Ernst Simon


Ernst Akiva Simon was a German-Jewish educator and religious philosopher who was born in Berlin and died in Jerusalem.

Teaching career and political activism

In the 1920s, Ernst Simon co-founded Brit Shalom along with Martin Buber, an organization espousing a binational solution for promoting the co-existence of Jews and Arabs in the State of Israel. From 1930 to 1933 he taught at the Hebrew Reali School Haifa, headed by Arthur Biram. In 1942, he was one of the founders of the binationalist Ihud party.

Published works

  • Aufbau im Untergang. Jüdische Erwachsenenbildung im nationalsozialistischen Deutschland als geistiger Widerstand. Tübingen: Mohr 1959..
  • Brücken. Gesammelte Aufsätze. Heidelberg: Schneider 1965.
  • Selbstdarstellung. In: Pädagogik in Selbstdarstellungen. Hamburg: Meiner, Bd. 1 , S. 272–333.
  • Entscheidung zum Judentum. Essays und Vorträge. Frankfurt a.M.: Suhrkamp Verlag 1980..
  • Sechzig Jahre gegen den Strom. Briefe von 1917-1984. Hrsg. vom Leo-Baeck-Institut, Jerusalem. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck 1998..

    Awards and recognition

In 1967, Simon was awarded the Israel Prize, for education.