EDITOR'S NOTEBOOK 000000000 •, 0 :It's not O 0 0 about • • Hardly Maxed Out T he year hasn't been the best for Max Fisher, the Jewish state — is not long. patriarch of Detroit Jewry and a pillar of the "I'll tell you what I once told George Schultz, the secretary Jewish people. His beloved Israel is the target of a of state under President Reagan: "You know, peace is like Palestinian extermination plot and he's still recu- entering a long tunnel. When you first get in the tunnel, it's perating from a broken hip that developed a staph infection. dark. And you move along and move along, and finally you At age 95 — with 14 grandchildren and eight great-grand- see a dim light. And at the end of that dim light, you start children to dote on — he doesn't need aggravation. But the seeing some hope — then a period of hope and peace." father of five is up to the challenge. He talked about how Iraq and Iran fought an eight-year The son of Eastern European immigrants, Fisher made a war in the 1980s but never signed a peace treaty. And he fortune in oil refining en route to becoming a Zionist, busi- talked about how Germany and Japan, bitter U.S. enemies ness magnate, philanthropist, communal leader, diplomat and during World War II, "turned out to be great friends of ours." political force. He has advised U.S. presi- "Israelis are tough," he said. "It may take five years, or 10 dents and Israeli prime ministers on Middle years, but they'll fight this thing through. They have one East affairs, helped rejuvenate Detroit and its strong partner in the United States." cultural jewels, and led American Jewry's top He called President George W. Bush a great ally. I just wish agencies. He was integral in reviving the the president would unshackle Israel so it could use its superior Jewish Agency for Israel. might to stop the slaughter of innocent people caught in the His fund-raising prowess is the stuff of leg- crosshairs of terrorism just because they're Jewish. end. He raised nearly $200 million in private Max lamented the resurgence of anti-Semitism in Europe for Israel within weeks of the last shot in and dismissed the European Union as an enigma for its ROBERT A. the Yom Kippur War of 1973. rebuke of Israel. SKLAR This week, he was in Washington on With a wink and a nod, he rightly urged American Jews to Editor Tuesday to receive a support Israelis more liberally, even if we disagree with aspects leadership award from of the Sharon administration. the American Israel Public Affairs "A strong Israel gives strength to the Committee and in Ann Arbor on Jewish people, it really does," Max said. Thursday to visit with former President "The future for all of us is helped by the Gerald R. Ford, an old friend and for alliance that we have and the mutual whom the University of Michigan's new support that we give." public policy school is being named. g Infighting haunts Israel. But the state We spoke Sept. 12 in the den of the remains a beacon for Jews in distress, sprawling Franklin estate that Max and especially Russian, Ethiopian and Iraqi his wife, Marjorie, have called home Jews. since 1957. His resolve is spirited. And "That's why I say Israel is so neces- he's still witty, current and engaging in sary," said Max, who rises above Israel's conversation. • political and religious squabbles to "Feeling OK?" I asked Max, who was champion the plight of persecuted Jews. settled in a cushy chair by the window Ties That Bind that overlooks Franklin Hills Country Club. A telephone and a walker were Max has been part of Israel's inner within a hand's reach. He looked sporty circle since the day the state was formed "The day's not en ded," Max said, in a blue sweater, gray slacks and a blue in 1948. He can recite chapter and verse quoting the close of Peter Golden's and yellow striped shirt. Fisher biography, "Quiet Diplomat." from the 1956, 1967 and 1973 wars. "For a young fella, I feel good," he `As terrible as things are," he said, "we responded, cracking a big smile before can't give up. We have to continue the we launched into a serious discussion. struggle. The Jewish people have fought He recounted how he fell in his Palm Beach winter home for thousands of years for a homeland. Now we have one. It's last December. Two operations later, he's on the mend. "I had ours to sustain." a tough time, but it's healing," he said. Max had a meager Jewish education in the small, conserva- "Can we talk a little bit about Israel?" I asked. tive Qhio town where he grew up. But he was well aware of "Sure, I know a little bit about that," he answered, grin- his Jewish identity living in Salem, Ohio. And he has been an ning. unabashed Detroiter since coming here in 1930 to join his A power broker yet humble, he came to know and consult father William's oil recycling business. with many of Israel's major political and military figures; in Max is a secular Jew, but his love for Judaism is legion. As Max, they saw the Diaspora's unofficial envoy. we bounced from topics like Israel's security to day school tuition to intermarriage, I figured he had to have a Rosh Stand With Israel Hashanah message worth sharing with Jewish Detroit. With the Jewish state battling nearly 36 months of And he did. Palestinian-led terror that has killed at least 870 Israelis and "We have to battle the problems that we have," he said. "It foreigners, maimed or wounded thousands more and left the won't be easy. But if we believe in Judaism, in our history as a Israeli economy in tatters, I wondered if Max thought peace people through all these years, we'll fight to preserve it in the biblical heartland was possible. because it means something." "Oh, sure," he said with such certainty that it took me by Without missing a beat, he added, "We'll fight to preserve surprise. it to instill in our youth the feeling and the spirit and the joy In the course of history, he said, 55 years — the age of the of Judaism." H :Mamma* O M la. : 0 • • 1-Cc above Max I • • Marc. and Mollie • 10.301415_ 0 of if1001 IIVC.c. 0 0 0 * • JARC'S 23rd Annual Fall Fundraiser A NEW MUSICAL S .,A8E3A UNA MAI <*4 S Fisher Theater Sunday, Nov. 2 1:30 pm & 7:30 pm Tickets at www.jarc.org or (248) 538-6610 x418 S Youv1_. 0 ( Ages 21 to 40 ) Mamma's VIP Lounge 5-7 pm Fisher Building S Join Us. 0 S S • For 34 years, helping people with disabilities be fully included in community life 0 o • 9/19 2003 5