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With Al Taubman,
center, at the FIDF
Michigan Chapter
2008 dinner in
Southfield are Alon
FRIENDS
OF THE
ISRAEL
DEFENSE
FORCES
Kaufman, chap-
ter chair; Gary
Shiffman, chapter
president; and
retired IDF officers
Brig. Gen. Yechiel
Gozal, Maj. Gen.
Yitzhak Gershon
and Lt. Gen. Benny
Gantz.
Strong Friend Of Israel
Taubman's support rooted in a decades-long journey.
H
is wife, Judy, was Miss Israel
1962 and his son-in-law, Michael
Kalisman, served in the Israel
Defense Forces, but A. Alfred Taubman
showed a love for Israel
that ran deeper than family
bonds.
The Detroit-based shop-
ping mall pioneer and
philanthropic colossus, who
died April 17 at age 91 at
his Bloomfield Hills home,
supported the Jewish state
nobly via his leadership
with Federation's Annual
Robert
Campaign and through spe-
Contrib
cific projects.
Edit
He was a frequent visitor
to Israel and preached its
impenetrable ties to the Jewish people. His
Zionist commitment never wavered despite
the tug of business and benefactor matters
back in the U.S. He left an indelible mark
on Israel's character, helping build a park,
bring new investment and elevate medical
research, among other efforts.
IDF Champion
An enduring cause for Taubman was
Friends of the Israel Defense Forces
(FIDF), which works on behalf of military
enlistees, aids families of fallen soldiers
and assists underprivileged youth. His son-
in-law Michael, a New York medical doctor
married to Gayle Taubman Kalisman, is an
FIDF national board member.
When the FIDF Michigan Chapter
honored him at its November 2008 din-
ner in Southfield, Taubman, a U.S. Army
Air Corps veteran, movingly talked about
being "inspired by the young soldiers who
are the first line of defense against the
forces bent on destroying Israel.
"They put their lives on the line every
day for freedom, democracy and human
dignity," he said.
I always sensed his admiration for their
supreme responsibility was burrowed in
his soul.
Taubman was a dear friend of retired
Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz, who served as the
IDF's 20th chief of the general staff from
2011 until this February. Gantz
not only attended the Southfield
dinner, but also earlier that
year hosted Taubman during a
Negev visit following an IDF live
armored drill there.
Reminiscing about
Taubman's FIDF support, Tamir
Oppenheim, FIDF's Midwest
executive director, told the IN:
"He had the vision and the
understanding and the concern
for the young men and women
who protect our Jewish ancestral
homeland:"
In partnership with FIDF, Taubman
also funded a recreation center for Israel
defense agency personnel located on a top-
secret base in the center of the country.
More Connections
The Detroit Jewish News archive spotlights
examples of Taubman's other Israel involve-
ment.
In 1960, just before breaking ground
on his first large mall, Arborland in Ann
Arbor, the up-and-coming entrepreneur
chaired the Detroit advisory committee
for the new Israel Investment Authority,
intended to spur local investment in the
12-year-old Jewish state.
In 1981, Taubman was there to dedicate
the Max M. Fisher-A. Alfred Taubman
Community Center in Ramla, one of the
Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit's
two Project Renewal cities in Israel before
the Partnership2Gether/Michigan-Central
Galilee people-to-people program emerged
in 1994. Fisher, a Detroit industrialist and
financier, gave Taubman a business break
in the 1950s by hiring him to build two
Speedway gas stations; the men became
business partners as their friendship grew.
In 1992, Taubman and Fisher teamed
with Kathleen Duross Ford in sponsoring
Henry Ford II Park, then the second park
in Yavne, Detroit Jewry's other Project
Renewal city, to memorialize her husband
and their friend, who generously sup-
ported Israel in contrast to the anti-Jewish
vitriol of Hank the Deuce's grandfather
before World War II.
Taubman built a remarkable trans-
Atlantic humanitarian bridge with his
$300,000 gift in 2010 to Hadassah Medical
Center in Jerusalem. The grant was meant
to enhance collaborative stem cell research
with the A. Alfred Taubman Medical
Research Institute at the University of
Michigan.
Since 2009, the collaborative efforts led
by Dr. Benjamin Reubinoff, the Sidney and
Judy Swartz Center for Human Embryonic
Stem Cell Research director at Hadassah
Medical Center, and Dr. Eva Feldman,
the Ann Arbor-based Taubman Institute
director, have sought breakthrough treat-
ment for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or
Lou Gehrig's Disease, a progressive neuro-
degenerative disease that killed U.S. Sen.
Jacob Javits, a close friend of Taubman.
Hadassah is a partner in the Taubman
Institute-Israel Initiative, which encour-
ages collaborations between medical
researchers in Michigan and Israel. The
Initiative sprang from a 2008 trip to Israeli
medical research facilities by Taubman, his
daughter Gayle (the Institute's Leadership
Advisory Board co-chair) and Feldman.
At the time of his major gift, Taubman
announced: "We are fortunate to have
a climate in Michigan that welcomes
and encourages embryonic stem cell
research. And the powerful combination of
Reubinoff's and Feldman's medical minds,
backed by the prestige of the Hadassah
Medical Center and the University of
Michigan, has the potential to seriously
impact medical history:'
His stateside philanthropy is better
known, but Israel also is richer because of
Al Taubman. ❑
I'm starting to worry about my
friend Josh. We've been close
since first grade, but lately he's
changed. I noticed it in the fall,
right after school started. Last year,
we hung out a lot after school; he
usually came over to my house,
or sometimes I went to his. Lately
though, whenever I ask him to
do something, he always has an
excuse. He says he has too much
homework, or that his parents want
him to spend more time at home.
But I don't believe him. Something
doesn't feel right.
Last year he had the lead in the
school play; this year he wouldn't
even try out. He said it took up
too much time, but, from what I
can see, he's not doing much else.
He used to talk about wanting to
try out for the tennis team, but
he doesn't even play anymore.
When I saw him at the library
Sunday, I asked him if anything was
bothering him, but he brushed me
off. He said talking to him would
be a waste of my time, and that I'd
be better off if I just forgot about
him. I told him that wasn't true, that
I missed hanging out together. He
said he just wanted to be left alone,
and that soon nobody would have
to worry about him.
That really upset me. What if he's
planning to hurt himself? I want
to talk to my mom, but what if
she calls his parents, and then he
gets mad at me? I'd feel horrible
if something bad happens and
I didn't say anything. I feel like I
should do something, but I don't
know what.
The
bad call
is the one you
awl make.
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April 23 • 2015
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