Gershon Agron

Gershon Agron
Agron in the 1930s
Mayor of Jerusalem
In office 1955–1959
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[1]
Director of the Zionist Commission Press Office
In office 1921–1921
Personal details
Born	Gershon Harry Agronsky (1893-12-27)27 December 1893 Mena, Russian Empire
Died	1 November 1959 (aged 65) Jerusalem, Israel
Nationality	American Israeli
Political 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
Service/branch	British Army
Years of service	1918–1920
Unit	Jewish Legion
Battles/wars	World War I Middle Eastern theatre Sinai and Palestine campaign
Awards	British War Medal Victory Medal[2]

Gershon Harry Agron (Hebrew: גרשון אגרון,^[a] né Agronsky;^[b] 7 January 1894 [O.S. 27 December 1893] – 1 November 1959)^[3] was an Israeli^[c] 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.

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