Judah Segal

Judah Benzion "Ben" Segal, FBA (21 June 1912 – 23 October 2003, Edgware, Middlesex) was Professor of Semitic Languages at the School of Oriental and African Studies.

His father was Professor Moshe Zvi Segal and his brother was the doctor and Labour Party politician Samuel Segal. He had two daughters; one is Prof. Naomi Segal.

Education Magdalen College School, Oxford St. Catharine's College, Cambridge. Jarrett Scholar, 1932; John Stewart of Rannoch Scholar in Hebrew, 1933; 1st Class Oriental Langs Tripos, 1935; Tyrwhitt Scholar and Mason Prizeman, 1936. BA (Cambridge), 1935, MA 1938; DPhil (Oxford) 1939. Colours, Cambridge University Boxing Club, 1935, 1936.

Career Mansel Research Exhibitioner, St. John's College, Oxford, 1936–39; James Mew Scholar, 1937. Deputy Assistant Director, Public Security, Sudan Government, 1939–41 Served in World War II, GHQ, MEF, 1942–44, Captain; Education Officer, British Military Administration, Tripolitania, 1945–46. He was awarded a Military Cross in 1942. School of Oriental and African Studies from 1946; Head of Department of Near and Middle East, 1961–68; Professor 1961–79, then Emeritus Professor; Honorary Fellow 1983. Visiting Lecturer, Ain Shams University, Cairo, 1979 Research Fellow, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, 1980 Leverhulme Emeritus Fellowship, South India, 1981

Involvement in Jewish community Principal, Leo Baeck College, 1982–85; President, 1985-2003 Member, Council of Christians and Jews President: North Western Reform Synagogue President: British Association for Jewish Studies, 1980 Vice-president, Reform Synagogues of Great Britain, 1985–91

Honours Fellow of the British Academy, 1968 Freedom, City of Urfa, Turkey, 1973

Publications The Diacritical Point and the Accents in Syriac, 1953 The Hebrew Passover, 1963 The Sabian Mysteries. The planet cult of ancient Harran, Vanished Civilizations, 1963 Edessa, 'the blessed city''', 1970 Aramaic Texts From North Saqqara, 1983 A History of the Jews of Cochin, 1993 Aramaic and Mandaic Incantation Bowls in the British Museum, 2000 Whisper Awhile'', 2000 Articles in learned periodicals.