Israel Ally

Butzel Award winner Jane Sherman has dedicated
her life to supporting the Jewish homeland.

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n 1962, when she was 21, Jane
Sherman visited Israel for the
first time as part of a United
Jewish Appeal (UJA) young
leadership mission. She bonded with
the land instantly.
"I was hooked," Sherman said.
"It was still a young country. A new
nation was being built and I wanted
to be a part of it. My Jewish education
up to then had been nil, but there was
no doubt — I went bananas wanting
to make aliyah."

9/25
1998

14 Detroit Jewish News

Her bond with the Jewish home-
land now spans 36 years. In that time,
the Franklin resident has established
herself as one of Israel's best friends —
a passionate and effective advocate for
programs that advance the Jewish state
and educate Jewish Americans about
Israel's influence on their Jewish iden-
tity.
In this 50th anniversary year of
Israel's statehood, the Jewish
Federation of Metropolitan Detroit is
giving her its highest honor, the Fred
M. Butzel Memorial Award. It will be
presented at Federation's 72nd annual
meeting at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Sept.

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28, in Temple Israel, Sherman's home
synagogue.
The annual award recognizes a per-
son "who best exemplifies the ideals of
Jewish leadership, devotion to the Jewish
people and service to the community at
large." It was named for the late Fred M.
Butzel, a Detroit humanitarian whose
legacy is ingrained in the texture of the
Detroit Jewish community
"I'm very excited," said Sherman, a
long-time Federation activist. "I'm fol-
lowing a very distinguished group of
men and women," including, she need
not say, her philanthropist father, Max
Fisher, the 1964 honoree.

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Sherman has worked hard to make
it on her own in the finicky world of
Jewish communal service. "I didn't
want to get there because of who I was
— Max Fisher's daughter."
Yet she acknowledges that he inspired
her and that his connections "helped me
get to know the right people."
The credit goes to her, Fisher
insists. "What she has accomplished,
she has done on her own, without any
help from her father. She's a real role
model for supporters of the State of
Israel as well as an ideal daughter and
a wonderful mother."
Fisher is founding chairman of the