Those who knew Charles “Charlie” Steiner say he had a real talent with the telephone.
He could get almost anyone important on the phone, and when he did, he’d have a speaking engagement confirmed. And locally, he wouldn’t hang up before getting someone to make a donation.
Steiner “was the heart and soul of the Jewish National Fund in San Francisco for two decades,” according to John Rothmann, JNF regional chairman. Steiner died Jan. 24 in San Rafael at the age of 84.
Steiner was born on March 28, 1917 in a small village in Austria. At an early age, he was subjected to taunting by classmates because he was Jewish. His father began bringing the family over to the United States one member at a time. Steiner arrived in New York at age 12.
He married Ethel Fier on Oct. 5, 1940. The two were married for 46 years, until her death.
After graduating from high school, Steiner went to work as a trade union representative. He also served in the Navy during World War II. His first job in the Jewish communal world was as executive director of the largest B’nai B’rith lodge in Los Angeles.
He moved to San Francisco in 1962 to become Northwest regional director of the JNF, a position he would keep for 20 years.
“He took a tiny, sleepy JNF office and built it into a leading office for JNF nationally in terms of prominence,” said his daughter, Roberta Steiner of San Rafael.
The annual JNF Chanukah banquet became an event associated with Steiner, because of the prominence of dignitaries who came to speak. They included Vice President Hubert Humphrey, Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) and newspaper scion William Randolph Hearst Jr.
Also, recalled Rothmann, he kept it at a price that was affordable for everyone.
Art Zimmerman, who was president of JNF during part of Steiner’s tenure as director, said that Steiner’s organizational skills earned him many job offers in other places, which he never accepted. “He loved what he was doing. He didn’t care about the money,” he said.
Although her father was known for his fund-raising prowess, money was not something he coveted on a personal level, explained Roberta Steiner. “He didn’t care about money for us,” she said. “We had my mother to manage their modest middle-class income.”
Steiner worked with Rabbi Malcolm Sparer to get Israeli products featured in local department stores, and because of their efforts, the Israeli flag was raised on Israeli Independence Day outside San Francisco City Hall. He also was responsible for starting the celebration of Israel in Golden Gate Park.
Steiner was not a religious man but was deeply Zionist and “a splendid Jew,” said Rabbi H. David Teitelbaum, director of the Board of Rabbis of Northern California, who delivered his eulogy.
He was also known as a coalition builder, working for the rights of the underdog and toward building bridges between Christians and Israel.
In 1966, Steiner took an emotional trip back to Austria and wrote about it in an article for what was then called the Jewish Community Bulletin. For the most part, he did not believe attitudes toward Jews had changed since the war. However, he did write about a gratifying encounter with a villager who wanted to give him the dishes he had obtained from Steiner’s uncle and aunt before they were deported.
In addition to his daughter, Steiner is survived by two grandchildren. Donations can be made to the Alzheimer’s Association, 919 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL, 60611.