Education
Dr. Drazin, born in 1935, received three rabbinical degrees in 1957, a BA in Theology in 1957, an MEd in Psychology in 1966, a JD in Law in 1974, an MA in Hebrew Literature in 1978, and a PhD. with honors in Aramaic Literature in 1981. After that, he completed two years of post-graduate study in Philosophy and Mysticism. He graduated from the US Army’s Command and General Staff College and War College for Generals in 1985.
Military
Brigadier General Drazin entered the Army Active Duty at age 21 as the youngest U.S. Chaplain ever to serve on active duty. He served on active duty from 1957 to 1960 in Louisiana and Germany. He then joined the active reserves and soldiered, in increasing grades, with half a dozen units. From 1978 until 1981, he lectured on legal subjects at the US Army Chaplains School. In March 1981, the Army requested that he take leave from civil service and return to active duty to handle special constitutional issues. He was responsible for preparing the defense in the trial challenging the constitutionality of the Army Chaplaincy. The military chaplaincies of all the uniformed services, active and reserve, as well as those of the Veterans Administration, were attacked on constitutional grounds and could have been disbanded. The Government won the action in 1984, and Drazin was awarded the prestigious Legion of Merit. Drazin returned to civilian life and the active reserves in 1984 as Assistant Chief of Chaplains, the highest reserve officer position available in the Army Chaplaincy, with the rank of Brigadier General. He was the first Jewish person to serve in this capacity in the US Army. During his military career, he revolutionized the role of military chaplains, making them officers responsible for the free exercise of rights for all military personnel and requiring them to provide for the needs of people of all faiths and atheists. General Drazin completed this four-year tour of duty with honors in March 1988, marking the culmination of 31 years of military service.
Attorney
Israel Drazin graduated from law school in 1974 and immediately began a private practice while still working for the Civil Service. He handled a wide range of cases, including domestic, criminal, bankruptcy, accident, and contract matters. He joined his son in 1993 and formed offices in Columbia and Dundalk, Maryland. After 23 years, Dr. Drazin ceased active law practice in 1997.
Civil Service
Israel Drazin joined the US Civil Service in 1962 and remained a civil service employee, with occasional military duty, until his retirement in 1990. At retirement, he accumulated 31 years of creditable service. During his US Civil Service career, he held many positions, including being an Equal Opportunity Consultant in the 1960s (advising insurance company top executives regarding civil rights and equal employment) and the head of Medicare’s Civil Litigation Staff (supervising a team of lawyers who handled suits filed by and against the government’s Medicare program). He also served as the director for Maryland’s Federal Agencies’ relationship with the United Fund.
Rabbi
Dr. Drazin was ordained as a rabbi in 1957 at Ner Israel Rabbinical College in Baltimore, Maryland, and subsequently received semichot (ordinations) from two other institutions. He entered active duty in the Army in 1957. He left active duty in 1960, continued serving in the reserves, and officiated as a weekend rabbi at several synagogues, including the first rabbi in Columbia, Maryland. He continued his uninterrupted weekend rabbinic practice until 1974 and then officiated intermittently as a rabbi until 1987. His rabbinical career totaled 30 years.
Author
Israel Drazin is the author of over seventy books, more than 500 popular and scholarly articles, and over 12,000 book, music, and movie reviews. His books include one on the case he handled for the U.S. Army and a dozen scholarly works on the Aramaic translation of the Bible, Targum Onkelos.
Philanthropy and Lectures
Philanthropy: Dr. Drazin served as Executive Director of the Jim Joseph Foundation, a charitable organization that funds Jewish education, for just over 4 years, from September 2000 to November 2004.
Lectures: Dr. Drazin delivered lectures at Howard Community College, Lynn University, and the US Army Chaplains School, and continues to give lectures to military chaplains.
Memberships and Awards
Brigadier General Drazin is admitted to practice law in Maryland and before the Federal Court and the US Supreme Court. He is a member of several bar associations for attorneys and the Rabbinical Council of America. He was honored with military awards, the RCA 1985 Joseph Hoenig Memorial Award, and the JWB 1986 Distinguished Service Award. Mayor Kurt Schmoke of Baltimore, Maryland, named February 8, 1988, “Israel Drazin Day.” A leading Baltimore Synagogue named him “Man of the Year” in 1990. He is included in the recent editions of Who’s Who in World Jewry, Who’s Who in American Law, Who’s Who in Biblical Studies and Archaeology, and other Who’s Who volumes.
