Jerry Rubin - Early Life

Early Life

Rubin was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, the son of a bread delivery man and union representative, and grew up in the then-upscale Avondale neighborhood.

Rubin's parents died within 10 months of each other, leaving Rubin the only person to take care of his younger brother, Gil, who was 13 at the time. Jerry wanted to teach Gil about the world and decided to take him to India. When relatives threatened to fight to obtain custody of Gil, Jerry decided to take his brother to Israel instead, settling in Tel Aviv. There, Rubin studied sociology while his brother, who had learned Hebrew, decided to stay in Israel and moved to a kibbutz. Before returning to social and political activism, Rubin made a visit to Cuba despite the law forbidding Americans to travel there.

Rubin attended Cincinnati's Walnut Hills High School, co-editing the school newspaper, The Chatterbox and graduating in 1956. While in high school Rubin began to write for The Cincinnati Post, compiling sports scores from high school games. He later went on to graduate from the University of Cincinnati, receiving a degree in sociology. Rubin attended the University of California, Berkeley, in 1964 but dropped out to focus on social activism.