If being president for life of a country\u00a0the size of a football field<\/a>\u00a0isn\u2019t weird enough for you, Avivi also may hold the record for strangest charge: In 1970, when the Israeli government tried to bulldoze his home, he declared Akhzivland\u2019s independence, \u201cjust as Israel did before me<\/a>,\u201d he says.\u00a0He claims that he was taken to court on the charge of \u201ccreating a country without permission\u201d \u2013 until it was revealed that no such charge exists.<\/p>\n Against all odds,\u00a0in 1972 Avivi won his case against the Israeli government<\/a>\u00a0and was granted a 99-year lease. Despite the ruling, it\u2019s not clear that a visit to Akhzivland constitutes a true border crossing \u2013 but Avivi has his own passport stamp ready, just in case.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Jewniverse is a daily email list and blog featuring extraordinary, inspirational, forgotten and just-plain-strangedispatches from Jewish culture, tradition and history. Sign up at\u00a0TheJewniverse.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n![\"Share](\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/share-medium.png\")