Max M. Fisher

Max M. Fisher (b. 1908, d. March 3, 2005) was the quintessential Jewish leader and visionary who dominated American Jewish philanthropy for half a century. He was the Honorary Chairman of United Jewish Communities (UJC)

Among North America's leading industrialists and charitable givers, Fisher supported Jewish and general causes worldwide and played a major role in almost every major Jewish communal organization. For decades he also served as a trusted advisor to U.S. presidents and Israeli prime ministers, rallying for causes from the Six-Day War to Ethiopian Jewry. By quietly forging new ties between Washington and Jerusalem, Fisher pioneered a new era in American Jewish activism and politics and was considered the elder statesman of North American Jewry.

Born in Pittsburgh in 1908 to Russian Jewish immigrants, Fisher grew up in a small Ohio town and attended Ohio State University on a football scholarship. In 1930 he entered the oil business, eventually building a thriving concern in oil and real estate. He became a leader in the Detroit Jewish community, the national Jewish scene, and supporter of nonsectarian charities.

In Detroit, for example, Fisher backed the Max. M. Fisher Music Center, which serves as the home for the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and includes a public high school for the performing arts.

Fisher served as national chairman of UJC's predecessor organizations, the United Jewish Appeal (UJA) from 1965–1967; president of the Council of Jewish Federations from 1969–1972; and chairman of the United Israel Appeal (UIA) from 1968–1971; and president of the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit from 1959–1964.

In addition to being honorary chair of UJC, he was founding chairman of the board of governors of UJC's overseas partner, the Jewish Agency for Israel. He was also active in the American Jewish Committee, B'nai B'rith International, and Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society.

He was the father of Jane Sherman, chairperson of the UIA, and co-chair of JAFI's Israel Committee.

Fisher is survived by his wife, Marjorie Switow Fisher; five children: Jane (Mrs. Larry) Sherman; Mary Fisher, Phillip Wm. Fisher (married to Lauren); Julie (Mrs. Peter) Cummings; Marjorie Martin Fisher, as well as 15 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren.