March 29, 2023

The International Rabbinic Fellowship mourns the passing of Professor Amnon Shapira z"l, a leading religious-Zionist thinker and activist at the age of 88.

Prof. Shapira served in the leadership of the Bnei Akiva youth movement, for many decades, including serving as its executive director in the 1970's. In addition, he served in the intellectual and organizational leadership of the Religious Kibbutz movement, Neemanei Torah VeAvodah and Maaleh- The Center for Religious Zionism for many decades.

Prof. Shapira was a leading religious-Zionist educator and ideologue who wrote many monographs and books. He studied Talmud and Bible at Bar Ilan University, later receiving a doctorate in Hebrew literature from the Jewish Theological Seminary and a second doctorate in Bible from Tel-Aviv University.  He later taught Bible at Bar Ilan University and Ariel University.

Prof. Shapira was a fierce advocate for a robust and liberal religious-Zionist world view, advocating, in word and print, for Bnei Akiva to retain its classic co-educational model against those who argued for greater gender separation. He engaged in serious debate with the Hareidi and Hardal world view and pushed back strongly against racist and militant anti-Arab sentiments that emerged in parts of the religious-Zionist world in the last thirty years.

May his memory be for a blessing for the entire Jewish people and the world.