Julian Morgenstern (March 18, 1881 – December 4, 1976) was an American rabbi, Bible scholar, and president of Hebrew Union College.
He then returned to America and became rabbi of Congregation Ahaveth Achim (later known as Temple Israel) in Lafayette, Indiana, for the next three years.
He then became Professor of Biblical and Semitic Languages at Hebrew Union College, where his systematic and thorough methods made him a successful teacher.
New departments of education, social studies, and Jewish music were established, new buildings were erected, and an endowment fund was created.
The college, which was previously part of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, became independently chartered.
The Hebrew Union College Annual was established in 1924 and immediately became a prominent publication in Jewish scholarship.
His time studying Assyriology inspired him to support Biblical criticism, which he felt was dominated by Christian scholars that dismissed the Jewish perspective.
He presented a paper on the subject in the 1915 Central Conference of American Rabbis, which proved controversial and faced strong opposition from older rabbis, but it helped push Reform Judaism and Hebrew Union College to start studying Biblical criticism.