Scienceארנון גולן

Arnon Golan

Arnon Golan is an Israeli historical geographer and professor emeritus at the University of Haifa's School of Environmental Sciences.

born 1956Historical geography of IsraelResearch on War of Independence spatial changeStudy of the Gaza Strip's origins

Occupation: geographer, university teacher
Education: Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Arnon Golan was born in 1956

Arnon Golan was born in 1956 and grew up in Rishon LeZion, where he graduated from the Hebrew Reali Gymnasium. His brother is Major General (res.) Yair Golan.

He served as a fighter in the Paratroopers Brigade and later as a battalion intelligence officer in the reserves. He studied geography and history at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and earned his master's degree with honors in 1986. From 1984 to 1987 he took the cadet course and worked at the Foreign Ministry.

His doctorate, approved in 1994, studied how the settlement map changed in areas abandoned by Arab residents after the War of Independence. He did postdoctoral work in geography at University College London.

In 1995 he began teaching at the University of Haifa, becoming full professor in 2023. His research looks at how wars shaped Israel's human and urban space, including studies of Lod, Jaffa and Tel Aviv. In 2021 he published a book on Israel and the Gaza Strip from 1947 to 1957.

He is married with children and lives in Zikhron Ya'akov.