He was born in
Manchester,
England, but moved to the
United States at age 11 when his father,
Gustav Gottheil, accepted a position as the assistant
Rabbi of the largest
Reform synagogue in
New York,
Temple Emanu-El. He graduated from
Columbia College in 1881, and studied also in
Europe, earning his
doctorate at the
University of Leipzig in 1886. Gottheil was a professor of Semitic languages at
Columbia University from 1886 until his death. He was also director of the Oriental Department of the New York Public Library from 1896 until his death. From 1898 to 1904 he was president of the
American Federation of Zionists, and worked with both
Stephen S. Wise and
Jacob De Haas as organizational secretaries. Though he was ever desirous of returning to the quiet life of academia, Gottheil attended the
Second Zionist Congress in
Basel, establishing relationships with
Theodor Herzl and
Max Nordau. "Professor Gottheil shunned publicity; he did not mind the trickles of adulation accorded him as President; but his official duties irked him beyond endurance. He hated to preside at meetings. He was careless in procedural matters and embarrassed by ceremonies in which he had to take part. He was horrified by emotional debates. He felt that his status as a professor was being sullied by his being President of a propaganda organization. He ran away from official duties. He usually limited his official addresses at Zionist meetings to the necessary items, speaking briefly. He became more and more nerve-provoked by his status, especially as the practical affairs of the Zionist Federation made no visible progress." Gottheil virtually vanished from the Zionist movement for the rest of his life. He continued writing and supporting the Zionist effort, but he never again undertook a leadership role. After 1904 he was vice president of the
American Jewish Historical Society. Gottheil wrote many articles on
Oriental and
Jewish questions for newspapers and reviews. He edited the
Columbia University Oriental Series, and the
Semitic Study Series. After 1901 he was one of the editors of the
Jewish Encyclopedia. He wrote the chapter on Zionism which was translated into Arabic and published by
Najib Nassar in his newspaper
Al-Karmil and also in the form of a book in 1911. He died on 22 May 1936. ==Publications==