Joseph Saul Kornfeld

Joseph Saul Kornfeld (February 12, 1876 – June 29, 1944) was an American reform rabbi and diplomat.

[1] He served as a rabbi in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, Montreal and from 1907 at Temple Israel in Columbus.

[1] November 9, 1921 he was appointed Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Persia,[2][3] the first rabbi to represent the United States at a foreign diplomatic post.

[4] During his time in Iran (April 11, 1922 – September 1, 1924[2]) he made contact with Iranian Jewry and helped fight antisemitism in many cases.

In one specific case in September 1922 he helped restore the water supply to the Jewish neighborhood of Oudlajan when Reza Khan had blocked it.