Michael (Mike) Aronson: Russian and Hebrew to English Translator
Michael (Mike) Aronson is a freelance translator working from Russian and Hebrew into English, and an English-language editor, based in Raanana, Israel. He is an American-born native English speaker who worked for over 20 years (until 1 January 2003) as an English-language editor and translator in a government office, and he is a member of the Israel Translators Association (ITA). If you need Russian-to-English or Hebrew-to-English translation, or editing of English text, he can be contacted by email at mike [at] aronson.co.il.
Services
- Translation from Russian into English
- Translation from Hebrew into English
- Editing of texts written in English
Work is undertaken on a freelance basis. The site does not list rates, turnaround times, or a preferred file format, so those details would need to be settled directly by email.
Background and credentials
| Area | Detail |
|---|---|
| Native language | English (American-born) |
| Working languages | Russian and Hebrew into English |
| In-house experience | 20+ years as English-language editor and translator in a government office, until 1 January 2003 |
| Academic degree | Ph.D. from Northwestern University in Russian history, with minors in European and American history |
| Professional membership | Israel Translators Association (ITA) |
| Subject strengths | History, humanities, social sciences, traditional Jewish sources |
| Location | Raanana, Israel |
His own published writing includes a scholarly book, Troubled Waters, The Origins of the 1881 Anti-Jewish Pogroms in Russia (University of Pittsburgh Press, 1990), and articles in professional history journals. References can be provided on request.
Published translations
The site lists the following among his published translation work:
- Several chapters in In the Land of the Golden Fleece – The Jews of Georgia, History and Culture, published by the Diaspora Museum, Tel Aviv, 1992 (from Russian).
- A History of the Ararat Publishing Society by Avraham Greenbaum, Rubin Mass, Jerusalem, 1998 (from Hebrew).
- Numerous articles in the CIS Environment and Disarmament Yearbook 2001, 2002, and 2003 of the Hebrew University Mayrock Center, edited by Prof. Zeev Wolfson (from Russian).
- Many dozens of articles for the YIVO Encyclopedia of Eastern European Jewry, edited by Gershon D. Hundert and Jeffrey P. Edelstein, translated during 2004 and 2005 (from Russian and Hebrew). Listed as forthcoming at the time of writing.
When this profile fits your job
His background is a good match if your material is in Russian or Hebrew and needs to read as native English, particularly in history, Jewish studies, the humanities, or social sciences — for example, academic articles, encyclopedia entries, or institutional publications. The combination of a Russian history doctorate and two decades of in-house translation and editing is most relevant when accuracy of terminology and source familiarity matter as much as fluency.
It is a less obvious fit for fields outside his stated strengths, or for language pairs other than Russian/Hebrew into English. The site gives no information on certification for legal or medical documents, so if you need a sworn or certified translation, ask about that directly rather than assuming it is offered.
How to make contact
- Email mike [at] aronson.co.il (replace the bracketed part with the standard @ symbol).
- State the source language, the type and approximate length of the text, and your deadline.
- Ask about availability, rates, and turnaround, since none of these are published on the site.
- Request references if you want them — the site says they can be provided on request.
A useful first message includes a short sample of the text so he can confirm the subject matter is within his range before you commit.