Abraham "Abe" Aronovitz (October 15, 1898 – July 11, 1960) was an American lawyer and politician who served one term as mayor of Miami, Florida, from 1953 until 1955. He had a seat on the City Commission until 1958.

Background

Aronovitz was born on October 15, 1898, in New York City."New York, New York City Births, 1846-1909," database, ''FamilySearch'' (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2WW7-LD7 : 11 February 2018), Abraham Aronowitz, 15 Oct 1898; citing Manhattan, New York, New York, United States, reference cn 41222 New York Municipal Archives, New York; FHL microfilm 1,953,367. He was one of six sons of

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, a ...

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

immigrants, David and Kate Aronovitz. He was raised in

Key West Key West ( es, Cayo Hueso) is an island in the Straits of Florida, within the U.S. state of Florida. Together with all or parts of the separate islands of Dredgers Key, Fleming Key, Sunset Key, and the northern part of Stock Island, it con ...

, Florida and graduated from

Palm Beach High School Palm Beach Lakes Community High School, also known as Lakes or PBL, is a coeducational public high school located in the Palm Beach Lakes community of West Palm Beach, Florida. It is under the jurisdiction of the School District of Palm Beach ...

. He graduated from

Stetson University Stetson University is a private university with four colleges and schools located across the I–4 corridor in Central Florida with the primary undergraduate campus in DeLand. The university was founded in 1883 and was later established in 1887 ...

. He later was the uncle of

Sidney Aronovitz Sidney Myer Aronovitz (June 20, 1920 – January 8, 1997) was an American lawyer and United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida. Education and career Born on June 20, 1920 in Key West, ...

(1920–1988), the US District Judge for the Southern District of Florida (1976–1988).

Political career

In the 1920s, Aronovitz was living in Jacksonville, Florida, where he became active in politics. He ran for and lost the election for a seat on the

Jacksonville Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which the c ...

city commission. He moved to Miami, which was developing more rapidly. In 1926 he was appointed as acting State Attorney. In 1927, he ran for and lost the election for a seat on the City Commission of Miami. In the 1930s he was appointed as Miami City Attorney. Aronovitz worked in private practice for years. He returned to politics, gaining election as mayor of Miami in 1952, and serving one term from 1953 through 1955. He was the only Jewish mayor of Miami until the election of

Daniella Levine Cava Daniella Levine Cava (born September 14, 1955) is an American lawyer, social worker, and politician who has served as the mayor of Miami-Dade County, Florida since 2020. Previously, she was a Miami-Dade County Commissioner from 2014 until her ele ...

in 2020. He acted as a mentor to

Robert King High Robert King High (April 9, 1924 – August 30, 1967) was an attorney and politician, a reform mayor of Miami, Florida, serving for over a decade from January 1957 until his death in August 1967. From eastern Tennessee, High moved to Florida a ...

, recruiting him to run for mayor. The younger man won election in 1957, and was re-elected for several terms. He was influential in developing plans to guide the growth of Miami. Aronovitz was elected to a seat on the city Commission, and served until 1958. He had to resign because of health problems. Several months later he traveled to Cuba with his family. They were staying at the Havana Hilton Hotel in

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

, when the dictatorship of

Fulgencio Batista Fulgencio Batista y Zaldívar (; ; born Rubén Zaldívar, January 16, 1901 – August 6, 1973) was a Cuban military officer and politician who served as the elected president of Cuba from 1940 to 1944 and as its U.S.-backed military dictator ...

fell on 1 January 1959.

References

*'' The Miami News''; "Young Aronovitz Evoked Rage" by Howard Kleinberg; 21 September 1985. * ''The Miami News''; "The Late Abe Aronovitz, A frail but Strong Man" by Bill Baggs; 18 August 1960. * ''The St. Petersburg Times''; "Abe Aronovitz, Former Mayor of Miami Dies;" 12 July 1960, Page 1. {{DEFAULTSORT:Aronovitz, Abe 1898 births 1960 deaths Stetson University alumni Mayors of Miami Jewish mayors of places in the United States American people of Romanian-Jewish descent 20th-century American politicians Jewish American people in Florida politics 20th-century American Jews