Stephen J. Gordon

Stephen J. Gordon (est. birth 1951) – Baltimore-based educator and author of 3-volume thriller series featuring Gidon Aronson, a former IDF special forces operative. American-born Aronson served in an elite IDF special operations unit. He subsequently returned to the US as an “emotional wreck” struggling with severe PTSD from his military service. He is a reluctant hero who values his solitude but is repeatedly drawn into conspiracies that threaten people he cares about. The novels typically begin in the US (often Baltimore) and migrate to Israel or the Middle East for the final third of the story. Notable recurring elements include Gidon’s Shin Bet contacts and his close friendship with a Palestinian security officer, highlighting cross-cultural cooperation. Gordon appears on the Israeli list of authors, though he could just as easily have been included in the American list.

In In the Name of God (2011), Gidon uncovers a conspiracy by the “Guardians of Heaven” targeting an Israeli diplomat, leading him from Baltimore to the West Bank. In Confluence (2013), Aronson protects a young rabbi’s family from assassins, uncovering a plot involving the theft and “mitzvah” of saving Torah scrolls that leads him into the Gaza Strip. In The Student (2022), as a favor to a Mossad officer, Gidon monitors a college student in Baltimore facing anti-Israel sentiment on campus. The situation escalates into a murder investigation and a risky undercover mission in the Middle East. [Google/AI]

Gordon, Stephen J. [Gidon Aronson #1], (In the Name of God [hc, Apprentice House, 2011]) 978-1934074633 [pb, Apprentice House, 2011] 978-1934074626

Gordon, Stephen J., [Gidon Aronson #2], (Confluence [pb, Apprentice House, 2013]) 978-1934074862

Gordon, Stephen J., [Gidon Aronson #3], (The Student [hc, Loyola College/Apprentice House, 2022] 978-1627203548 [pb, Loyola College/Apprentice House, 2022] 978-1627203555