26 | JANUARY 19 • 2023

OUR COMMUNITY

B

orn in Detroit, a descendent of
Eastern European immigrants, Dr.
Max Robins was raised to appre-
ciate his Jewish background and value his
secular education. His hero was his Zaydie.
Robins’ maternal grandfather
left Ukraine in the 1890s for
the United States, crossing the
ocean with little information
and a dream of opportunity.
Robins, a pediatrician in
East Lansing, remembered
his family supporting Jewish
National Fund-USA throughout his child-
hood and, as an adult, he regularly bought
trees in Israel as small gifts for bar mitzvahs
and celebrations. It was only after he retired
from medicine, however, that he found
himself drawn to more deeply support
Jewish causes.
In 2015, Robins visited Israel on Jewish
National Fund-USA
’s President’s Mission,
touring several sites, including a new med-
ical center in the Central Arava. Seeing
the Negev for the first time, he noticed
the lack of ambulatory medical services
and was moved to help, funding an emer-

gency rescue vehicle for the Central Arava
Command & Control Center. Thereafter,
Robins continued to give to Jewish National
Fund-USA projects in the Negev, particu-
larly to the Halutza communities.
Bordering Egypt and Gaza in the
Northwest Negev, Halutza was founded by
a group of families evacuated to the area
during Israel’s disengagement from Gaza.
Their hard work, along with philanthropic
investments from Jewish National Fund-
USA made possible thanks to generous
partners (donors) like Robins, has turned
empty desert into a thriving agricultural
community of 500+ families.
Living in Halutza is not without risk. Due
to its close proximity to Gaza, when a siren
goes off, residents have 15 seconds to make
it to a bomb shelter. Despite the danger,
Halutza is one of the fastest-growing com-
munities in the Negev today.
Yedidya Harush is Halutza’s liaison with
Jewish National Fund-USA. When the need
arose for a new daycare center, he reached
out to his close friend in Michigan. “Max
loves Israel,
” Harush said. “
And he very
much cares about children.
”

As a pediatrician, Robins connected to
the project on a personal level. The Max
Robins Daycare Center, now under con-
struction, will be a 7,000-square-foot facility
with three classrooms, a kitchen, a music
room and more. Most importantly, the cen-
ter is bomb-proof, providing a shelter-in-
place option in an emergency.
Robins has regularly supported safety
infrastructure in Halutza. Recognizing that
a well-trained group of local first respond-
ers is critical in a community under con-
stant threat, he funded a six-month volun-
teer firefighter training program as well as
emergency support vehicles and equipment.
“Max is 99.9% heart, and the rest is just
his body,
” Harush said. “He really is just so
incredible.
”
In 2018, Robins was presented with the
Tree of Life award in Naples, Florida. This is
the highest honor given by Jewish National
Fund-USA; it recognizes his outstanding
dedication to Israel. His generosity, with its
focus on critical care and community infra-
structure, has made an enormous difference
in the Negev region, figuratively and literal-
ly changing the surrounding landscape.
After a lifetime of healing children, he
continues to provide safety and security to
the community’s most vulnerable through
his philanthropy.

The Halutza
community of
B’nei Netzarim

ROBERT KERZNER

Dr. Max
Robins

Detroit pediatrician supports safety
infrastructure for children in Halutza, Israel.

Building a
Safe Haven
in the Desert

CAMI FUSSEY SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS