Aaronson, Aaron

Aaron Aaronson was born in 1876 into the family of grain merchant Ephraim-Fishel Aaronson (1849-1939) in Bacau, shortly before Romania gained independence. Aaron’s mother, Malka (1853–1913), was the daughter of the Faltic rabbi Shmuel Galatzana, a native of Berdichev ^[1] . In 1882, when Aaron was six years old, Efraim-Fishel and his whole family moved to Palestine , which was under the rule of the Ottoman Empire . There Efraim-Fishel became one of the founders of the Jewish village of Zikhron-Yaakov ^[2] , and after staying in Haifa , where Aaaron began to attend school, the family moved to a new place. Although Jewish immigrants in Palestine had already received help from philanthropist Edmond de Rothschild during these years, the funding for the school in Zikhron Yaakov did not apply, and Aaron was largely self-educated in the village library. His Zionist worldview was also formed there ^[1] .

After leaving school, Aaronson was appointed assistant agricultural supervisor in Zichron Yaacov, representing the Rothschild Foundation. Later, the baron, who appreciated the intellectual potential of the young man, paid for his studies at the Agricultural Institute in ( France ). In France, he spent two years, but, not having time to graduate from the institute, he was sent back to Palestine to take the post of agronomist in the new Jewish moshavim - Metula . By the time Aaronson arrived in Metula, this settlement was at the center of the conflict between the local Druze , from whom the land was bought, and visiting Jews. During the transaction, the Druze were deceived by representatives of the Rothschild Foundation and vented anger on Jewish settlers. Aaronson managed to establish relations with the Druze, but the constant struggle with the corrupt Rothschild Foundation officials forced him to eventually resign ^[3] .

Going to Turkey, Aaronson became the land manager of two French brothers near Izmir . There, he created a name for himself through successful experiments on land reclamation and the introduction of agricultural machinery, expansion of vineyards and breeding of a purebred breed of horses. After that, starting in 1900, he began importing agricultural machinery into Haifa. Since 1902, he managed two citrus plantations and at the same time conducted botanical research. In 1906, near Rosh Pina, Aaronson discovered an unknown cereal, wild spelled ( Triticum dicoccoides ), which at that time was regarded as the “mother of all wheat”, a long-wanted direct ancestor of cultivated wheat ^[4] . Later it was found that wild spelled is the ancestor of a wheat variety that has long been cultivated in Palestine and other countries of the Middle East ^[5] .

Impressed by the discovery of Aaronson, the German-Jewish botanist Otto Warburg introduced him to the academic circles of Europe. At the end of the first decade of the 20th century, Aaronson took part in numerous scientific expeditions in North Africa , Eastern Europe and the Levant . At the invitation of the Sultan, he visited Istanbul, where he systematized the geological and botanical collections of Yildiz Palace ^[6] , and in 1909 he visited the United States at the invitation of the country's Ministry of Agriculture . With the support of American scholars and American Jewish leaders, in 1912 he founded the experimental agricultural station in Atlite . There he explored various crops, collected geological and botanical collections and a rich technical library ^[2] . Especially Aaronson’s attention was attracted by species and varieties already growing in Palestine - olives , grapes , figs , almonds ^[6] .

During these years, Aaronson was a supporter of the use of hired Arab workers, which was a source of conflict with the socialist leaders of the Jewish Yishuv , adherents of the ideology of Jewish labor, who feared that dependence on Arab labor would undermine the foundations of a Jewish presence in Palestine. However, after the outbreak of World War II , Aaronson's influence in Yishuv grew due to his connections in the United States; he was one of three members of the committee that distributed cash aid from this country in Yishuv. In 1915, Aaronson, by order of the Turkish governor Jemal Pasha, was appointed chief inspector for locust control in Syria and Egypt . However, when news of the massacres of Armenians in Turkey arrived in Palestine, Aaronson came to the conclusion that the future of Palestinian Jews depends on whether Palestine will be freed from the power of the Ottoman Empire ^[2] .

Aaronson, his family, and his Atlit station assistant, Avshalom Feinberg, created a secret organization called NILI , which collected intelligence about Turkish troops in Palestine and sought contact with the British. In 1916, Aaronson through Germany and Denmark managed to get to London , where he established contacts with the British intelligence services. In 1917 he was sent from London to Egypt and from there he maintained contact with the members of the NILI through couriers whom British ships landed in Palestine near Atlit. The information received from NILI helped the British command plan military operations during the Sinai-Palestinian campaign ^[2] .

When the Jewish population of Jaffa and Tel Aviv was deported inland by the Ottoman authorities in the spring of 1917, Aaronson turned to world opinion for support and arranged for the transfer of money to Yishuv, which was deprived due to the ongoing war. In September 1917, the leader of the World Zionist Organization, Haim Weizman, sent him to the United States to conduct Zionist agitation. There he heard the news of the defeat of the NILI and the death of his sister Sarah , who had participated in the activities of this organization. In the spring of 1918, Aaron Aaronson returned to Palestine as a member of the Zionist Committee , but his relationship with the Yishuv leaders remained tense. At the Paris Peace Conference, he was part of the Zionist delegation, taking part in the drafting of a memorandum on the borders of Mandatory Palestine ^[2] . On May 15, 1919, Aaronson was the only passenger on a plane flying from London to Paris for a conference and never reaching France, having disappeared without a trace over the English Channel . According to the official version, the pilot got lost in the fog and the plane crashed into the sea near the French coast ^[7] .

In 1930, Aaronson's work, Flora of Jordan, was published in Geneva in French. Her Hebrew translation was later prepared ^[8] . In honor of Aaronson in 1927, the genus of astro aaronsonia was named.

In honor of Aaron Aaronson, the moshav Kfar-Aaron near Ness Ziona is named. His name was given to the Agricultural Institute of the Hebrew University , located in Rehovot . The Jewish National Fund issued a postage stamp in memory of Aaronson ^[8] . Another stamp with a portrait of Aaronson was issued by the Israeli Post in 1979 ^[9] .

• David Tidhar. Aaron Aaronson // Encyclopedia of pioneers and builders of Yishuv = אנציקלופדיה לחלוצי הישוב ובוניו. - 1952. - T. 5. - S. 2073-2077.
• Barbara P. Billauer. Case Studies in Scientific Statecraft: Aaron Aaronsohn: 1909-1914: Science, Subversion and the Birth of Israel . - University of Haifa- Faculty of Law; Zefat Academic College of Law, 2013.

• Aaronson, family - article from the Electronic Jewish Encyclopedia
• Biography on the website of the Jewish Agency (Hebrew)