William Daroff to succeed Hoenlein at helm of Conference of Presidents – report
The influential US organization represents 50 Jewish groups from across the ideological spectrum
Jewish communal professional William Daroff has been tapped to replace Malcolm Hoenlein as the head of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, the Jewish News Syndicate reported on Sunday.
Hoenlein, who has served as the head of the Conference of Presidents for more than three decades, has long been one of the most visible representatives of organized Jewry in the United States, meeting with senior political and cultural figures on behalf of his organization.
He announced his decision to step down from his role as executive vice chairman last year, stating that he would remain with the conference in an as yet undetermined capacity.
Few Jewish leaders have had as much influence over a longer time than Hoenlein, whose group is a coalition of more than 50 Jewish organizations from across the ideological spectrum. The group’s purpose is to provide consensus on hot-button issues and in approaching the executive branch, and in doing so tends to reflect the positions of the Israeli government in power at the time.
While volunteer chairs are selected every two years, Hoenlein has been a constant presence and has been perceived as a key interlocutor between political leaders and the Jewish community.
Daroff currently works as the senior vice president for public policy and director of the Washington office of The Jewish Federations of North America and, like Hoenlein, has often served as a spokesman for issues of concern to the Jewish community.
A prolific social media user, Daroff has repeatedly been named to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency’s list of 50 top Jews to follow on Twitter.
The Conference of Presidents has not yet made an official announcement regarding Daroff.
