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Attention
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PHIL JACOBS
EDITOR
Bob Naftaly: At the head
of Federation.
himself; leaning against an air-
port lounge wall and just
watching the children.
His other "full-time" job is
president of the Jewish Fed-
eration. It's not something
that he gets paid to do, yet it
pays off in so many intangible
ways.
"My job is to listen and to
understand the community,"
he said.
Sometimes understanding
the community means taking
a look at it in a different way.
Under his "watch," Federation
has taken a national model
and kicked open the door to its
success.
It's called Partnership 2000.
Its model is to bring people to-
gether, Israelis and Detroi-
ters, in an exchange of
expertise and ideas. Detroit
has become the model of the
country's most proactive Part-
nership 2000 under Mr. Naf-
taly and executive vice presi-
dent Robert Aronson.
It's not only Partnership
2000 that symbolizes Mr. Naf-
taly's presidency. Indeed, Mr.
Naftaly's hot buttons also in-
clude Federation involvement
in services for the Jewish poor
and elderly and education for
all Jewish children.
It sounds like a list of cam-
paign promises from a candi-
date running for office. Yet,
for Mr. Naftaly, it's how he's
running the top spot in Fed-
eration.
"Going to the airport and
watching the young people get-
ting ready to go to Is-
rael was very exciting
for me," he said. "I was
even more excited be-
cause I knew what
they were about to ex-
perience. I think the
kids had sensed that
their lives were about
to be changed."
If there's anything
that is frustrating to
Mr. Naftaly, it's what
people don't know
about Federation. He
said that he's aware of
what people think
Federation doesn't do.
"It's a small num-
ber who know how
many people we af-
fect," he said. 'Do they
know that we affect
campers, battered
wives, immigrants
and that we offer a
wide range of social
services? Most people
think of Federation
links to Israel. They
think of giving money.
I think this is our
fault, not theirs.
. "We haven't done a
good enough job of
reaching out to the to-
tality of the commu-
nity and getting our
message across of
what it means to the
totality of the community. But
what we also have to do is
work on what it means to be a
community."
Mr. Naftaly calls himself a
child of the Holocaust era and
a child of the birth of the State
of Israel. He said that anti-
Semitism was something that
made him want to become part
of something bigger in Ju-
daism "so we don't have these
problems."
"People say Israel's fine,
strong and big. American Jews
are accepted here in America.
Now we have new rights, but
the down side is that as part of
those new rights, we can
choose not to be part of the
Jewish community. That
makes me worry. Part of what
makes me Jewish is the sense
of peoplehood that's involved.
For me this came from my
home and the Yeshiva (Beth
Yehudah).
"I think there's a greater re-
sponsibility now than ever,"
Mr. Naftaly continued. "If I can
fight anti-Semitism, if I can
help Israel be safe, then I'm do-
ing my job."
Mr. Naftaly, 58, and a West
Bloomfield resident, comes to
the Federation presidency with
ample credentials. Profession-
ally he has served as senior
vice president for Blue Cross
and Blue Shield of Michigan.
He was director of the Michi-
gan Department of Manage-
ment and Budget from 1983 to
1987 and vice president and
general auditor of Detroit Edi-
son. He is a graduate of Walsh
College of Accountancy, na-
tional treasurer of the Anti-
Defamation League and
immediate past president of
the Jewish Home for the Aged.
"He cares about people,"
said Mr. Aronson. "That's
his area of interest: the elder-
ly, teen services and persons
with disabilities. He's com-
mitted to that agenda. He's
very supportive of me as a pro-
fessional. He's valued the con-
tributions that our staff
makes. And that's really crit-
ical.
"Also," added Mr. Aronson,
"he's got his own personal
style. He didn't grow up
wealthy in Detroit. He's a self-
made man, and that's where
his judgement and reading of
people helps us a lot. He's a
real person. He's a peoples'
president."
He's also a president who
worries about Jews.
"I worry about assimilation
and the effect it has on those
who want to be Jews," he said.
"I worry about what people do
when they need a support sys-
tem."
Mr. Naftaly sees the Jew-
ish community as a village.
He believes an organization
such as Federation is that
very community. Part of that
involvement comes from an
attraction of youth.
"I guarantee you 10 years
ago we didn't have functions
such as (Young Adult Divi-
sion) bar nights," said Mr.
Naftaly. "We have to teach our
families that we don't have an
option but to teach Jewish
family values if we want our
children to remain Jewish.
"In the old days, people
didn't have the 'right' to
choose if they were Jewish or
not. Now, if we say they have
that right, we want them to
choose us, because it is a hap-
py, interesting place to be. We
shouldn't chase anyone away
from Federation because he
or she is different."
On the future of Federation
services, Mr. Naftaly said that
with expected modifications
in the way state and federal
welfare allocations are made,
federations across the coun-
try will be asked to do more.
More Jews will come to Fed-
eration for help. A great deal
of that help will come in the
form of aid to the Jewish el-
derly.
"Someone once said that a
community is judged by the
way it treats its elderly," he
said.
On education, he said:
"Every child who wants a
Jewish education should get
one. It ought not be because
your parents are wealthy."
Concerning Federation:
"Federation is not them, it's
us. You are the Federation."
Flashback. Bob Naftaly is
standing at Federation's an-
nual meeting at Shaarey
Zedek. He seems uncomfort-
able at the podium as hun-
dreds listen to his every word.
He quotes Elie Wiesel: "Being
Jewish is a remedy against
solitude, for a Jew is forever
surrounded by his communi-
ty." The applause is great as
he takes his seat. He blends
in. He looks around as other
leaders are recognized.
It's pure Bob Naftaly. The
others are getting the credit
now. That's what he likes. El