Samuel H. Daroff, honorary chairman of the United Jewish Appeal, a member of the board of governors of the Israel Bond Organization, and a leader in many other national, local and overseas Jewish causes, died here early this morning, aged 68. Death came at the Albert Einstein Medical Center, of which he was chairman of the board and president.
The Philadelphia-born philanthropist, secretary-treasurer of H. Daroff, Inc., and a director of Botany Industries, Inc., was a member of the national executive board of the Jewish Welfare Board, a board member of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, an honorary Fellow of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and a founder of the Philadelphia chapter of the American Technion Society.
Locally, Mr. Daroff was honorary president of the Allied Jewish Appeal of Philadelphia, former president and a founder of the allied and professional group of the American Jewish Congress, donor of the building housing the Congress headquarters in Philadelphia, honorary chairman of the Philadelphia Israel Bond campaign, a member of the Philadelphia campaign cabinet of the Jewish Theological Seminary, and a national commissioner of the Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith.
His other affiliations included board chairmanship of the American Association for Jewish Education, membership on the board of directors of the Joint Distribution Committee, director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Philadelphia, director of the Jewish National Fund, and president of the American Jewish League for Israel.
He was also chairman of the Governor’s Industrial Race Relations Commission of Pennsylvania, and a director of Willow Crest Home for Convalescents, Akiba Academy, Prisoner Welfare Society, National Conference of Christians and Jews, United Fund, the Associated Hospital Service of Philadelphia, and a member of the State Fair Employment Practices Commission.
Mr. Daroff received many awards and citations from, among others, the American Legion, Jewish War Veterans, Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, Federation of Jewish Agencies, Synagogue Council of America, American Cancer Society and Deborah Sanitarium. He received a citation of merit from Israel’s former Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion, and the Man of the Decade Award of the State of Israel, for his innumerable services to Israel’s growth and development.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
