Joseph Klausner
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Joseph Gedaliah Klausner (1874-1958), also known as Yosef Klauzner (יוסף קלוזנר) was a Jewish scholar born in Olkeniki, Lithuania who emigrated to the British Mandate of Palestine in 1919, and died in Israel. He was an intellectual and specialist in Jewish religion and history, and a scholar of modern Hebrew literature. He was the chief redacter of The Hebrew Encyclopedia, and taught Hebrew literature at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Influential in the Zionist movement, he attended most of the Zionist Congresses. He published dozens of works and articles and research accounts.
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[edit] Life
Klausner was born in Lithuania in 1874. At the turn of the 20th century, his family left Lithuania due to growing antisemitism and settled in Odessa, where Klausner was educated. He frequented scientific, literary, and Zionist circles. Klausner became a committed Zionist, and knew Theodore Herzl personally. He became, at a young age, a professor of Hebrew literature.
In 1912, he visited Palestine for the first time, and moved there in 1919. He taught Jewish history in Jerusalem and, in 1925, became professor at the University of Jerusalem. Later, he taught at Hebrew University, having received a chair in modern Hebrew literature. He embarked upon research on the history of the second temple period. According to his great-nephew, Amos Oz, his private library contained 25,000 volumes. Later in his career, he was given a chair in Jewish history, for which he had yearned since his initial appointment.
His house in Talpiot was virtually destroyed in the 1929 Palestine riots. Amoz Oz wrote about his great uncle in his autobiography, "A Tale of Love and Darkness".
Although not officially an Orthodox Jew in terms of adherence to classical Orthodox thinking, he nevertheless observed certain Jewish traditions such as the Sabbath and the dietary laws. He had a wide grasp of the Talmud and Midrashic literature.
[edit] Work
Klausner earned his Ph.D. in Germany. One of his most influential books was about Jesus. The book Jesus of Nazareth, and its sequel, From Jesus to Paul, gained him some celebrity. In it, Klausner described how Jesus was best understood as a Jew and Israelite who was trying to reform the religion, and he died as a devout Jew. He was attacked about this issue as much by Christians as by Jews. The book was considered to be 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.
and was also a candidate for the President of Israel in 1949.
He was an ardent Zionist, but had numerous disagreements with Chaim Weizmann. The two were the candidates in the presidential election of 1949, Weizmann was declared the first President of Israel.
Klausner was awarded the Israel Prize in 1952. In recognition of his scholarly achievements, the State of Israel issued a stamp with his picture on it in 1982. Israel Klausner, the Hebrew literature researcher, is his cousin; the Israeli author Amos Oz is his great-nephew.
