Edgar Bronfman resigns

By · May 7, 2007

World Jewish Congress President Edgar Bronfman has resigned. His resignation came Monday at a steering committee meeting of the organization he has led for nearly 30 years. The resignation caps weeks of turmoil within the organization after the firing of Israel Singer, a longtime senior official. WJC affiliates in Europe, Latin America and Israel had expressed dismay over the way he was fired. Representatives of those groups flew to New York for Monday’s meeting. The resignation comes two years before Bronfman had intended to step down and just days after he put out a public statement saying he would not resign.The steering committee will select a new president on June 10, according to WJC officials. Likely candidates appear to be Mendel Kaplan, the chairman of the WJC executive, and Ronald Lauder, the philanthropist and president of the Jewish National Fund. Matthew Bronfman, Edgar’s son, is not a candidate, according to several sources. Pierre Besnainou, head of the European Jewish Congress, said he backed Mendel Kaplan, as Bronfman’s likely successor. “We support Mendel Kaplan,” said Besnainou, who had publicly called for Bronfman’s resignation in the weeks leading up to Monday’s meeting.