FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 19, 2007
Contact: Jessica Rosenblum, Rabinowitz/Dorf Communications, (202) 265-3000, jessica@rabinowitz-dorf.com
TAD TAUBE NAMED HONORARY CONSUL FOR THE REPUBLIC OF POLAND
SAN FRANCISCO – The Republic of Poland recently appointed one of the Bay Area’s leading citizens to represent the country as an Honorary Consul in recognition of his tremendous contribution to Poland, from which he emigrated as a child to escape the Holocaust.
Poland’s Foreign Minister, Anna Fotyga, recognized Tad Taube, chairman of the Taube Foundation for Jewish Life & Culture, for his central role in preserving and celebrating Poland’s Jewish heritage and history through the foundation’s Jewish Heritage Initiative in Poland.
The philanthropic initiative, established in 2003, seeds the revival of Jewish culture in Poland by providing support for organizations working to revitalize Poland’s Jewish community through institution building, heritage preservation, cross cultural exchanges, and education and spiritual projects. As perhaps the only major American Jewish foundation with a permanent presence in Poland, the Taube Foundation is uniquely positioned to raise international awareness of the Polish Jewish community’s resurgence and to connect it with American Jews, two-thirds of whom are of Polish descent.
“I am truly honored to accept the title of Honorary Consul of Poland and to serve as a conduit for the good will between the people and the leaders of both my native and my adopted countries,” said Taube.
As Honorary Consul, Taube is empowered to represent the government of Poland in the United States in the same capacity as a professional consular officer. Taube’s designation is the second significant honor conferred upon him by the government of Poland; in 2004, Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski awarded Taube the Commander’s Cross, the highest civilian medal for foreigners.
Mr. Taube was born in Krakow, Poland in 1931 and immigrated to the United States in the summer of 1939, just weeks before the outbreak of World War II. Taube has dedicated his life to efforts strengthening the Jewish communities in both the United States and Poland. He has spearheaded the efforts to preserve and celebrate Jewish heritage and history, primarily through his leadership in Warsaw’s planned Museum of the History of the Polish Jews and the Jewish Historical Institute, as well as the Jewish Cultural Festival in Krakow. Mr. Taube has also served as president of the $400 million Koret Foundation for the past 25 years, designating nearly $30 million a year to Jewish and secular cultural and educational organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area and Israel. Additionally, at Stanford University Taube has served as chairman of the advisory board for the Taube Center for Jewish Studies since its inception in 1980 and he has provided major support for the Taube Hillel House. In 2001, he helped to fund the Taube- Koret Campus for Jewish Life, which will strengthen and enhance Jewish community life on the South Peninsula, the Bay Area’s fastest-growing Jewish population.
In Israel, he has played a leading role in the development efforts for programs such as the Koret Israel Economic Development Fund and the Koret School of Veterinary Medicine at Hebrew University. Mr. Taube is a governor of the Hebrew University and a recipient of its Scopus Award.
Outside of his Jewish communal work, Mr. Taube has served as an overseer and member of the executive committee of the Hoover Institution for more than 15 years. More recently, he and his wife Dianne endowed the Directorship of the Institution. His major involvements with Hoover include archival acquisition of Radio Liberty and Radio Free Europe archives, and a joint archival project with the Polish State Archives, achieved in cooperation with the Polish government. At Stanford University, he serves on the executive committee of the Stanford Institute of Economic Policy Research and has sponsored the Taube Tennis Center and Taube Family Tennis Stadium. He is a past trustee of both the College of Notre Dame and the University of San Francisco.
###
