Gershon Agron

Gershon Agron, 1949

Gershon Agron (1894–1959) was an Israeli newspaper editor and mayor of Jerusalem 1955–1959.

Biography

Gershon Agron (originally Agronsky) was born in the Ukraine and immigrated with his family to the United States at age five. He grew up in Philadelphia. During World War I, he fought with the Jewish Legion in Palestine. From 1920 to 1921, he worked for the Press Office of the Zionist Commission. Until his immigration to Palestine in 1924, he worked as the editor of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency and correspondent for several international press agencies, including The Times of London and the Manchester Guardian. In 1932, Agron founded The Palestine Post, an English-language newspaper that was renamed The Jerusalem Post in 1950. Among the paper's earliest reporters was Agron's nephew, Martin Agronsky, later a famous American television journalist.

On various occasions, Agron served as envoy of the World Zionist Organization. He was a member of the Jewish Agency delegation to the UN conference in San Francisco. In 1949–1951, Agron headed Israel's Government Information Service. In 1955, he was elected mayor of Jerusalem. He remained in office until his death in 1959. During his term, he played a key role in the development of the western sectors of the city.

Commemoration

Agron Street in downtown Jerusalem and Beit Agron (headquarters of the Israeli Press Association) are named after him.

External links

• The personal papers of Gershon Agron are kept at the Central Zionist Archives in Jerusalem