Avi Davis, journalist, AFA co-founder and president, 57

Avi Davis, a prolific writer and president of nonpartisan organization American Freedom Alliance (AFA), died Dec. 21 at UCLA Medical Center after suffering a heart attack while riding a bike, according to news reports. He was 57.

Davis was a native of Melbourne, Australia, who contributed many columns to the Jewish Journal. He graduated from Monash University Faculty of Law in Melbourne in 1981 and moved to Los Angeles three years later. 

At the time of his death, he was also the editor of The Intermediate Zone, a blog hosted on the conservative AFA’s website that covered issues ranging from the Iranian nuclear deal to the solo career of Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards.

He previously served as regional director of American Associates of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (AABGU) and of the Streisand Center for Jewish Cultural Arts, the precursor to the Dortort Center for Creativity in the Arts at UCLA Hillel. For several years, he worked as a consultant for a Beverly Hills company that raised capital for the Israeli Internet industry. 

Philip Gomperts, regional director of AABGU who worked with Davis, said he was religious, pro-Israel and committed to his family, which includes his sons Mati, a senior at Shalhevet High School, and Amiad, an alumnus of Shalhevet, according to a statement issued by Shalhevet, as well as Davis’ parents, Betty and Jack; his sister, Yvette; and brothers Yoni and Shimmi, according to Breitbart News.

“He was just a very nice man,” Gomperts said during a phone interview. 

For the Journal, Davis wrote pro-Israel columns, including “The Editorialists’ Settlement Fatigue” and “Roger Waters Builds His Wall.”

Jewish Journal blogger Mark Paredes recently wrote that Davis will be missed. 

“Few people I met in Los Angeles were more dedicated to the pursuit of truth and honest inquiry,” Paredes wrote, “and his passing leaves a hole in the Jewish world that will not easily be filled.”

The funeral took place Dec. 22 at Home of Peace Memorial Park.