Gershon Agron
Gershon Agron | |
|---|---|
גרשון אגרון | |
Agron in the 1930s | |
| Mayor of Jerusalem | |
| In office 7 September 1955 – 1 November 1959 | |
| Preceded by | Yitzhak Kariv |
| Succeeded by | Mordechai Ish-Shalom |
| Director of the Israeli Government Information Services | |
| In office June 1949 – 1951 | |
| Director of the Zionist Executive Press Office | |
| In office 1924–1927 | |
| Director of the Zionist Commission Press Office | |
| In office 1921–1921 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Gershon Harry Agronsky 27 December 1893 |
| Died | (aged 65) |
| Party | Mapai |
| Spouse |
Ethel Agronsky (m. 1921–1959) |
| Children | 3 |
| Relatives | See #Family |
| Education | Dropsie College Gratz College Temple University University of Pennsylvania |
| Signature | |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Branch | British Army |
| Service years | 1918–1920 |
| Unit | Jewish Legion |
| Conflicts | |
| Awards | British War Medal Victory Medal |
Gershon Harry Agron (Hebrew: גרשון אגרון; né Agronsky; 7 January 1894 [O.S. 27 December 1893] – 1 November 1959) was an Israeli newspaper editor, politician, and the mayor of West Jerusalem between 1955 and his death in 1959.
A Zionist from his youth, Agron joined the Jewish Legion and fought in Palestine towards the end of World War I; he had come to the attention of the Zionist Organization of America from the start, and quickly became a spokesperson for American Jewry.
He then joined the Zionist Commission as a press officer and helped expand the Jewish Telegraphic Agency upon his return to the United States, of which he served as editor. He lobbied for the creation of Mandatory Palestine and immigrated there permanently in 1924, heading the Zionist Executive press office. Lacking journalistic agency, and ambitious to create Zionist press, he started his own newspaper, The Palestine Post, which was renamed as The Jerusalem Post after Israel's founding; he changed his own name (from Agronsky to Agron) around the same time.
Agron continued to serve as press officer, promoting Zionism, in the new government, and became mayor of West Jerusalem in 1955. Spearheading development in this role, he died in office, supposedly from a curse. He was considered an influential proponent of Zionism.