Longtime Leader Quits International Jewish Group

Billionaire Edgar M. Bronfman resigned yesterday as president of the World Jewish Congress amid the fallout over his sudden firing two months ago of his longtime associate in the nonprofit organization.

Bronfman and Israel Singer became a famous, globe-trotting duo in the 1980s and 1990s, first by helping to expose the Nazi past of former United Nations secretary-general and Austrian president Kurt Waldheim, and later by coaxing European banks to pay billions of dollars in restitution to Holocaust survivors.

Together, they turned the tiny World Jewish Congress (WJC) into a powerful diplomatic force, fueled by a combination of Singer's energy and Bronfman's wealth from the Seagram liquor business. But the organization has been in turmoil in recent years over alleged financial improprieties and a battle between potential successors to Bronfman, 77, who headed the organization for 26 years.

In March, Bronfman stunned many Jewish leaders by firing Singer after having stood by him through an investigation of the WJC's finances by the New York attorney general's office. The investigation concluded last year that Singer had violated his fiduciary responsibilities, but it found no evidence of criminal wrongdoing.

In a letter last month explaining the firing to WJC officials, Bronfman accused Singer of taking the organization's funds "for his own use" and of undermining "the very principles of morality and integrity we fought together to preserve around the world."

Singer denied those allegations, and his supporters in the WJC's European and Israeli affiliates threatened to split the international organization unless Bronfman restored Singer to his post. About the same time, the WJC stopped funding its Jerusalem branch.

The dispute came to a head at a meeting yesterday of the WJC's steering committee in New York. In a three-paragraph statement, the organization announced Bronfman's resignation together with a resumption of funding for the Jerusalem office and "restoration of normal relationships" among its affiliates.

Neither Bronfman nor Singer was available for comment. The WJC's secretary general, Stephen E. Herbits, a former Defense Department adviser and Seagram executive, issued a statement saying the steering committee decided that "it did not want to discuss Israel Singer any further, that the matter was closed for the World Jewish Congress, and that anything else related to Mr. Singer is between him, government officials and other institutions. Given that decision, Mr. Bronfman, who has been on record for six years wanting to retire from the WJC, now feels that he can."

The WJC said its governing board will elect Bronfman's successor in June. Bronfman previously indicated that he wanted his son Matthew to take over. But cosmetics billionaire Ronald S. Lauder has floated a bid for the post, and Pierre Besnainou, president of the European Jewish Congress, has thrown his support to a current WJC official, Mendel Kaplan.