Rabbi Jonathan Magonet (born 8 February 1942) is a British Jewish theologian, Vice-President of the World Union of Progressive Judaism

Progressive Judaism

Progressive Judaism , is an umbrella term used by strands of Judaism which affiliate to the World Union for Progressive Judaism. They embrace pluralism, modernity, equality and social justice as core values and believe that such values are consistent with a committed Jewish life...

, and a biblical

Bible

The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...

 scholar. He is highly active in Christian

Christianity

Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...

-Jewish

Judaism

Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...

 dialogue, and in dialogue between Jews and Muslim

Muslim

A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...

s. He was the long-time Principal (Rector or academic director), now retired, of London's Leo Baeck College

Leo Baeck College

Leo Baeck College is a rabbinical college and centre for Jewish education located in north London. As well as being the smallest academic college in England, it is also the largest Jewish Progressive University and Rabbinic College in Europe....

, the first liberal Jewish

Liberal Judaism

Liberal Judaism , is one of the two forms of Progressive Judaism found in the United Kingdom, the other being Reform Judaism. Liberal Judaism, which developed at the beginning of the twentieth century is less conservative than UK Reform Judaism...

 seminary of all of Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

 since World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. He resides in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 with his wife Dorothea.

Professor Magonet served on the rabbinic staff at West London Synagogue of British Jews

West London Synagogue

The West London Synagogue of British Jews was established on 15 April 1840. It is one of the oldest synagogues in the United Kingdom and the oldest Reform synagogue in the UK.-History:...

. He has been part of the team constructing the new edition of the British Reform Prayer Book.

Career

He is a trustee of the Maimonides Foundation

Maimonides Foundation

The Maimonides Foundation is a UK-based organization focused on ordinary Jewish-Muslim communication. It is committed to fostering relationships among believers of the Abrahamic faith. Established in 1995, the foundation has created links between the two peoples through "cultural, academic,...

, a charitable organisation promoting dialogue between Jews and Muslim

Muslim

A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...

s.

His 1992 book, Bible Lives, presented a series of pen portraits of figures from the Hebrew Bible, both major and (partcularly) minor. Originally written for the Jewish Chronicle

The Jewish Chronicle

The Jewish Chronicle is a London-based Jewish newspaper. Founded in 1841, it is the oldest continuously published Jewish newspaper in the world.-Publication data and readership figures:...

, they aimed to show that the Bible could still be a 'living' source of deep insight into human character. Magonet has described in the book's introduction the challenge of bringing to 'centre stage' characters like Shiphrah

Shiphrah

Shiphrah was one of two midwives who helped prevent the genocide of Hebrew children by the Egyptians, according to Exodus 1:15-21.The name is found in a list of slaves in Egypt during the reign of Sobekhotep III. This list is on Brooklyn 35.1446, a papyrus scroll kept in the Brooklyn Museum. The...

, Puah

Puah

Puah is a name given to two persons in the Bible:* One of the two midwives who feared God, and helped prevent the genocide of Hebrew male children by the Egyptians, according to Exodus 1:15-21. Her colleague was Shiphrah....

, Palti ben Laish and Ritzpah

Rizpah

Rizpah was the daughter of Aiah, and one of Saul's concubines. She was the mother of Armoni and Mephibosheth .After the death of Saul, Abner took her as wife, resulting in a quarrel between him and Saul's son and successor, Ishbosheth. The quarrel led to Abner's going over to the side of David, ...

with only minimal information about them available from the text, and expressed the hope that readers would themselves go back to the texts to check out or challenge his intepretations.

Books

• A Rabbi Reads the Bible (1991, 2004) ISBN 0-334-02952-X
• Bible Lives (1992). London: SCM (ISBN 0-334-00102-1)