Judah Magnes

Judah Leon Magnes, born in San Francisco in 1877 to parents who emigrated from Poland and Germany, was a prominent American rabbi and leader in Jewish communal affairs. His lifelong dedication to serving the Jewish people and fostering reconciliation between Jews and Arabs left an indelible mark on both American and Israeli Jewish communities.

Magnes began his religious career by studying at the Hebrew Union College, where he was ordained as a Reform rabbi in 1900. He later traveled to Germany, where he studied in Berlin and Heidelberg, deeply influenced by the vibrant Jewish life in Eastern Europe. Upon returning to the United States, Magnes served as rabbi of Temple Israel in Brooklyn and as assistant rabbi of Temple Emanu-El in New York City. During these years, his commitment to Zionism and Jewish identity solidified. Magnes became a key figure in the American Zionist Federation, serving as secretary from 1905 to 1908. He also played a crucial role in establishing the American Jewish Committee and became a significant advocate for the rights and welfare of Jews, especially in Eastern Europe.

Magnes’ most notable leadership role in the U.S. was as president of the Kehillah of New York City from 1908 until its dissolution in 1922. The Kehillah was an effort to organize the Jewish community in New York City and address issues such as religious life, education, and labor relations. Under Magnes’ leadership, the Kehillah successfully mediated labor disputes coordinated Jewish education through its Bureau of Jewish Education and worked to repress crime in immigrant Jewish neighborhoods in cooperation with the city's police. Magnes’ ability to bridge gaps between Jewish communities of different origins—German and East European Jews—was key to Kehillah’s success. However, despite his dedication, the voluntary nature of American society made it difficult to realize his vision of a fully integrated Jewish community.

In 1922, disillusioned with the limitations of American Jewish life, Magnes emigrated to Palestine. There, he became deeply involved in establishing the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, serving as chancellor from 1925 to 1935 and its first president from 1935 until his death in 1948. Magnes saw the university as an ideal space for Jewish-Arab cooperation and worked tirelessly to foster peaceful relations between the two communities. His advocacy for a binational state, where Jews and Arabs would share equal rights, was a central aspect of his political philosophy. This stance, reflected in his founding of the Berit Shalom movement in 1925, sought to create a society based on mutual understanding rather than division.

The relationship between Magnes and Albert Einstein was marked by intense conflict, particularly over Magnes’s leadership of Hebrew University. Despite sharing pacifist views, their differences became irreconcilable after a meeting in Munich, with Einstein growing increasingly dissatisfied with Magnes’s leadership. Despite efforts from Chaim Weizmann to mediate, Einstein remained firm in his opposition to Magnes. Einstein criticized Magnes as an “ineffective and politically weak figure,” blaming his appointment for undermining the university’s academic autonomy. When Magnes gained authority over academic appointments in 1928, Einstein felt his principles had been compromised, leading to his resignation from the university’s board and academic council.

Magnes’ pacifism and commitment to Jewish-Arab dialogue made him a controversial figure in the early decades of Israel. During the pre-state period, he objected to the creation of a solely Jewish state, instead advocating for a binational state in which Jews and Arabs would coexist peacefully. This vision contrasted sharply with the prevailing Zionist ideals of the time. Magnes was deeply involved in peace efforts, even during the tensions of the 1929 Arab riots and the 1936-1939 Arab Revolt, when he continued to promote his belief in Jewish-Arab cooperation. His political efforts included opposition to the partitioning of Palestine, and he consistently advocated for a peaceful, collaborative approach to establishing a Jewish homeland.

Despite his pacifist views, Magnes was not indifferent to the growing threat of Nazism. During World War II, he shifted his stance on military action and supported the war against Nazi Germany. He became involved in several relief efforts, including working with the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee to assist Jews escaping from Nazi-occupied countries. Magnes also helped in the Youth Aliyah movement, which sought to bring Jewish children to Palestine, and served on numerous committees to support Jewish refugees.

Magnes’ personal beliefs and public actions were often at odds with mainstream Zionist ideologies. His vision for a binational state and his emphasis on peaceful coexistence with Arabs made him a unique figure in Jewish history. Although he did not live to realize his ideas fully, his influence on Israeli politics and the Hebrew University remains significant. Magnes’ contributions to the Zionist movement were recognized by the Hebrew University, which honored him posthumously by naming a chair in Bible studies after him and by publishing works in his memory.

Magnes’ writings, including War-Time Addresses 1917–1921, Addresses by the Chancellor of the Hebrew University (1936), and The Perplexity of the Times (1946), reflect his deep intellectual and moral convictions. His commitment to Jewish life, unyielding belief in the value of the Diaspora, and advocacy for peace between Jews and Arabs define his legacy as one of the most complex and forward-thinking Jewish leaders of his time.

Magnes passed away in New York in 1948, but his legacy continues to resonate. In 1961, a Judah L. Magnes Memorial Museum was established in his honor in Oakland, California, later relocating to Berkeley. Magnes’ life’s work, particularly his efforts in Jewish-Arab reconciliation, remains a significant chapter in the history of Zionism and the ongoing dialogue about the future of the State of Israel.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

N. Bentwich, For Zion’s Sake – A Biography of Judah L. Magnes (1954); A. Goren, New York Jews and the Quest for Community: The Kehillah Experiment 1908–1922 (1970); S.L. Hattis, The Bi-National Idea in Palestine During Mandatory Times (1970), 64–71, 169–72, 258–71 and index; L. Roth, in: Jewish Education, 20 (1949); S.H. Bergman, Faith and Reason (1961); Z. Szajkowski, in: Conservative Judaism, 22 no. 3 (1968); H. Parzen, in: JSOS, 29 (1967), 203–33; 32 (1970), 187–213.

Sources: Encyclopaedia Judaica. © 2007 The Gale Group. All Rights Reserved.
The Jewish Agency for Israel and The World Zionist Organization.
Albrecht Fölsing, Albert Einstein: A Biography, (trans. Eald Osers), Penguin, 1998, 594–595.

Photo: American Colony (Jerusalem) Photo Department photographer, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.