Yosef Yoel Rivlin was born in
Jerusalem on October 11, 1889, to Reuven Rivlin, a scion of the
Rivlin family, and Ita Rivka Shapira (the sister of the Zionist settler Avraham Shapira), who died when he was born. He studied in the
Talmud Torah of the
Etz Chaim Yeshiva, in the
Lämel School (often misspelled 'Lemel School'), and at the Ezra teachers college. Later, he was one of the few Jews who studied at the independent Muslim school Rawdat al-Ma'araf (روضة المعارف). He was one of the first teachers in the
Teacher's College founded by David Yellin and among the leaders of the supporters of
Hebrew medium education in the
War of the Languages. In 1917, he was imprisoned in
Damascus after being forcibly conscripted into the
Ottoman Military, and after his release he remained there and taught at the Hebrew School for Girls. Together with a group of Jewish educators, he returned to Palestine at the end of 1918, and in January 1919 he was sent back to Damascus by
David Yellin to run the Hebrew School for Girls. Together with him,
Yehuda Burla was sent to run the Hebrew School for Boys. From Damascus, he frequently wrote in the daily Hebrew newspaper
Do'ar HaYom under the pseudonym Mekomi ("Local"). In 1922, he taught in
Tiberias. He studied at the
University of Frankfurt and received a doctorate in Arabic and Islamic studies. In 1927, he was appointed research assistant at the Hebrew University and was later appointed professor there. In 1929, he was appointed as a member of the
Hebrew Language Committee. When it was replaced by the
Academy of the Hebrew Language, Rivlin became one of its members, and remained one until his death. From 1930 to 1941 he served as chairman of the Hebrew Teachers Union. Rivlin translated Islamic literature into Hebrew, including translation of the
Quran (published in 1936) and the
Arabian Nights (32 volumes were published between 1947 and 1971. He published studies on the history of the
Yishuv and
Oriental studies. In 1932, he published "The Life of Muhammad", a Hebrew biography of
Muhammad. In 1951 published a Hebrew translation of
Ignác Goldziher's
Vorlesungen über den Islam. Since the establishment of
Israel, he had been active in the
Herut movement. In 1957 he was mentioned as its possible
presidential candidate, but withdrew in favor of then incumbent
Yitzhak Ben-Zvi. He chaired the committee to commemorate his childhood friend Dr.
Pesach Hebroni and edited his book "Mathematical Writings". Rivlin was married twice. His first wife was Rachel, the daughter of the educator Yitzhak Yehezkel Yehuda. She died in 1935 with no children. After her death, he married Rachel "Ray" Rivlin, a
Jerusalem City Council member, one of the leaders of
B'nai B'rith. One of their sons is
Reuven Rivlin, the tenth President of Israel. == Bibliography ==