International Academy for the Promotion of Scientific Research

Born in Poland in 1906, Abraham Isaac Katsh was a revered scholar and pioneer in the field of Jewish Studies. His father, Rabbi Reuven Katz, served as Chief Rabbi of Petach Tikva, Israel from 1932-1964. In 1933 Katsh introduced at NYU the first course in Modern Hebrew to be taught in an American university. Katsh founded and then directed NYU's Department of Hebrew Culture and Education for 35 years and, in the 1950's and 1960's, during the cold war, Katsh was granted sole permission to examine and photograph precious Hebrew manuscripts held in the Antonin Genizah Collection in the Leningrad Library. The highly unusual access he was given reflected his extensive web of relationships and his ability to negotiate the politics of the time. After several trips to the Soviet Union, he published a number of volumes of variances to the Talmud which previously had not come to light. The author of over 20 books and hundreds of articles, Katsh's publications ranged in topic from the influence of Judaism on Islam to the influence of the Bible on American democracy. In 1967 Katsh became President of Dropsie University in Philadelphia, the institution which had granted his Ph.D in 1945