Professor Joseph Klausner, noted Jewish scholar, who wrote more than 60 books on history, philosophy and education, died here tonight after a prolonged illness. He was 84 years old.
Born in Russia, he was one of the pioneers of the Zionist movement there. He studied at Heidelberg University in Germany and was Assistant Professor at the Odessa University in the years 1907-19. After attending the first and subsequent World Zionist Congresses, he settled in Palestine in 1919, where he later became Professor of Humanities and Jewish History at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.
In January 1949, following the death of President Chaim Weizmann of Israel, Prof. Klausner was nominated to Presidency of Israel. However, he declined the nomination in favor of President Itzhak Ben Zvi. He was the author of numerous books, editor of many anthologies and contributor to several encyclopedias. Among his works are a six-volume History of Modern Hebrew Literature, a five-volume History of the Second Temple, twelve volumes on Plato, a book on Jesus which was translated into many languages, a book, “From Jesus to Paul,” which was published in an English translation in the United States, and many books on literature and education.
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