Former Israeli Consul General Appointed Global Distinguished Professor at Touro University

Aharoni Aronoff, who spent his entire diplomatic career in the United States, is a 25-year veteran of Israel’s Foreign service, a public diplomacy specialist, founder of the Brand Israel Program and a well-known place positioning and branding practitioner. Aharoni Aronoff has served as a member of the Board of Governors of Tel Aviv University since 2015 and as a lecturer at the University’s Coller School of Management since 2018. He has served as a global distinguished professor for international relations at New York University and was Israel’s longest-serving consul general in New York, with the rank of ambassador, serving in that role from 2010-2016. In recent years, Aharoni Aronoff has served, in advisory capacities, several global companies, such as Libra Group, MasterCard, APCO, Value Base, Bank Leumi USA, Perion Network and others.

“Professor Aharoni Aronoff has wide-ranging professional experience in the spheres of government, diplomacy, public service and branding, and we are thrilled that he’ll be bringing his many talents and skills to Touro to benefit our students and faculty,” said Dr. Kadish.

In his new role, Professor Aharoni Aronoff will teach the practice of business diplomacy and non-product branding to both undergraduate and graduate students and will represent Touro in public forums.

“Touro University is known for its ability to provide real-world, hands-on training and skills to help its graduates join the workforce and have meaningful careers to benefit society. Touro has made great contributions to the field of healthcare and medical education and now it is focusing on business administration. I welcome the opportunity to share my marketing expertise with the students at Touro. Having been in the public sphere for over 35 years, I expect to share my practical experience overseeing Israel’s largest diplomatic mission worldwide as well as my experiences branding Israel and consulting with numerous international corporations,” said Aharoni Aronoff.

Aharoni Aronoff established Brand Israel after 9/11, when there was a great need to build a strategy to celebrate Israel’s creative spirit. Today, and more so post 10/7, social media is disrupting the way people all over the world process information, according to Aharoni Aronoff. “The algorithms design a conversation that is binary, or black and white. People crave simplicity at the expense of dealing with complex issues. They feel compelled to express an opinion on issues sometimes they know nothing about, and to ‘signal’ they are on the so-called ‘politically correct’ side of every topic. It’s become very hard to have nuanced conversations. The best example of that is ‘cancel culture’. If I can’t deal with what you’re saying, I don’t listen to you, I shut down, ‘cancel’ you and, indeed, there’s been a serious effort to ‘cancel’ Israel in the wake of October 7,” says Aharoni Aronoff.

Aharoni Aronoff believes education is the answer. “As the largest institution of higher education under Jewish auspices, I believe in Touro’s ability to contribute to and influence that sphere and to provide students with the tools to interpret and apply knowledge. We can educate about history and the complexity of the situation. Right now is a great time to step up these efforts, as there is such a dire need for nuanced conversation. I’m very excited for the opportunity to be part of Touro University, when there’s a greater role for Touro to play in academia, Jewish life and the connection with Israel. I see myself as part of that bridge between Israel and the American Jewish community and it’s an honor and privilege to join Touro and help make a difference for our students and the larger community.”