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Ido Aharoni Aronoff (; born 21 August 1962) is an Israeli career diplomat, advisor to international companies, public speaker and university lecturer, writer and investor. He was born in
Jaffa Jaffa (, ; , ), also called Japho, Joppa or Joppe in English, is an ancient Levantine Sea, Levantine port city which is part of Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel, located in its southern part. The city sits atop a naturally elevated outcrop on ...
(Tel Aviv), Israel. Aharoni spent his entire diplomatic career in the United States. He is a 25-year veteran of Israel's Foreign service. He is a public diplomacy specialist, founder of the Brand Israel Program, and a place positioning practitioner. Aharoni has served as a member of the Board Governors of
Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv University (TAU) is a Public university, public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Located in northwest Tel Aviv, the university is the center of teaching and ...
and its cabinet since 2015 and as a lecturer at the university's Coller School of Management since 2018 and is the host of TAU Unbound, the official English language podcast of Tel Aviv University. In April 2024, Aharoni, was appointed a Global Distinguished Professor of Business at Touro University and in August 2024 he was appointed as a Visiting Professorship at San Diego State University (SDSU) School of Business and University of California San Diego (UCSD) School of Global Policy. He is the co-founder and Global Ambassador for the Genius 100 Visions community and serves as a consultant to international companies such as MasterCard
APCO Worldwide APCO Worldwide is an independent global public affairs and strategic communications consultancy. With more than 1200 employees in 35 worldwide locations, it is also the fifth largest independently owned PR firm in the United States. Headquar ...
, The Libra Group, Bank Leumi USA an
Value Base
He is a co-founder of Israel-based consultancy Emerson Rigby Ltd. and of British-Israeli investment company EA2K.


Early life

Ido Aharoni Aronoff was born in Tel Aviv in 1962 and raised in Holon. He attended CH.N. Bialik Elementary School and H. Kugel High School, both in Holon. His mother, Ahuva Aharoni (née Madar), was a kindergarten teacher. She was born in Tel Aviv in 1932. Her Parents came from Yemen in 1912 and settled in the Yemenite section of Tel Aviv known as Kerem HaTeimanim, and later moved to Hatikva neighborhood of Tel Aviv where Aharoni spent significant time with his grandparents. : His father, Emanuel Aharoni Aronoff, was a scholar, author, expert on the country's geography, lecturer and one of the early environmentalists in Israel. He was of Bukharan family and was born in
Mersin Mersin () is a large city and port on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast of Mediterranean Region, Turkey, southern Turkey. It is the provincial capital of the Mersin Province (formerly İçel). It is made up of four district governorates ...
, Turkey in 1926 to Rabbi Avraham Aronoff (b. 1888) and his wife Hanna Aronoff (ne’e Yohananoff). Aharoni's great-grandfather, Rabbi Emanuel Aronoff, settled in Jerusalem in 1874 and was one of the founders of the Bukharan Quarter. He was known as the “first Bukharan to move to Jerusalem by foot”. Aharoni's father was a member of the
Haganah Haganah ( , ) was the main Zionist political violence, Zionist paramilitary organization that operated for the Yishuv in the Mandatory Palestine, British Mandate for Palestine. It was founded in 1920 to defend the Yishuv's presence in the reg ...
and participated in the 1948 War of Independence where he was injured twice in battle. In 2001 he was given the Honorary Citizen Award by the City of Holon.


Education

Aharoni obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree from
Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv University (TAU) is a Public university, public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Located in northwest Tel Aviv, the university is the center of teaching and ...
with a joint-major in Film and Television, Sociology and Anthropology. In 1990, he earned a master's degree in Mass Communications from
Emerson College Emerson College is a private college in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It also maintains campuses in Los Angeles and Well, Limburg, Netherlands (Kasteel Well). Founded in 1880 by Charles Wesley Emerson as a "school of Public Speaking, o ...
in Boston. In 1993 Aharoni attended the
Hebrew University The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; ) is an Israeli public research university based in Jerusalem. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Chaim Weizmann in July 1918, the public university officially opened on 1 April 1925. It is the second-ol ...
special program for foreign service cadets in Government and Diplomacy.


Diplomatic career

Aharoni was a member of Israel's Foreign Service from 1991 to 2016 and held positions in Los Angeles and New York. He was Israel's longest-serving Consul-General in New York and the Tri-State Area, from 2010 to 2016, where he oversaw Israel's largest diplomatic mission worldwide. Prior to his arrival in New York, Aharoni served as a policy advisor to the Director-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Jerusalem.: In the Spring of 2006, he became Senior Advisor and Press Secretary to Israel's Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister. In that capacity, he introduced nation branding methods and country positioning strategies as pillars of Israel's public diplomacy. From 1994 to 1998, Aharoni served as Israel's Consul for Communications and Public Affairs in Los Angeles, working extensively with the entertainment industry and top American markets (Greater Los Angeles, San Diego, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Tucson, Salt Lake City and Denver.): In 1993, Aharoni served under then-Foreign Minister
Shimon Peres Shimon Peres ( ; ; born Szymon Perski, ; 2 August 1923 – 28 September 2016) was an Israeli politician and statesman who served as the prime minister of Israel from 1984 to 1986 and from 1995 to 1996 and as the president of Israel from 2007 t ...
, as policy advisor to Israel's chief negotiator with the Palestinians, in which capacity he took part in back-channel negotiations in Europe and the Middle East. This led to the signing of The Declaration of Principles and the Mutual Recognition Agreement, known as the
Oslo Accords The Oslo Accords are a pair of interim agreements between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO): the Oslo I Accord, signed in Washington, D.C., in 1993; and the Oslo II Accord, signed in Taba, Egypt, in 1995. They marked the st ...
. Aharoni was a member of the Israel's delegation to the White House.


Brand Israel

In 2002, Aharoni initiated the Brand Israel program after meeting with advertising executive David Sable, then with Wunderman, and introduced him to the general concept of place branding. Aharoni facilitated the inclusion of Israel in the Brand Asset Valuator
BAV
, the world's largest brand database maintained by Young and Rubicam (now VMLYR), thus launching Israel's national branding program. In 2002–2003, Aharoni convened the Brand Israel Group in New York, an independent group of marketing and branding specialists. Their work laid the foundation for the official Brand Israel Program, which was subsequently launched by the Foreign Minister in October 2006. In 2018, Harvard Business School published a case study report on Israel's place positioning based on the initiative's. In 2007, Aharoni was appointed as Israel's first Head of Brand Management team, designed to enhance Israel's positioning in various areas, including tourism, investment, commerce, culture, political, and reputation management. The program aimed to showcase Israel's global relevance by leveraging its advantages. In 2015, Aharoni presented the idea of creating a global index to rank countries as brands, to publisher
Mort Zuckerman Mortimer Benjamin Zuckerman (born June 4, 1937) is a Canadian-American billionaire media proprietor, magazine editor, and investor. He is the co-founder, executive chairman and former CEO of Boston Properties, one of the largest real estate inves ...
and then to advertising executive David Sable, then the CEO of Y&R. This introduction resulted in partnership that produced the Best Countries Index by U.S. News & World Report. The data is collected by BAV (Brand Asset Valuator) and analyzed and presented by U.S. News & World Report. This venture was later joined by
Wharton School of Business The Wharton School ( ) is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia. Established in 1881 through a donation from Joseph Wharton, a co-founder of Bethlehem Steel, the Wharton ...
and unveiled in Davos, Switzerland, at the
World Economic Forum The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental organization, international advocacy non-governmental organization and think tank, based in Cologny, Canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German ...
of 2016


Brand Albert Einstein

In 2007 Aharoni presented the Brand Israel plan to Israel's government, including an entire section devoted to
Albert Einstein Albert Einstein (14 March 187918 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist who is best known for developing the theory of relativity. Einstein also made important contributions to quantum mechanics. His mass–energy equivalence f ...
, aiming to connect Brand Israel to creativity and innovation. The plan included the creation of the Albert Einstein National Hall in
Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...
. In 2017, Aharoni recruited art collector
Jose Mugrabi Jose Mugrabi (; born 1939) is an Israeli businessman and art collector of Syrian descent. With a family net worth estimated at $5 billion, he is the leading collector of Andy Warhol, with 800 artworks. Biography Yosef "Jose" Mugrabi was born ...
to implement the idea. Mugrabi committed all the resources to the creation of the museum and then commissioned architect
Daniel Libeskind Daniel Libeskind (born May 12, 1946) is a Polish–American architect, artist, professor and set designer. Libeskind founded Studio Daniel Libeskind in 1989 with his wife, Nina, and is its principal design architect. He is known for the design a ...
to design the 64M NIS building. In June 2023 Jose and Marie Mugrabi broke ground in Jerusalem. The Albert Einstein House is expected to open in 2025.


Career

Since September 2016 he has been a Global Distinguished Professor of International Relations at New York University's in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. His publications are listed on Google scholar Aharoni is an active public speaker, having delivered numerous lectures on the Middle East affairs, nation branding and other public matters at institutions in Israel and the US, including
Carnegie Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The institution was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools. In 1912, it became the Carnegie Institu ...
(2007), the
Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya Reichman University () is Israel's only private university, located in Herzliya, Tel Aviv District. It was founded in 1994 as the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya (IDC Herzliya, ) private college, before being rebranded in 2021. It receives no ...
(2010),
Barnard College Barnard College is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college affiliated with Columbia University in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a grou ...
(2012),
Emerson College Emerson College is a private college in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It also maintains campuses in Los Angeles and Well, Limburg, Netherlands (Kasteel Well). Founded in 1880 by Charles Wesley Emerson as a "school of Public Speaking, o ...
(2012),
San Diego State University San Diego State University (SDSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Diego, California, United States. Founded in 1897, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CS ...
(2012),
Colgate University Colgate University is a Private university, private college in Hamilton, New York, United States. The Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college was founded in 1819 as the Baptist Education Society of the State of New York ...
(2013),
Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...
’s
Fuqua School of Business The Duke University Fuqua School of Business (pronounced ) is the business school of Duke University, a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina. It enrolls more than 1,300 students in degree-seeking programs. Du ...
(2013),
Haas School of Business The Walter A. Haas School of Business (branded as Berkeley Haas) is the business school of the University of California, Berkeley, a Public university, public research university in Berkeley, California. It was the first business school at a pub ...
at
UC Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after the Anglo-Irish philosopher George Berkele ...
(2013),
Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...
(2014),
University of Haifa The University of Haifa (, ) is a public research university located on Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel. Founded in 1963 as a branch of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the University of Haifa received full academic accreditation as an inde ...
(2014),
University of Tulsa The University of Tulsa (TU) is a Private university, private research university in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It has a historic affiliation with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Presbyterian Church, although it is now nondenominational, and the campus ...
(2014),
Wharton Business School The Wharton School ( ) is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia. Established in 1881 through a donation from Joseph Wharton, a co-founder of Bethlehem Steel, the Wharton ...
(2015),
Yale School of Management The Yale School of Management (also known as Yale SOM) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Yale University, a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. The school awards the Master of Business Admi ...
(2015), Johnson School of Management at
Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...
(2016),
Columbia Law School Columbia Law School (CLS) is the Law school in the United States, law school of Columbia University, a Private university, private Ivy League university in New York City. The school was founded in 1858 as the Columbia College Law School. The un ...
(2016),
Florida Atlantic University Florida Atlantic University (Florida Atlantic or FAU) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus in Boca Raton, Florida, United States. The university is a member of the State University System of Florida and has s ...
(2018),
Stony Brook University Stony Brook University (SBU), officially the State University of New York at Stony Brook, is a public university, public research university in Stony Brook, New York, United States, on Long Island. Along with the University at Buffalo, it is on ...
(2019), and many others. Aharoni has frequently been invited as an analyst and article author in US and Israeli news media and newspapers, mainly covering Israel's international affairs and nation branding. In 2013, he was invited by Google to take part in their speakers’ series Talks at Google. He has been a public advocate to the ''branding'' of Israel by increasing the visibility of its better perceived traits (diversity, democracy, agriculture, science, high technology, history and culture) rather than by the more demanding attempting to improve the public's understanding and complexity of its international conflicts and related policies. Since 2015, he has been member of the Board of Governors (and the global campaign cabinet) at
Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv University (TAU) is a Public university, public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Located in northwest Tel Aviv, the university is the center of teaching and ...
. He was a facilitator to a ten million dollar gift by Hollywood producer and
NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...
owner Steve Tish to Tel Aviv University's Department of Film and Television. In 2016 Aharoni became Global Ambassador of Maccabi World Union, a Jewish sporting organization. In 2017 Aharoni became Ambassador for the Genius 100 Vision Foundation, which he helped establish in the spirit of Albert Einstein. In 2018 Aharoni became the Chairman of the Charney Forum for New Diplomacy, the forum is academically affiliated with the
University of Haifa The University of Haifa (, ) is a public research university located on Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel. Founded in 1963 as a branch of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the University of Haifa received full academic accreditation as an inde ...
and focused on training the new generations on advanced practices of diplomacy. In 2021 Aharoni became Chairman of GMFF, an Israeli film and TV fund dedicated to multiculturalism. He is also a member of the advisory bodies of companies
APCO Worldwide APCO Worldwide is an independent global public affairs and strategic communications consultancy. With more than 1200 employees in 35 worldwide locations, it is also the fifth largest independently owned PR firm in the United States. Headquar ...
, and Value Base. Published interviews to Aharoni on his subjects of expertise can be readily found online.


Honors

In 1998, Aharoni was given the Community Leadership Award in Los Angeles by the American Friends of the Rabin Medical Center.  In 2005, a communications studies scholarship, ‘Wings of Hope,’ was named after him by the Yemenite-Jewish Federation of North America. In 2013,
Algemeiner Journal The ''Algemeiner Journal'', known informally as ''The Algemeiner'', is a newspaper based in New York City that covers American and international Jewish and Israel-related news. It is widely read by Hasidic Jews. History Gershon Jacobson, a ...
named him among the ‘Top 100 People Positively Influencing Jewish Life,’ commonly known as the ''Jewish 100''. In 2015 he was designated Honorary Governor by Tel Aviv University. In 2016,
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
Mayor Bill de Blasio announced July 29, 2016, as “Ambassador Ido Aharoni Day” in New York while expressing: ''I don't know anyone who's done more to bond New York City and Israel, and the people of the United States and Israel''. In 2019, he was selected by Hello Israel TV as one of the “Global Jewish 100”, recognizing his contributions as an Israeli diplomat.


Military Service

Aharoni served in the
Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...
as an infantry company commander during the first Lebanon War.


References


External links


Ido Aharoni's website

Ido Aharoni's business strategy course at CSMART
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aharoni, Ido Living people 1962 births People from Jaffa Consuls for Israel Diplomats for Israel Israeli businesspeople New York University faculty Tel Aviv University alumni Emerson College alumni