Israel Goldstein (; June 18, 1896 – April 11, 1986) was an American-born Israeli

rabbi A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of t ...

, author and

Zionist Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...

leader.

Early life and education

Goldstein, born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, was a noteworthy graduate of

South Philadelphia High School South Philadelphia High School is a public secondary high school located in the Lower Moyamensing neighborhood of South Philadelphia, at the intersection of Broad Street and Snyder Avenue. The school serves grades 9 through 12 and is part of ...

(SPHS) in 1911. At that time the school program was manual training, but his record showed to school administrators that there was more promise for academics servicing the immigrant population of

South Philadelphia South Philadelphia, nicknamed South Philly, is the section of Philadelphia bounded by South Street to the north, the Delaware River to the east and south, and the Schuylkill River to the west."." ''City of Philadelphia''. Retrieved November 8, ...

. He graduated the school at age 14. In 1911, while finishing his high school degree, he also completed a Bachelor of Hebrew Letters (B.H.L.) at Philadelphia's

Gratz College Gratz College is a private Jewish college in Melrose Park, Pennsylvania, United States. The college traces its origins to 1856 when banker, philanthropist, and communal leader Hyman Gratz and the Hebrew Education Society of Philadelphia (es ...

, which is the oldest independent Jewish College in the United States. He graduated from the

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 ...

at the age of 17. Later he attended the Jewish Theological Seminary where he was ordained in 1918 and received his Doctorate of Hebrew Letters (D.H.L.) in 192

Career and Zionist activity

From 1918 until his immigration to

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

in 1960, Israel Goldstein served as the rabbi of Congregation B'nai Jeshurun in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, the second oldest synagogue in the city.Jewish Telegraphic Agency, ''Dr. Israel Goldstein Dead at 89'', Jerusalem, April 13, 1986

/ref> He was head of the

New York Board of Rabbis The New York Board of Rabbis is an organization of Orthodox, Reform, Conservative and Reconstructionist rabbis in New York State and the surrounding portions of Connecticut and New Jersey. The roots of the New York Board of Rabbis date to 1881 wi ...

(1928–30), the

Jewish National Fund The Jewish National Fund (JNF; , ''Keren Kayemet LeYisrael''; previously , ''Ha Fund HaLeumi'') is a non-profit organizationProfessor Alon Tal, The Mitrani Department of Desert Ecology, The Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben Gurion ...

of America (1934-1943), the

Zionist Organization of America The Zionist Organization of America (ZOA; ) is an American nonprofit pro-Israel organization. Founded in 1897, as the Federation of American Zionists, it was the first official Zionist organization in the United States. Early in the 20th century ...

(1943-1946), and

American Jewish Congress The American Jewish Congress (AJCongress) is an association of American Jews organized to defend Jewish interests in the US and internationally through public policy advocacy, using diplomacy, legislation, and the courts. History The idea for a ...

(1952-1959), and helped found the

National Conference of Christians and Jews The National Conference for Community and Justice is an American social justice organization focused on fighting biases and promoting understanding between people of different races and cultures. The organization was founded in 1927 as the Natio ...

. In 1945, he was a consultant to the U.S. delegation at the Founding Conference of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

. From 1961 to 1971, Goldstein was World Chairman of

Keren Hayesod Keren Hayesod – United Israel Appeal (, literally "The Foundation Fund") is an official fundraising organization for Israel with branches in 45 countries. Its work is carried out in accordance with the Keren haYesod Law-5716, passed by the Kne ...

-United Israel Appeal. He led Keren Hayesod during a period of expansion and growth, particularly after the

Six-Day War The Six-Day War, also known as the June War, 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states, primarily United Arab Republic, Egypt, Syria, and Jordan from 5 to 10June ...

Death

Israel Goldstein died on April 11, 1986, at

Shaare Zedek Hospital The Shaare Zedek Medical Center () is a large teaching hospital in Jerusalem. It was established in 1902 and is affiliated with Hebrew University of Jerusalem. History Shaare Zedek was the first large district general hospital to be located ...

in Jerusalem after a long illness.

Published works

*''Century of Judaism in New York'' (1930) *''Towards a Solution'' (1940) *''Shanah b’Yisrael'' (Next Year in Israel; 1950) *''American Jewry Comes of Age'' (1955) *''Brandeis University - Chapter of its Founding'' *''Transition Years, New York-Jerusalem, 1960-1962'' (1966) *''Israel at Home and Abroad'' (1977) *''My World as a Jew: The Memoirs of Israel Goldstein'' (1984)

Honors and commemoration

Dr. Goldstein has been inducted into the SPHS Alumni Cultural Hall of Fame. In 1947, more than 1,000 acres of Jewish National Fund land situated between

Gaza Gaza may refer to: Places Palestine * Gaza Strip, a Palestinian territory on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea ** Gaza City, a city in the Gaza Strip ** Gaza Governorate, a governorate in the Gaza Strip Mandatory Palestine * Gaza Sub ...

and

Lachish Lachish (; ; ) was an ancient Canaanite and later Israelite city in the Shephelah ("lowlands of Judea") region of Canaan on the south bank of the Lakhish River mentioned several times in the Hebrew Bible. The current '' tell'' by that name, kn ...

were named "Chevel Goldstein" (lit. "Goldstein's region") in his honor. The

Israel Goldstein Youth Village Israel Goldstein Youth Village, known in Hebrew as the Havat HaNoar HaTzioni (), is a youth village and high school in Jerusalem, Israel. History Havat HaNoar HaTzioni was established in 1949 as a home for 40 Jewish orphans who lost their familie ...

, whose director he was, is named after him. Established in 1949, it is a Zionist

youth village A youth village () is a boarding school model first developed in Mandatory Palestine in the 1930s to care for groups of children and teenagers fleeing the Nazis. Henrietta Szold and Recha Freier were the pioneers in this sphere, known as youth ...

in the

Katamon Katamon or Qatamon (; ; ; from the Ancient Greek ), officially known as Gonen (; mainly used in municipal publications), is a neighborhood in south-central Jerusalem. It is built next to an old Greek Orthodox monastery, believed to have been cons ...

neighborhood of

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

. On his eightieth birthday, Israeli prime minister

Yitzhak Rabin Yitzhak Rabin (; , ; 1 March 1922 – 4 November 1995) was an Israeli politician, statesman and general. He was the prime minister of Israel, serving two terms in office, 1974–1977, and from 1992 until Assassination of Yitzhak Rabin, his ass ...

and other government and Zionist movement officials gathered at his home to pay him tribute."Israeli Officials Honor Longtime Zionist Leader," ''The New York Times,'' June 28, 1976, p. 14 The Rabbi Dr. I. Goldstein Synagogue on the

Givat Ram Givat Ram () is a neighborhood in central Jerusalem. It is the site of Kiryat HaMemshala (Hebrew language, Hebrew: קריית הממשלה, ''lit.'' Government complex), which includes many of Israel's most important national institutions, among t ...

campus of the

Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; ) is an Israeli public university, public research university based in Jerusalem. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Chaim Weizmann in July 1918, the public university officially opened on 1 April 1925. ...

was built in his honor. The Israel Goldstein Prize for Distinguished Leadership is the highest honor bestowed by Keren Hayesod. The prize has been awarded annually since 1980, the 60th anniversary of Keren Hayesod.Israel Goldstein Prize

References

*The

Central Zionist Archives Central Zionist Archives (CZA; ) is the official archive of the institutions of the Zionist Movement: the World Zionist Organization, the Jewish Agency, the Jewish National Fund, and Keren Hayesod/the United Israel Appeal as well as the archive ...

in Jerusale
site
Office of Israel Goldstein (S57), Personal papers (A364) and his photograph collection (PHIG) {{DEFAULTSORT:Goldstein, Israel 1896 births 1986 deaths 20th-century American rabbis Brandeis University people American emigrants to Israel American Jewish Congress members American Orthodox rabbis University and college founders Rabbis from Philadelphia South Philadelphia High School alumni University of Pennsylvania alumni Zionist Organization of America members