We Remember Professor Shlomo Aronson (z”l)

Shlomo Aronson (z”l) was The Charles and Lynn Schusterman Visiting Professor in Israel Studies in The Arizona Center for Judaic Studies from 2007-2009. Born in Tel Aviv in 1936, Aronson was Professor of Political Science at The Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He had a diverse and successful professional life. His book Hitler the Allies and the Jews (Cambridge University Press, 2004) received the Israeli Political Science Association Award for outstanding book in English, as well as the Sybil Milton Prize of the German Studies Association for outstanding work on the Holocaust. His other books include The Beginnings of the Gestapo System (Transaction Publishers, 1969), Conflict and Bargaining in the Middle East: An Israeli Perspective (Johns Hopkins University Press, 1978), The Politics and Strategy of Nuclear Weapons in the Middle East: Opacity, Theory, and Reality 1960-1991 (State University of New York Press, 1992), Levi Eshkol: From Pioneering Operatior to Tragic Hero – A Doer (Vallentine Mitchell, 2011), and David Ben Gurion and the Jewish Resistance (Cambridge University Press, 2014). At various times in his life he served as a newspaper columnist for several newspapers, including Haaretz and Maariv, as well as a news editor for both “Voice of Israel (כול ישראל) radio and the “Looking for News” (מבט לחדשות) television program.Prof. Aronson taught two courses for The Arizona Center for Judaic Studies: “Modern Israel” (JUS 377) and an Honors Seminar entitled “The Politics of Genocide: Hitler, the Allies and the Jews” (JUS 396h). In addition to his teaching load, Aronson hosted a monthly discussion group called “Spotlight on Israel” for the Weintraub Israel Center at The Tucson Jewish Community Center and participated in numerous public lectures and panels.Shlomo Aronson passed away on 21 February 2020 in Tel Aviv and is survived by his soulmate Irit Yatziv. Shlomo and Irit left an indelible mark on the University of Arizona and the Tucson community. Shlomo’s memory will always be a blessing to all who knew him personally or who were influenced by his words and deeds.זכרונו לברכה (Zichrono Livracha, “may his memory be a blessing”)