The outgoing leader of Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit is to head the Birthright Israel Foundation. Robert Aronson, who announced this fall that he was stepping down as the chief executive of the Detroit Federation, having been at its helm for 20 years, will take over as president and CEO of the foundation in January. Aronson will succeed Jay Golan.
Birthright, which sends 18- to 26-year-olds on free 10-day educational trips to Israel, is funded by the Jewish federation system and the Jewish Agency for Israel, the Israeli government and private philanthropists. The foundation is responsible for fund raising from private philanthropists, who by far make up the largest portion of Birthright's budget.
Aronson has been serving as the president of the Steinhardt Foundation for Jewish Life since early this year. He has also been a philanthropic adviser to billionaire Bill Davidson, who recently donated US$ 75 million to Hadassah (Women's Zionist Organization of America). "Bob Aronson is the pre-eminent activist in American Jewish philanthropy today," Birthright Foundation chairman Dan Och said, adding: "It's a rare opportunity that we could combine an organization with such a tremendous brand and success rate as Birthright Israel's with Bob's unique - even tailor-made - background."
