24' Friday, March 25, 1983
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Max Fisher: Business - Philanthropy Judaism
By RON LANDAU
way of life because there ever
thi
everything
and d I 1 ways
That's what I believe in very level. We have got a respon-
wasn't any chance to do had a desire to have good
firmly. I'm also a firm be- sibility on the national level
(Editor's note: Th is that.
marks.
liever in promdting aliya to and international level as
copyrighted interview by
My parents spoke Yiddish
That trait of my character
Israel.
Landau is an excer pt at home for quite a good started out when I was a
well. If we can't become in-
These are some of the volved personally, there are
from a book in progre ss many years, but as far as young kid, whether I was
things that mean a lot to other people that are hon-
on North America's mo st the opportunity to get in- involved in athletics or any-
me, but I have basically a est, hard working, and sin-
successful Jewi sh volved in Jewish affairs, a thing else.
fundamental feeling for cere who you can entrust
businessmen.)
Jewish education, there just
Did you have to start
charity.. A good Jew is a the job to. I mean, I can't say
The range of Max Fishe r 's wasn't any. That's part of working early in life as a
good citizen. A good Jew to myself that I have to
accomplishments is so the reason I'm so much in- result of economic neces-
would give to any charity, supervise every dollar that I
broad as to make him d if- terested in Jewish educa- sity?
not just Jewish charities.
ficult to characterize. 0 ne tion. That's one of my pet
give away to charity, which
Oh, yes. I worked my way
He's a good citizen; he is a , substantial amount of
could portray him as an e x _ projects.
through college. My parents
gives to everything. money.
traordinary commerci al
What would you say gave me $150 and I had
Tzedaka, charity, is some-
success. After all, how ma ny were the top moral values some money from a football
This morning some
thing that you do as a people came in. They're
people could start with a that your parents tried to scholarship, but then I
MAX FISHER
natural obligation. It's not building a new Home for the
used lubricating oil repro o _ instill in you?
worked. I worked in Colum-
omething you do for an ego Aged. Paul Borman asked
essing plant and develop it
Well, honesty and integ- bus, Ohio. I worked my way came to Detroit in 1930.
And how did you sta rt? t rip, to have someone call me for some money for a
into a fortune estimated b y rity, certainly. Also, my t hrough school entirely out-
Through the local fede ra- ° ut your name. I think new building. I don't ques-
Forbes magazine in the vi c _ folks used to care for any s ide of that first $150.
hat's something in the tion that they've done a
tion?
inity of $100 million?
Jew who came into town.
What kinds of jobs di
J ewish psyche, the feeling
One could put the e m _ My mother had a pushka, as y ou hold? What wer e
Yes. My first involveme nt 0 f helping one another. I do great job at the Home for the
phasis on his role in th e far as Israel is concerned. y our first jobs?
Aged, so I'm going to give
was when I gave a gift of $5
world of politics, as th e They were pretty strict as
Well, for my first job, it 's back in 1932, and I used to n ot know where it came them some.
main link betwee n far as the difference be- i nteresting, I carried ice i n do a little soliciting and be- b from or how it came about,
But for me to say, "I want
ut I believe it's there.
Presidents Nixon and For d tween right and wrong, but t he summertime in Clev e- came interested in t he
to know exactly what you're
and the American Jewis h they didn't instill distinctly 1 and. I represente d community center, a nd a After all, when you think doing" — that would be
community. As the follow _ Jewish values.
ichman Brothers Clothin g home for the aged. So, I w as p bout charity, the first wrong. They are honest, de-
eople to write about char- cent, Jews who have feeling.
ing interview indicates, h e
There's a little book one of the last couple of years - i n available for philanthro
py
ty, tzedaka, is the Jews. We
seems to prefer to view him _ the boys in my office wrote c ollege and I did constru c- of
r i h t f from
r
t Ae
h n time
i oe g got r i o ut h ave a tradition of tithing. I So I don't quite agree with
self more in the role of th e on the Fisher family. It tells t ion work in the summe r-
that attitude.
college.
of
u se, f
I tour
philanthropist, a pursuit t O about their family back- t ime. I worked in a facto ry the degree of it increased as t eel I have to carry on that
I can speak personally
radition.
which he devoted copiou s ground. We just didn't have w hen I was in high schoo
about the Jewish Agency
I had time and the means to
I
think
that
we
need
to
amounts of both tim e the opportunity for some s o I was keeping busy.
do it.
m aintain our identity as where a large amount of
(chairman of the Board o f things, but they did a pretty
You mentioned ahead
What principles guide d J ews. We have something to money ends up and I can say
Governors of the Jewis h good job, as far as moral t hat your mother had th e
that it's not spent foolishly.
you
in selecting whic h
0 ffer not only our own chil-
Agency is just one of th e values are concerned.
ushka, and that yo u p hilanthropies
I go to Israel four times a
n- d ren, but the world as a
to
many organizational posi
Was ambition, the drive t ook care of Jewish vis
year, 10 days at a time, and I
w
volved
with?
hole.
So
I'm
very
much
tions he holds) and mone y to succeed, something it ors in town. Was philan
di sturbed about the inter- watch that money as reli-
In Detroit I was active i
(half of his annual income , that your parents instil- t hropy, concern fo r
giously as anybody could,
led in you?
according to Forbes).
thers, something tha t t he United Foundation, a fa arriage problem, and the supervising, and I hope
ct
the
younger
generation
However you view him
Oh, I don't know neces- y our parents pushe d c ommunity organization of
people who give money to
as lost some of our Jewish the UJA, the Keren
which I became chairma
Max Fisher is clearly one o f sarily whether that's cor- h and in your home?
pirit. So whether it's a Hayesod, and the large
a nd president, and the fir st
the most prominent Jews i n rect, I think that's some-
Very much so.
ome for the aged or a hos- Jewish charities do so with
today's world. In the follow _ thing that's self-induced. I
ime a Jew had ever ha
Your mother or you
Pi tal or whatever, I feel it's confidence that the people
hat post.
ing interview, he share s don't think it's parents so f ather?
a n obligation — not really
with us his views on matter s much as the individual
Both.
Other than that, first of a n
in charge are watching out
obligation, just a natural for their interests.
of particular interst t O himself who determines
That's interesting, wit h a 11, I was interested in loc all
American Jews.
whether he has a driving m ost of the people I'v e c ommunity activities for I s- to art of life sort of like taxes,
Let me ask you about
make whatever contribu- your own personal de-
Landau: I'd like t O ambition or not to be suc- S poken to so far, it seem 5 r ael.
ti
on I can toward the per- gree of Jewish obser-
know about the degree o f cessful.
to have come more fro m
Jewish observance and
You can find many chil- th e mother than th e Z You were involved wit h pe tuation of Jewishness, vance. Do you identify as
ionist activities from th e a nd I know a lot ofJews feel
Jewish atmosphere in dren who come from suc- fa ther.
Reform, Conservative, or
tart?
th e same way I do.
your home as a child.
cessful families who don't
Orthodox.
Well, my father was al
No,
not
Zionist
activitie
s,
I've
often
wondered
s
Fisher: Well, my folk want to do anything, and w ays a very generous per
Well I'm a member of both
b
kept kashrut.
there are those who come so n, even with the peopl e s ecause, I told you I lived a w here so many Jews get this Conservative and Reform
mall
town
and
never
ha
d fe eling. Of course a lot of
from poor families who w
Were they European don't want to do it either, st ho came to his clothin g t he opportunity. But m y pe ople say it was Israel that synagogues. Shaarey Zedek
ore.
He
was
always
very
fi rst visit to Israel was i n br ought it about, but we had is where my parents went
born or American born? and there are others who ge
all these years. We knew
nerous
to
anybody
who
1 954. I became president o f it before, back in history
European born. We lived have the drive. I think basi- w
Rabbi Morris Adler, Rabbi
in a small town, so we had cally it's up to the indi- w as in trouble. He was al - t he federation and chair
I'm
reminded,
you
know
ays very helpful.
, Hershman. They were great
m an of a campaign and I be
very few Jewish families.
that the thing that kep t friends. Also Rabbi Richard
vidual himself.
We used to have a lot o
In this book (pointing
And when did you con- pe ople over. You know, in f c ame chairman of th e Judaism alive is strong,
Hertz of Temple Beth El.
U nited Jewish Appeal, an
to a copy of "The Self- sciously begin to feel that
thodox Jews with a feelin
I wouldn't say I'm very
Chosen" on Fisher's ta- you really wanted to th ose days a lot ofJews used p resident of the Council o f of dogma who were willin g
g much of an observant Jew
ble) they said that you make a big success of t to o go through the small J ewish Federations. Now, o
to
withstand
anything
fo
✓ outside of the holidays, but I
wns — this is going back a co urse, you know I'm stil
were born in Ohio yourself?
fe w years ago — we always th e chairman of the Board o 1 what they believed in an d try to do my observance in
whereas in "Who's Who,"
what they felt, and I think different ways. My children
I've always had an ambi- ha
if I recall correctly, it says tion to do things well that w d a place for them. That G overnors of the Jewis h they did a great service fo
✓ have all grown up with a
as
just
a
fundamental
A gency.
that you were born in started when I was a kid, pr
us and for the whole worl d significant degree of
inciple.
Pittsburgh.
Jewish education is an
because it gave us strength • Jewishness.
and developed through high
And when did you first ot her area of philanthrop
That's right. We moved to school, and college. I always
It gave us a sense of under
ge
t
involved
in
philan-
I'm just reading about
th at's very important to me
Ohio when I was about 10 had an ambition to be in-
standing. It gave us an your daughter (Jane
th
ropy
in
a
big
way,
an
M
aybe that's because I opportunity to contribute to
months old. We just didn't volved in community activi-
Sherman )
the Detroit
never had any. I think w
have a very strongly Jewish ties to be involved in almost ac ve way.
I started right after I have to maintain our iden e the world in so many ways. Jewish News. I was very
I was speaking with
tity. We have something t o Irving Shapiro of Du impressed.
She doesn't like to be re-
give to the world. "We've go t Pont last' week and he
ferred
to as Max Fisher's
to maintain the spirit o f said that he prefers to get
daughter. She's getting on
Judaism.
involved in charities on her own. But the kids, all of
That's where we're trying the local level because
g
to do a lot of work and re - there he can supervise them, they have an in-
seach — to try to figure out more closely what is volvement in Jewish af-
ORCHARD MALL --- Orchard Lake Road North of Maple
how to impart our heritage being done with the fairs.
My son-in-law in Palm
to our children.
money, whereas, on the
Another thing, I have a national level, he doesn't Beach, and my son, are both
fundamental code. That is: know what's happening. active in the federation, in
• TABLE LINENS • DINNERWARE • FLATWARE
Israel needs strong, Jewish What's your opinion the temple and my children
communities in the Dias- about that point of view? have grown up with some
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feeling of pride and identity
pora, and Jewish com-
I've supervised on a local,
munities need a strong Is- a national, and now I super- of their Jewishness. I feel
rael. They will complement vise on an international proud of that.
MAX BURNS HUMIDOR ONE
Are most of your close
each other.
level, the Jewish Agency. I
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It is our obligation to pro- think it's an obligation of friends Jewish?
Oh yes. Most of my close
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and more on all Pipes, Lighters and
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Sasieni, Peterson, Colibri, Maruman, etc.
You have to have trust gentile friends, but I'd say
don't care where he is. and confidence. The Jewish that on the basis of real per-
That's our responsibility. cause goes beyond the local (Continued on Page 25)
(Copyright, 1982, Ron Landau)
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