Aaron Aaronsohn

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Aaron Aaronsohn
Bacău, Romania
Died15 May 1919(1919-05-15) (aged 42)
The English Channel
Relatives
Sarah Aaronsohn
(sister)

Alexander Aaronsohn (brother)

Known forDiscoverer of
political activism
Author abbrev. (botany)Aarons.

Aaron Aaronsohn (

Triticum dicoccoides), believed to be "the mother of wheat."[1] He founded and was head of the NILI espionage network
.

Biography

Zichron Yaakov
Aaronsohnia

Aaron Aaronsohn was born in

Hebrew
, but he also knew English, Arabic, Turkish, French, German, and some Italian.[6]

Agriculture and botany

After studying agriculture in France, sponsored by Baron

German Templer community he launched a business for importing and selling agricultural machines such as reapers, harrows and combine harvesters using modern marketing methods. Another company he established sold gasoline-operated pumps, a centrifuge for separating cream and making butter, and fertilizers. He also imported different varieties of seeds and vines.[3]

He botanically mapped Palestine and its surroundings and became a leading expert on the subject. On his 1906 field trip to

einkorn, a different ancient species, which is currently just a relict
crop.

This discovery made Aaronsohn world-famous and, on a trip to the United States, he was able to secure financial backing for a research station established in Atlit in 1909. Aaronsohn built up a large collection of geological and botanical samples and established a library.[10]

Aaronsohn served as a scientific consultant to Djemal Pasha during a crop-destroying desert locust invasion in 1915.[11] In March–October of that year, the locusts stripped the country of almost all vegetation.[12] Aaronsohn and the team fighting the locust invasion was given permission to move around the area known as Southern Syria (including modern day Israel) and made detailed maps of the areas they surveyed. Aaronsohn also collected strategic information about Ottoman camps and troop deployment.

In 1918, Aaronsohn was one of the experts consulted for the purpose of demarcating the northern boundary of Palestine, focusing on the need for irrigation water. He envisaged a boundary that would assure the inclusion of the sources of the Jordan, Litani and Yarmuk rivers. His approach became the official Zionist baseline presented to the Peace Conference in Paris in February 1919.[13]

Political activity and espionage

During World War I, the Ottomans had joined sides with the Germans, and Aaronsohn feared the Jews would suffer the same fate as the Armenians under the Turks. Together with his assistant

Sinai and Palestine Campaign. Owing to information supplied by Nili to the British Army concerning the locations of oases in the desert, General Allenby was able to mount a surprise attack on Beersheba, bypassing strong Ottoman defenses in Gaza.[11]

In 1917, Chaim Weizmann sent Aaronsohn on a political campaign to the USA. While there, Aaronsohn learned that the Ottoman authorities had intercepted a Nili carrier pigeon, which led to the arrest and torture of his sister Sarah and other members of the underground.[14]

Death and legacy

After the war, Weizmann called on Aaronsohn to work on the

Versailles Peace Conference. On 15 May 1919, under unclear circumstances, Aaronsohn was killed in an airplane crash over the English Channel while on his way to France.[15] Some blamed the British government.[16]

thumb Final image of Aaronsohn.

Aaronsohn died a bachelor and had no children. His research on

flora
, as well as part of his exploration diaries, were published posthumously.

After Aaronsohn's death, the director of British Military Intelligence confirmed that Allenby's victory would not have been possible without the information supplied by the Aaronsohn group.[17]

Published works

  • Agricultural and botanical explorations in Palestine, 1910
  • "Shemot ha-tzemachim" ("Botanical names"), in: Hashelaḥ 26 (1912)
  • Reliquiae Aaronsohnianae, 1940

The standard author abbreviation Aarons. is used to indicate this person as the author when citing a botanical name.[18]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Molecular Genetic Maps in Wild Emmer Wheat
  2. ^ Aaron Aharonson (1876-1919) Romanian Jewish agronomist, botanist, and Zionist activist
  3. ^ a b c d Spy, agronomist, entrepreneur: The Israeli Legacy of Aaron Aaronsohn, Haaretz
  4. ^ "Sarah Aaronsohn – Jewish Women's Archive". jwa.org. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
  5. ^ "Sarah Aaronsohn | Encyclopedia.com". www.encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
  6. ^ "NILI and the Issue of Divided Loyalties in the Jewish Yishuv of Ottoman Palestine" (PDF). Institute for Palestine Studies. Retrieved 18 September 2021.
  7. ^ Aaron Aaronsohn: Forgotten man of history? Cecil Bloom, Jewish Historical Studies
  8. ^ Valkoun, J., "The geographical distribution of wild wheats in their historical setting and current context" in The Linnean "Wheat Taxonomy: the legacy of John Percival", Special Issue 3, 2001. Page 82.
  9. ^ Palestine Exploration Fund (1908). Quarterly Statement - Palestine Exploration Fund. Palestine Exploration Fund.
  10. ^ Biography of Aaron Aaronsohn
  11. ^ a b Lawrence and Aaronsohn: T. E. Lawrence, Aaron Aaronsohn, and the Seeds of the Arab-Israeli Conflict, Ronald Florence Archived 22 December 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  12. ^ The Locust Plague
  13. ^ The Boundaries of Modern Palestine, 1840-1947, Gideon Biger
  14. ^ These pigeons flew for a Jewish Palestine
  15. ^ "Lawrence and Aaronsohn". Archived from the original on 9 October 2020. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
  16. ^ "The Aaronsohn Saga". Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 9 October 2012.
  17. ^ Aaronsohn: Encyclopedia.com
  18. ^ International Plant Names Index.  Aarons.

Further reading

External links
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