Isacque (Isaac) Graeber (August 29, 1905 – 1984) was a sociologist, Jewish historian, and writer. He wrote several books and numerous papers ranging in subject matters from Jewish-Gentile relations to Jewish Education. He studied at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

and

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

. During his long career he served as director of the College of Jewish Studies in

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more t ...

, and Director of Education to the Jewish community of

Akron, Ohio Akron () is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Ohio, fifth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 190,469 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Akron metr ...

Biography

Early years

Isacque Graeber was born August 29, 1905, in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

Congress Poland Congress Poland or Congress Kingdom of Poland, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland, was a polity created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna as a semi-autonomous Polish state, a successor to Napoleon's Duchy of Warsaw. It was established w ...

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

of ethnic

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

parents. He earned a PhD, however the title or topic of his dissertation is unknown. He emigrated in 1921 and by the late 1920s he began contributing articles to various journals, and by 1935 was working on his book titled, "Jews in a Gentile World." As a staunch opponent of

fascism Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hie ...

, Graeber was active in the

Communist Party USA The Communist Party USA (CPUSA), officially the Communist Party of the United States of America, also referred to as the American Communist Party mainly during the 20th century, is a communist party in the United States. It was established ...

-sponsored

League of American Writers The League of American Writers was an association of American novelists, playwrights, poets, journalists, and literary critics launched by the Communist Party USA (CPUSA) in 1935. The group included Communist Party members, and so-called " fellow ...

and attended the organization's second congress in 1937. In 1941, Graeber was temporarily employed by

Max Horkheimer Max Horkheimer ( ; ; 14 February 1895 – 7 July 1973) was a German philosopher and sociologist best known for his role in developing critical theory as director of the Institute for Social Research, commonly associated with the Frankfurt Schoo ...

's Institute of Social Research (through

Franz L. Neumann Franz Leopold Neumann (23 May 1900 – 2 September 1954) was a German political activist, Western Marxist theorist and labor lawyer, who became a political scientist in exile and is best known for his theoretical analyses of Nazism. He studie ...

) as an agent to solicit funding on commission from wealthy Jews for the institute's project on anti-Semitism, which eventually became the "Studies in Prejudice" series sponsored by the

American Jewish Committee The American Jewish Committee (AJC) is a civil rights group and Jewish advocacy group established on November 11, 1906. It is one of the oldest Jewish advocacy organizations and, according to ''The New York Times'', is "widely regarded as the wi ...

. Graeber was a Fellow of the

Rockefeller Foundation The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The foundation was created by Standard Oil magnate John D. Rockefeller (" ...

served as professor of Jewish studies at

and was a professor of sociology at

Yeshiva University Yeshiva University is a Private university, private Modern Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox Jewish university with four campuses in New York City.

. He was also on the staff of the Jewish Education Committee of New York.

Writings

Graeber contributed to journals like ''Judaism'', ''Jewish Life'', ''The Jewish Forum'' and ''Jewish Education''. As well as to non-Jewish journals like ''

Social Research Social research is research conducted by social scientists following a systematic plan. Social research methodologies can be classified as quantitative and qualitative. * Quantitative designs approach social phenomena through quantifiable ...

'' and ''Panorama.'' In 1942 he edited and published the seminal''Jews in a Gentile World,'' a collection of essays by eighteen widely published experts in sociology, anthropology, psychology, political science, economics, history, and philosophy who contributed objective examinations of the problems of anti-Semitism. The authors utilized social science findings to analyze practical issues that face both Jew and non-Jew. The book also included his own essay. Contributors included

Carleton S. Coon Carleton Stevens Coon (June 23, 1904 – June 3, 1981) was an American anthropologist and professor at the University of Pennsylvania. He is best known for his scientific racist theories concerning the parallel evolution of human races, which ...

Professor of

Anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, society, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including archaic humans. Social anthropology studies patterns of behav ...

at the

Talcott Parsons Talcott Parsons (December 13, 1902 – May 8, 1979) was an American sociologist of the classical tradition, best known for his social action theory and structural functionalism. Parsons is considered one of the most influential figures in soci ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

Carl Joachim Friedrich Carl Joachim Friedrich (; ; June 5, 1901 – September 19, 1984) was a German-American professor and political theorist. He taught alternately at Harvard and Heidelberg until his retirement in 1971. His writings on state and constitutional theory ...

and Everett V. Stonequist,

Skidmore College Skidmore College is a Private school, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Saratoga Springs, New York. Approximately 2,700 students are enrolled at Skidmore pursuing a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Scien ...

. He wrote on many topics, however most of his focus was on Jewish topics. Titles of his articles include "The Financial Role of Jews in America," "An Examination of Theories of Race Prejudice," and "The

Alliance Israelite Universelle An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are calle ...

: A Historical Evaluation."Published in ''Jewish Life,'' October 1961. In 1946 he published a pamphlet titled "The Truth About Anti-Semitism" which was a call for the establishment of a Jewish homeland in Palestine. He also authored a textbook titled "The History of Zionism" which was prepared for the use by "Zionist study circles". It was published by the Zionist Organization of America.

Death and legacy

Isacque Graeber died in 1984.

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Graeber, Isacque 1905 births 1984 deaths 20th-century American historians 20th-century American Jews 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century Polish historians 20th-century Polish Jews 20th-century Polish male writers 20th-century Polish non-fiction writers American male non-fiction writers American people of Polish-Jewish descent American sociologists Columbia University alumni Columbia University faculty Jewish American non-fiction writers Jewish historians Jewish Polish writers Polish emigrants to the United States Polish male non-fiction writers Polish sociologists University of Pennsylvania alumni Yeshiva University faculty