Jack Joseph Cohen was born on March 21, 1919 in Brooklyn, New York. He graduated from Brooklyn College in 1940. At The Jewish Theological Seminary he received a Doctor of Hebrew Letters in 1940, and rabbinic ordination in 1943.

After ordination, Rabbi Cohen served in a number of educational and leadership positions in both the Reconstructionist and Conservative movements in the United States. In 1961 Cohen made a break from his activities in the American Jewish community and settled permanently in Israel, where he began working as the director of the B’nai B’rith Hillel Foundation at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He served as Hillel director until 1984, and though physically removed from the day-to-day activities of the American Jewish community, he continued to devote much energy to the problems of Jewish education and religious pluralism in both Israel and the United States.

Cohen’s work in Jewish education began in 1943, when he accepted a position as the educational director of the Cleveland Jewish School, later the Park Synagogue, in Cleveland, Ohio. He served at the Cleveland Jewish School until 1945, when he returned to New York City to take on his new role as director of the Jewish Reconstructionist Foundation. Rabbi Cohen remained in this position until 1952, though he did take off during 1947-1948 to study at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Cohen’s continued involvement with the Reconstructionist Movement is reflected in his activities from 1952 until his permanent move to Israel in 1961. From 1952-1954 he served as the educational director for the Society for the Advancement of Judaism, the model Reconstructionist synagogue center, and then in 1954 he became the center’s rabbi, serving in this role until 1961.

Cohen’s involvement with the Conservative movement also began prior to his move to Israel. He taught two courses at The Jewish Theological Seminary (philosophies of religion, 1955- 1961, and philosophy of education, 1960-1961); was a member of the Rabbinical Assembly’s Executive Council and vice-chairman of its Placement Commission; and served as chairman of the United Synagogue’s Commission on Jewish Education, 1960-1961.

Other significant activities in Cohen’s life prior to his relocation to Israel included completion of the Ph.D. degree at Columbia University in 1959; membership in the following organizations - the Executive Council of the National Council for Jewish Education, the National Committee of the Labor Zionist Organization of America and the National Board of the Religion and Labor Foundation.

Cohen is the author of The Case for Religious Naturalism (1958) and Jewish Education in a Democratic Society, 1964. As an editor, he worked on two journals, The Reconstructionist and Petachim.

Recent Articles by Rabbi Jack Joseph Cohen

• Balaq: Deluding ourselves into thinking that all is well in our society - July 6th, 2006
• Rabbi Jack Joseph Cohen - July 6th, 2005

Categories: Human Rights Exegetes, Rabbi Jack Joseph Cohen
Tags: Bo, human rights, ISM, palestinians, settlers