Israel Davidson (1870, Jonava, Lithuania - 1939, Great Neck, New York) was an American Jewish writer and publisher and has been recognized as one of the leading American Hebrew writers in his era. His magnum opus was the four volume Otsar ha-shirah veha-piyut = Thesaurus of Mediaeval Hebrew Poetry (NY, 1924–1933).
Davidson studied in yeshivas in Jonava, Volozhin, and Slobodka. In 1898, he emigrated to New York, worked at a few occupations before earning a Ph.D from Columbia University.
Famous quotes containing the words israel and/or davidson:
“We Americans are the peculiar, chosen people—the Israel of our time; we bear the ark of the liberties of the world.”
—Herman Melville (1819–1891)
“For like a mole I journey in the dark,
A-travelling along the underground”
—John Davidson (1857–1909)