Waxman received a B.A. in sociology from Yeshiva University in 1963.^[3] He received his M.A. and Ph.D. in sociology from The New School for Social Research.^[4] He was a Senior Fellow at the Jewish People Policy Planning Institute in Jerusalem until March 1, 2009. He is a Professor Emeritus of Sociology and Jewish Studies at Rutgers University.

Waxman served as the president of the Association for the Social Scientific Study of Jewry (ASSJ) from 1979 to 1981.^[5]

• IGGUD: Selected Essays in Jewish Studies, Vol. 2, History of the Jewish People and Contemporary Jewish Society (Co-Ed. with Gershon Bacon, Albert Baumgarten, Jacob Barnai, and Israel J. Yuval). Jerusalem: World Union of Jewish Studies, 2009.
• Religious Zionism Post Disengagement: Future Directions. (Ed.). Orthodox Forum Series. New York & Jersey City, NJ: Yeshiva University Press/Ktav Publishing House, 2008.
• Historical Dictionary of Zionism, Second Edition (Co-Author, with Rafael Medoff). Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2008. Paperback Edition titled, The A to Z of Zionism, 2009. First Edition, Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2000.
• Flipping Out? Myth or Fact: The Impact of the “Year in Israel” (Co-Author with Shalom Z. Berger and Daniel Jacobson). New York: Yashar Books, 2007.
• Jews in Israel: Contemporary Social and Cultural Patterns (Co-Ed., with Uzi Rebhun). Hanover & Lehanon, NH: Brandeis University Press/University Press of New England, 2004.
• Jewish Baby Boomers: A Communal Perspective. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2001.
• Jews in America: A Contemporary Reader (Co-Ed., with Roberta Rosenberg Farber). Hanover: Brandeis University Press/University Press of New England, 1999.
• Tikkun Olam: Social Responsibility in Jewish Thought and Law (Co-Ed., with David Shatz and Nathan J. Diament). Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson, 1997.
• Study Guide to accompany W. E. Thompson and J. V. Hickey, Society in Focus: An Introduction to Sociology, Second Edition. New York: HarperCollins, 1996.
• Israel as a Religious Reality (Ed.). Orthodox Forum Series. Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson, 1994.
• American Aliya: Portrait of an Innovative Migration Movement. Detroit, Mi, Wayne State University Press, 1989. Reprint by Routledge.
• America’s Jews in Transition. Philadelphia, Temple University Press, 1983.
• Ethnicity, Identity and History (Co-Ed., with Joseph B. Maier). New Brunswick, Transaction Books, 1983.
• The Stigma of Poverty: A Critique of Poverty Theories and Policies, Second Edition. New York, Pergamon Press, 1983. First Edition, New York, Pergamon Press, 1977.
• The Palestinians: People, History, Politics (Co-Ed., with Michael Curtis, Joseph Neyer, and Allen Pollack). New Brunswick, Transaction Books, 1975.
• The End of Ideology Debate (Ed.). New York, Funk and Wagnalls, 1969. Paperback Edition, New York, Simon & Schuster, 1969.
• Poverty: Power and Politics (Ed.). New York, Grosset and Dunlap, 1968. Paperback Edition, Universal Library, 1968.