Isaac Landman (October 24, 1880 – September 4, 1946) was an American

Reform Reform ( lat, reformo) means the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The use of the word in this way emerges in the late 18th century and is believed to originate from Christopher Wyvill's Association movement ...

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 ...

, author and anti-Zionist activist. He was editor of the ten volume '' Universal Jewish Encyclopedia''.

Biography

Landman was born in Russia on October 4, 1880, to Ada and Louis Landman. He emigrated to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

in 1890. He graduated from the

Hebrew Union College. In 1911, with the assistance of

Jacob Schiff Jacob (; ; ar, يَعْقُوب, Yaʿqūb; gr, Ἰακώβ, Iakṓb), later given the name Israel, is regarded as a patriarch of the Israelites and is an important figure in Abrahamic religions, such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Ja ...

Julius Rosenwald Julius Rosenwald (August 12, 1862 – January 6, 1932) was an American businessman and philanthropist. He is best known as a part-owner and leader of Sears, Roebuck and Company, and for establishing the Rosenwald Fund, which donated millions in ...

, and

Simon Bamberger Simon Bamberger (February 27, 1845October 6, 1926) was the fourth Governor of Utah (1917–1921) after it achieved statehood from territorial status in 1896. Bamberger retains the distinction of being the first non-Mormon, the first Democrat, ...

, he founded a Jewish farm colony in

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

. In 1913 he married Beatrice Eschner. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

he was "said to be the first Jewish chaplain in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

to serve on foreign soil". He was a leader in Jewish–Christian ecumenism. He was editor of '' American Hebrew Magazine'' from 1918, served as the delegate of the

Union of American Hebrew Congregations The Union for Reform Judaism (URJ), known as the Union of American Hebrew Congregations (UAHC) until 2003, founded in 1873 by Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise, is the congregational arm of Reform Judaism in North America. The other two arms established b ...

to the

1919 Paris Peace Conference Events January * January 1 ** The Czechoslovak Legions occupy much of the self-proclaimed "free city" of Bratislava, Pressburg (now Bratislava), enforcing its incorporation into the new republic of Czechoslovakia. ** HMY Iolaire, HMY ''Io ...

. Landman had also been a prominent opponent of

Zionism Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after '' Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Je ...

: when, in 1922, the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

was considering the Lodge–Fish resolution in support of the Balfour Declaration, Landman and Rabbi David Philipson had presented the Reform movement's (then) anti-Zionist position to the

House Committee on Foreign Affairs The United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs, also known as the House Foreign Affairs Committee, is a standing committee of the U.S. House of Representatives with jurisdiction over bills and investigations concerning the foreign affairs o ...

. Landman also printed many opinions against the resolution and Zionism in his ''American Hebrew Magazine''.Cohen, Naomi W. ''The Americanization of Zionism, 1897-1948'',

University Press of New England The University Press of New England (UPNE), located in Lebanon, New Hampshire and founded in 1970, was a university press consortium including Brandeis University, Dartmouth College (its host member), Tufts University, the University of New Hampsh ...

, 2003, p. 68. The bill was eventually unanimously supported by both houses of Congress,Reich, Bernard, "The United States and Israel: The Nature of a Special Relationship", in Lesch, David W. ''The Middle East and the United States: A Historical and Political Reassessment'' (Fourth edition),

Westview Press Taylor & Francis Group is an international company originating in England that publishes books and academic journals. Its parts include Taylor & Francis, Routledge, F1000 Research or Dovepress. It is a division of Informa plc, a United Ki ...

, 2007, p. 206. and approved by

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Harding. He became rabbi of Brooklyn's

Congregation Beth Elohim Congregation Beth Elohim ( he, בֵּית אֱלֹהִים), also known as the Garfield Temple and the Eighth Avenue Temple, is a Reform Jewish congregation located at 274 Garfield Place and Eighth Avenue, in the Park Slope neighborhood of ...

in 1931. Three years later he began editing the '' Universal Jewish Encyclopedia'', which was published in ten volumes in the 1940s. He died on September 4, 1946. Landman was also a playwright. With his brother, physician Michael Lewis Landman, he authored the play ''A Man of Honor.'' Michael Landman's daughter was the architecture critic Ada Louise Huxtable.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Landman, Isaac 1880 births 1946 deaths Jewish American military personnel American Reform rabbis Jewish American writers Rabbis in the military United States Army chaplains