Name:
Ronald Bakalarz
AIPAC Role:
Member of AIPAC's Board of Directors
Professional Profile/Associations:
AIPAC national board member and international sports executive. Chairman of ROTE Corp., a Miami-Dade investment advisory firm, and President of the Board of Stanton S.A.S., Colombia's largest footwear manufacturer founded in 1961 by his father Julius Bakalarz. Former President of the Maccabi World Union (1993–2000), resigning after a Knesset inquiry into the 1997 Maccabiah bridge collapse that killed four Australian athletes. Currently Chairman of the Board of Kfar Maccabiah and active on the Maccabi World Union Executive. Significant benefactor to Rambam Health Care Campus in Haifa. Pro-Israel political donor with recurring payments to SunPAC, $5,800 to Marco Rubio, $3,300 to Hakeem Jeffries, $5,000 to Democratic Majority for Israel (DMFI), and recurring contributions to AIPAC.
Accountability:
As a member of AIPAC's Board of Directors, Ronald Bakalarz bears individual legal responsibility for the organization's conduct. Under U.S. nonprofit law, board members hold fiduciary duties to ensure organizational compliance with applicable legal standards, implement oversight systems for core activities, and respond to credible information about organizational wrongdoing. In Stern v. Lucy Webb Hayes (1974), the federal district court held that nonprofit directors who fail to supervise organizational decisions breach their fiduciary obligations. In In re Lemington Home for the Aged (3d Cir. 2015), the Third Circuit upheld $2.25 million in damages against nonprofit directors who ignored red flags and failed to exercise reasonable oversight. The information in these profiles is drawn primarily from AIPAC's most recent IRS Form 990, supplemented by publicly available sources including news reports, official announcements, and public records. As a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization, AIPAC is legally required to file Form 990 annually with the Internal Revenue Service, and these filings are public documents.
However, IRS regulations allow organizations up to eleven months after their fiscal year ends to submit these forms, meaning publicly available data typically lags by approximately one year. This inherent delay underscores why AIPAC—like most major organizations of its size and influence—should maintain a current, public-facing leadership page identifying its board members and senior executives. The absence of such transparency from AIPAC necessitates this project. We are committed to accuracy and will update these profiles as new information becomes available. If you have corrections, updates, or additional sourced information, please contact us at advocacy@dawnmena.org.
