Jehoshua Ozjasz Thon was a rabbi

Rabbi

In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...

, early Zionist

Zionism

Zionism is a Jewish political movement that, in its broadest sense, has supported the self-determination of the Jewish people in a sovereign Jewish national homeland. Since the establishment of the State of Israel, the Zionist movement continues primarily to advocate on behalf of the Jewish state...

, and leader of the Jewish community in Poland

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

.

Academic background and activities

Thon studied philosophy

Philosophy

Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...

 and sociology

Sociology

Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...

 under George Simmel. As a student, he assisted Theodor Herzl

Theodor Herzl

Theodor Herzl , born Benjamin Ze’ev Herzl was an Ashkenazi Jew Austro-Hungarian journalist and the father of modern political Zionism and in effect the State of Israel.-Early life:...

 in the ideological preparations for the First Zionist Congress

First Zionist Congress

The First Zionist Congress was the inaugural congress of the Zionist Organization held in Basel , Switzerland, from August 29 to August 31, 1897. It was convened and chaired by Theodor Herzl, the founder of the modern Zionism movement...

, and in 1897 published a groundbreaking philosophical study of Zionism, Zur geschichtsphilosophischen Begrendung des Zionismus. Thon wrote literary and scientific academic works and journalistic essays, and a 1910 work on the philosophical and sociological methods of Herbert Spencer

Herbert Spencer

Herbert Spencer was an English philosopher, biologist, sociologist, and prominent classical liberal political theorist of the Victorian era....

.

Rabbinic appointment

In 1897, Ozjasz Thon was appointed to the rabbinate of Krakow

Kraków

Kraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...

, a position he held until his death. He was the rabbi of the Tempel Synagogue

Tempel Synagogue

The Tempel Synagogue is a Reform Jewish synagogue in Kraków, Poland, in the Kazimierz district. The Moorish Revival building was designed by Ignacy Hercok, and built in 1860-1862 along Miodowa Street. The temple, with its tall central section flanked by lower wings, is designed on the pattern of...

 of the Reform movement

Reform Judaism

Reform Judaism refers to various beliefs, practices and organizations associated with the Reform Jewish movement in North America, the United Kingdom and elsewhere. In general, it maintains that Judaism and Jewish traditions should be modernized and should be compatible with participation in the...

. He promoted a Zionist program despite the overall assimilationist trends prevalent in the Jewish community at that time, and was an adherent of Ahad Ha'Am's school of Jewish identity.

Political career

In 1906, Thon made an unsuccessful bid to represent the Jewish National Party in Kolomyya, Eastern Galicia, in the elections to the Austrian parliament. He continued his political activities and expanded them after the First World War. He represented the Western Galician Jewish National Council at the Versailles Peace Conference. In 1919, Thon was elected to the first Sejm

Sejm

The Sejm is the lower house of the Polish parliament. The Sejm is made up of 460 deputies, or Poseł in Polish . It is elected by universal ballot and is presided over by a speaker called the Marshal of the Sejm ....

 and served in the Polish parliament until 1931, where his oratory received a hearing even among antisemitic MPs.