Max Fisher dies, aged 96 

Max Fisher, an elder statesman of the US Jewish community, has died in Detroit at 96. Considered the dean of Jewish Republicans, Fisher advised every Republican president since Eisenhower. Fisher was president of the Detroit Jewish federation from 1959 to 1964. He also served as president and national chairman of the United Jewish Appeal, president of the Council of Jewish Federations and chairman of the United Israel Appeal. He was also the founding chairman of the board of governors of the Jewish Agency for Israel and led many other Jewish organizations, including the American Jewish Committee and B’nai B’rith International. Fisher was instrumental in the airlift of US arms to Israel during the 1973 Yom Kippur War. More recently, he helped finance the Detroit Symphony Orchestra’s Max M. Fisher Music Center, known as “The Max.” Listed as the oldest member of the Forbes 400, Fisher made his wealth in oil and real estate.