The Best Is Yet to Come

Ten days after the outbreak of the Yom Kippur War in 1973, Stephen B. Klein visited Israel with his father, Raymond, and his brother, Warren. They spent the first day in the field, escorted by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), and later visited a hospital to talk with wounded soldiers. “I walked into a room and there was a young man who had lost his leg above the knee,” Klein recalled. “We were similar in age and profession. He was an accountant, and I was a businessman. We both had kids. I realized I could have been in that bed. My grandfather got on one boat (to the U.S.), and his grandfather got on another boat (to Palestine).”

That experience set the course for Klein’s support for Israel. Upon returning home to Philadelphia, Klein started the first new leadership group for Israel Bonds in the U.S. A few years later, he followed his father’s lead and became president of the American Technion Society (ATS) – Philadelphia chapter. Klein is a member of the Technion Board of Governors and a Technion Guardian, a designation reserved for those whose contributions reach the highest levels. He has supported Technion projects such as the Center for Global Engineering, the Emergency Fund for Technion Students, the Ray and Miriam Klein Research Prize (named for his parents), and more. For his commitment, he received an honorary fellowship and an honorary doctorate from the Technion.

“But the best is yet to come,” he said. Recently, Klein made a leading commitment to support aerospace engineering students and faculty, equipment, research, and other needs. Together with late ATS supporter Stephen Grand, his funding will also help construct a new building to house the Faculty, which will be renamed the Stephen B. Klein Faculty of Aerospace Engineering. “Aerospace deals with the security of Israel, which is paramount,” he said. “And the aerospace industry is an important economic engine for Israel, employing 100,000 men and women.” His interest is also personal: Driving home from Washington, D.C., as a young man in bumper-to-bumper traffic with two young children fighting in the back seat, he said, “I can’t take this anymore. I’m going to learn how to fly.” He became a pilot, and has flown sophisticated jets to Europe and Israel. Klein visits the Technion almost every year. “I love meeting with students — hearing about their backgrounds, their dreams, and their studies.” He applauds the diversity on campus, recounting moments spent with students from the former Soviet Union as well as from Brooklyn. He enjoys meeting alumni while touring nearby military bases, high-tech companies, and charitable organizations. “They make me feel extremely proud of the impact the Technion has on Israel.”

He has hosted Technion professors and distinguished Israelis, including former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, and has built warm relationships with Technion presidents, including Professor Peretz Lavie and the current president, Professor Uri Sivan. Klein grew up in a modest home in Philadelphia with an alley in the back where the kids played ball. He has three children and is president and founder of the estate development firm The Klein Company. “I’m not a man of science, and I never could have envisioned not only the Technion’s contributions to the State of Israel but its contributions to the world,” he said. “The Technion has far exceeded my expectations.”

Top photo caption: From l to r: Technion President Uri Sivan with Stephen B. Klein receiving his honorary doctorate