Rabbi Joseph S. Kornfeld, former U.S. Minister to Persia, collapsed and died of a heart attack in the Holy Blossom Temple, to which he was appointed recently to replace Rabbi Maurice Eisendrath for the duration of the war. He was 67 years old.
Rabbi Kornfeld studied in the United States and Canada and held rabbinates in both countries since 1898. He also was a lecturer and an educator. He spoke under the auspices of the Federal Office of Education of the Department of Interior. He was president of the Columbus Board of Education in 1918-19. Also corresponding secretary of the Central Conference of American Rabbis from 1913 to 1915 and a past president of District 2, B’nai B’rith.
Rabbi Kornfeld was Minister to Persia from 1921 to 1924. He resigned the post following strained relations between the United States and the Persian Government over the murder of Major Robert Imbrie, American vice-consul at Teheran, by a mob of religious fanatics who objected to Major Imbrie taking a photograph of a miracle well.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
