Helen Diller Institute Visiting Professor, Education Department, UC Berkeley; Professor Emeritus at University of Haifa
Hanan Alexander is a 2025–2026 Helen Diller Institute Visiting Professor in the Education Department at UC Berkeley. He is a Professor of Philosophy of Education, Emeritus, at the University of Haifa, where he served as Dean of the Faculty of Education, Dean of Students, Head of the International School, and Head of the Center for Jewish and Democratic Education. From 2021–2025, he was the Koret Visiting Professor in Israel Studies at the Helen Diller Institute. He is also affiliated with the Center for Jewish Studies.
He has previously taught at American Jewish University (where he was Academic Vice President), UCLA, the Graduate Theological Union, the Jewish Theological Seminary, and Bar-Ilan University. Additionally, he is an Affiliated Professor (Professor Extra Numerum) at the University of Warsaw, a Visiting Fellow of St. Edmund’s College, University of Cambridge, past president of the Religious Education Association, and former editor of the journal Religious Education.
Alexander earned a Ph.D. in Education and Humanities from Stanford University and an M.A. in Jewish Studies and Rabbinic Ordination from the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, which also awarded him an honorary Doctor of Hebrew Letters (DHL), Honoris Causa. He specializes in the intersection of Jewish thought and philosophy of education, with particular emphasis on religious, spiritual, political, and moral education, as well as the philosophy of educational research.
He has published nine books and over 160 essays in academic, professional, and popular journals. His first book, Reclaiming Goodness: Education and the Spiritual Quest, won the 2001 National Jewish Book Award from the National Jewish Book Council in the United States. Recent research projects include studies on dialogue between science and religious education with Professor Tali Tal of the Technion under the Templeton World Charity Foundation, and interdisciplinary humanities education with Dr. Nurit Novis of the University of Haifa, funded by the Israel Ministry of Education. He also chaired an expert committee for the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities on “Values Education: Guidelines for Measurement and Evaluation.” His work on the philosophy and pedagogy of Israel education, in collaboration with Dr. Benji Davis of Yeshiva University, has appeared in Jewish Education, Contemporary Jewry, and the Journal of Religious Education.
Courses
Religion and Spirituality in Education: Israeli and American Cases
Introduction to Modern Jewish Thought: Faith, Culture, and Education
