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John K. Hudzik Emerging Leader in Advancing International Studies and Programs Award

2011 Teacher Scholar Award

Association for Israel Studies

Israel Studies Review 

Making the next peace process succeed

From warfare to withdrawal: The legacy of Ariel Sharon

When do hawks become peacemakers? A comparison of two Israeli Prime Ministers

This book examines leaders of the seemingly intractable conflict between Israel and its Palestinian neighbors. It takes as an intellectual target of opportunity six Israeli prime ministers, asking why some of them have persisted in some hard-line positions but others have opted to become peacemakers. This book argues that some leaders do change, and above all it explains why and how such changes come about. This book goes beyond arguing simply that "leaders matter" by analyzing how their particular belief systems and personalities can ultimately make a difference to their country's foreign policy, especially toward a long-standing enemy. Although no hard-liner can stand completely still in the face of important changes, only those with ideologies that have specific components that act as obstacles to change and who have an orientation toward the past may need to be replaced for dramatic policy changes to take place.

The Political Psychology of Israeli Prime Ministers: When Hard-Liners Opt for Peace

Yael S. Aronoff is the Michael and Elaine Serling and Friends Chair of Israel Studies and Associate Professor at James Madison College. She is also the Director of the Jewish Studies Program at Michigan State University. She received her Ph.D. in political science from Columbia University in 2001. She also holds an M.I.A. in international affairs from Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs (1992), and a B.A. in international relations from Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of International Affairs and Public Policy (1990). She has taught in the Government Department at Hamilton College, and has served as Assistant for Regional Humanitarian Programs in the Pentagon's Office of Humanitarian and Refugee Affairs and in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee as a Jacob K. Javits Fellow.  She was Senior Associate at Columbia University’s Institute of War and Peace Studies. Professor Aronoff served as Associate Director of Jewish Studies spring 2013 and spring 2014. She is Book Review Editor for Israel Studies Review and on the Board of Directors of the Association for Israel Studies.

Dr. Aronoff is a 2011 recipient of the MSU Teacher-Scholar Award which is awarded to faculty who early in their careers have earned the respect of students and colleagues for their devotion to and skill in teaching and who have shown scholarly promise.

 Israel Studies 

Jewish Studies

Israeli Politics

 Israeli Foreign Policy

 Israeli Society and Culture

The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

Israel’s Asymmetric Wars with Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and Hezbollah

Bio - James Madison College

Bio - Jewish Studies Program

Dilemmas of Asymmetric Conflicts

Podcast: Is Trump good for American Jews and Israel?

Students and Faculty Hold Forum to Discuss Anti-Semitism on Campus

Aronoff named to Israel studies chair at Michigan State University

Faculty Conversations: Yael Aronoff

The Hamas terror group said Wednesday that it has reached a cease-fire agreement with Israel, after the Jewish state carried out air strikes in retaliation for rocket fire attacks from Gaza.

Hamas claims cease-fire reached after Israeli airstrikes; Israel denies it

The Hamas terror group said today that it has reached a cease-fire agreement with Israel, after it carried out air strikes in retaliation for rocket fire attacks from Gaza. 

Israel is denying such claims - another reason Israel's methods should be questioned, says Yael Aronoff, director of Michigan State University's Jewish Studies Program and the Serling Chair in Israel Studies.

"All countries have a right to protect their borders and illegal entry at their borders, especially when some are from Hamas, which still formally calls for Israel's destruction. Yet, the number of Palestinians killed calls into question the methods used by Israel. Israel contends that many of the people at the border are not peaceful and that it first uses non-lethal measures and only uses lethal measures as a last resort to protect the border. Israel also contends that it is criticized when non-militants are killed, but that Palestinians intentionally fire from smoky areas, which makes it more difficult for them to distinguish civilians from non-civilians. Palestinians claim that Israel should not be using lethal force, and that civilians are also being killed. However, some in the Palestinian Authority have also criticized Hamas for encouraging civilians, and even children, to come close to the border and try to cross it.”
 

Gaza clashes: Israel's methods should be questioned

gaza-clashes-israels-methods-should-be-questioned

Professor of International Relations,  Director of MSU's Serling Institute for Jewish Studies and Modern Israel

Professor of International Relations and Global Studies

The Hamas terror group said today that it has reached a cease-fire agreement with Israel, after it carried out air strikes in retaliation for rocket fire attacks from Gaza. 

Israel is denying such claims - another reason Israel's methods should be questioned, says Yael Aronoff, director of Michigan State University's Jewish Studies Program and the Serling Chair in Israel Studies.

"All countries have a right to protect their borders and illegal entry at their borders, especially when some are from Hamas, which still formally calls for Israel's destruction. Yet, the number of Palestinians killed calls into question the methods used by Israel. Israel contends that many of the people at the border are not peaceful and that it first uses non-lethal measures and only uses lethal measures as a last resort to protect the border. Israel also contends that it is criticized when non-militants are killed, but that Palestinians intentionally fire from smoky areas, which makes it more difficult for them to distinguish civilians from non-civilians. Palestinians claim that Israel should not be using lethal force, and that civilians are also being killed. However, some in the Palestinian Authority have also criticized Hamas for encouraging civilians, and even children, to come close to the border and try to cross it.”
 

Source:  

Yael Aronoff examined the psychology and decision-making processes of key Israeli Prime Ministers of the last 30 years, to show how and why their views and decisions about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict shifted and developed over time, leading some to persist in hard-line positions, while others opted to become peacemakers. 

Dr. Aronoff is the Michael and Elaine Serling and Friends Chair of Israel Studies at Michigan State University, is Director of Jewish Studies at MSU, and is an Associate Professor of International Relations, who teaches in James Madison College at MSU. She is Book Review Editor for Israel Studies Review and on the Board of Directors of the Association for Israel Studies. 

http://www.concordia.ca/azrieli

Yael Aronoff - Political Psychology of Israeli Prime Ministers

Professor Yael Aronoff of Michigan State - James Madison College counters speech by Max Blumenthal at University of Michigan anti-Israel divestment forum -- the Resolution was defeated 25-9

Prof. Yael Aronoff  against anti-Israel Divestment

GRCC Geography professor Mike DeVivo interviews Dr. Yael Aronoff, Serling Chair in Israel Studies and Associate Professor in International Relations at James Madison College, Michigan State University

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