Yael Aronoff

Endowed Chairs James Madison College

• Michael and Elaine Serling and Friends Endowed Chair in Israel Studies
• Established through a gift from Michael and Elaine Serling

• Jewish Studies

Bio

Yael S. Aronoff is the Michael and Elaine Serling and Friends Endowed Chair in Israel Studies, the director of Jewish Studies at Michigan State University, and an associate professor at James Madison College. Her primary research and work is focused on topics including Israeli politics and foreign policy, Israeli society and culture, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and Israel’s asymmetric wars with Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and Hezbollah.

Aronoff earned a BA in international relations from Princeton University, and both an MIA in international affairs and a PhD in political science from Columbia University. Prior to coming to Michigan State University, she taught in the Government Department at Hamilton College, served as Assistant for Regional Humanitarian Programs in the Pentagon's Office of Humanitarian and Refugee Affairs, and on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee as a Jacob K. Javits Fellow. 

Aronoff has published her work in journals including Foreign Policy, Israel Studies Forum, Israel Studies Review, and Political Science Quarterly.  She is the author of The Political Psychology of Israeli Prime Ministers: When Hard-Liners Opt for Peace. She regularly gives public lectures on university campuses and various communities.