
