Joseph Klausner

Joseph Klausner
Joseph Klausner
Born	Joseph Gedaliah Klausner (1874-08-20)20 August 1874 Olkeniki, Lithuania
Died	27 October 1958(1958-10-27) (aged 84) Jerusalem
Nationality	Israeli
Occupation	historian and professor of Hebrew Literature
Known for	redactor of the Encyclopedia Hebraica
Title	professor of Hebrew literature at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Academic work
Institutions	Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Notable works	Jesus of Nazareth: His Life, Times & Teaching

Joseph Gedaliah Klausner (Hebrew: יוסף גדליה קלוזנר‎‎; 20 August 1874 – 27 October 1958), was a Jewish historian and professor of Hebrew Literature. He was the chief redactor of the Encyclopedia Hebraica. He was a candidate for president in the first Israeli presidential election in 1949, losing to Chaim Weizmann. Klausner was the great uncle of Israeli author Amos Oz.

Joseph Klausner was born in Olkeniki, Vilna Governorate in 1874. At the turn of the 20th century, the Klausners left Lithuania and settled in Odessa. Klausner was active in the city's scientific, literary and Zionist circles. He was a committed Zionist, and knew Theodore Herzl personally.

In 1912, Klausner visited Palestine for the first time, and settled there in 1919. In 1925, he became a professor of Hebrew literature at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He specialized in the history of the Second Temple period. Although not an Orthodox Jew, he observed Sabbath and the dietary laws. He had a wide grasp of the Talmud and Midrashic literature.

Joseph Klausner was a member of the circle of Russian Zionist political activists from Odessa, which included Ze'ev Jabotinsky and Menachem Ussishkin. Although not a 'party man,' he supported Revisionist Zionism. In July 1929, Klausner established the Pro-Wailing Wall Committee to defend Jewish rights, and resolve problems over access and arrangements for worship at the Western Wall. His house in Talpiot neighborhood of Jerusalem was destroyed in the 1929 Palestine riots.

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