Joseph Klausner
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Joseph Gedaliah Klausner (1874-1958) was a Jewish scholar born in Lithuania who emigrated to the British Mandate of Palestine in 1919, and died in Israel.
Although not officially an Orthodox Jew in terms of adherence to classical Orthodox thinking, he nevetheless observed certain Jewish traditions such as the Sabbath and the dietary laws. He had a wide grasp of the Talmud and Midrashic literature.
He earned his Ph.D. in Germany and wrote a book about Jesus of Nazareth, which was considered so informative by Herbert Danby, an Anglican priest, that he translated the work from Hebrew into English so that English scholars might avail themselves of the information contained within this book. A number of clergymen were so incensed at Danby for translating this controversial work that they demanded his recall from Jerusalem. Klausner always insisted that Jesus was best understood as an unconventional Jew and Israelite. Klausner took over the editorship of HaMe'assef, by Ahad Ha'am and was also a candidate for the President of Israel in 1949.
He was an ardent Zionist, but had numerous disagreements with Chaim Weizmann, who eventually became the first president of Israel. His house in Talpiot was virtually destroyed in the 1929 Palestine riots.
He taught at the Hebrew University, having first received a chair in modern Hebrew literature. Ultimately he was given the chair in Jewish history for which he had yearned since his initial appointment.
In recognition of his scholarly achievements, the State of Israel issued a stamp with his picture on it in 1982. The Israeli author Amos Oz is his grand-nephew.
