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 who knew Theodor Herzl personally and attended the First Zionist Congress.[1]
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 1919 he helped organize the Ruslan, a ship carrying Jewish refugees and immigrants to Jaffa from Odessa.[2] 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.[3] His house in Talpiot neighborhood of Jerusalem was destroyed in the 1929 Palestine riots.[4]
Klausner earned his PhD 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 fame. In it, Klausner described how Jesus was best understood as a Jew and Israelite who was trying to reform the religion, and died as a devout Jew. Herbert Danby, an Anglican priest, translated the work from Hebrew into English so that English scholars might avail themselves of the information. A number of clergymen, incensed at Danby for translating the book, demanded his recall from Jerusalem.[5] Later in his career, he was given a chair in Jewish history.
Amos Oz described his childhood visits to Klausner's house in Talpiot and his impression of Klausner's erudition in his memoir, A Tale of Love and Darkness.[6]
Awards and recognition
In both 1941 and 1949, Klausner was awarded the Bialik Prize for Jewish thought.[7]
In 1958, he was awarded the Israel Prize in Jewish studies.[8]
In 1982, in recognition of his scholarly achievements, the State of Israel issued a stamp with his picture on it.[9]
Published works
Klausner, Joseph (1921). Jesus of Nazareth: His Life, Times & Teaching. Translated by Danby, Herbert. New York: Macmillan.
Klausner, Joseph (1932). A History of Modern Hebrew Literature (1785-1930). Translated by Danby, Herbert. London: M. L. Cailingold.
Klausner, Joseph (1942). From Jesus To Paul. Translated by Stinespring, William F. New York: Macmillan.
Klausner, Joseph (1954). The Messianic Idea in Israel: From Its Beginning to the Completion of the Mishnah. Translated by Stinespring, William F. New York: Macmillan. ISBN1-4917-7210-7.
Klausner, Joseph (1989). Jesus of Nazareth: His Life, Times & Teaching. Translated by Danby, Herbert (Reissued ed.). New York: Bloch. ISBN0819705659.
^Ofrat, Gideon (23 November 1979). "Enough with all the Frenkels!". Haaretz Weekly. pp. 28, 29, 30.
^Shindler, Colin, The Triumph of Military Zionism: Nationalism and the Origins of the Israeli Right, pp. 96–97, (2006), I B Tauris & Co Ltd., ISBN978-1-84511-030-7
^Mattar, Philip, The Mufti of Jerusalem: Al-Hajj Amin Al-Husayni and the Palestinian National Movement. Columbia University Press. ISBN0-231-06463-2, (1988), p. 48.
^Amos Oz, 2003, A Tale of Love and Darkness, page 60.
^Oz, Amos, 2003, A Tale of Love and Darkness, pp. 38-67.
Herbert Danby: "The Jew and Christianity, Jewish attitude towards Christianity", ch.5 (I propose to bring this series of lectures to an end by describing...Dr. Joseph Klausner's Jesus of Nazareth : his Times, his Life and his Teaching; and by indicating the kind of reception which this book has met within various Jewish circles...) read all online on archive.org