In Memory: Robert (Bob) O’Neill (5 November 1936 - 19 April 2023)

In Memory: Robert (Bob) O’Neill (5 November 1936 - 19 April 2023)

Bob was a wonderful person, one of the kindest, most charming and wisest people I have ever known. I feel blessed to have him as part of my life for many years.

I arrived in Oxford in 1987 and relished the opportunity to study with great scholars. I took more courses in Oxford than I did in my BA studies. One of the first MA seminars I attended was with Bob O’Neill, Adam Roberts and Peter Gellman. Bob was the Chichele Professor?of the?History of War?and Fellow,?All Souls?College, Oxford. I greatly enjoyed the seminar. Bob appreciated my participation as any other student in class although as a DPhil student I did not have to write papers. Thereafter, I took further courses with Bob on the history of war. Bob was thoughtful, industrious, and perceptive. He was a very dedicated teacher who took a keen interest in his students. Bob supervised many doctoral students, kept in touch with them and supported their careers.

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Our relationship deepened. Bob invited me to meals at All Souls and to his home, where I met his wife, Sally. He took an interest in my studies and welcomed me to his beautiful office, overlooking the Radcliffe Camera. Bob loved his office, and the view from his office, thinking quite rightly that not many offices in the world would match the view he saw every day from his window. We had long conversations about timely world political affairs. Each conversation was always opened with his inquiry about my family.

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After Oxford, I returned to Israel. Bob retired from Oxford and returned to Australia. We continued to be in touch via extensive correspondence, first by letters and later by emails. We informed each other of our travels and arranged to meet if our had travels coincided. We met at Oxford, Washington, Tel Aviv, Sydney, and other places. Bob was involved in the work of the INSS in Tel Aviv and served on many international boards, including IISS, the Imperial War Museum, Australia National University, and the Centre for Defence Studies at King’s College. For years, he commented on my monthly Blog and some of my articles. Our correspondence has been very important to me. I kept many of his reflective and thoughtful letters. Bob supported my career, writing references and providing advice. He was always interested, warm, kind and simply wonderful. All the adjectives that describe his character are positive: Kind, wise, warm, considerate, engaged, supportive, knowledgeable, thoughtful, nice, beautiful, charming, always with a smile on his face.

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In 2006, I was invited to a lecture tour in Australia. I spent a weekend with Bob and Sally at their home in the Blue Mountains. From time to time, we met via Skype and zoom. Our last communication was in January 2023. Bob was very interested in Israel and followed the news closely. He followed the news from many countries. His interests and knowledge were broad and extensive.

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Bob was a great scholar but far more than that, he was a true Mensch. A great person. I feel blessed for having him as part of my life for thirty-five years. When I received Sally’s sad news about his passing, I was shocked. Bob was not the healthiest person and I, of course, was aware of it. Each of my emails to him in recent years opened with an inquiry about his health. Notwithstanding, when the news came, they hit me straight at heart. Tears filled my eyes. Bob is no longer with us.

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Oxford has been an integral part of my life because of the friendships with great people who became personal friends with whom I had extensive, regular correspondence that continued for years and decades. Isaiah Berlin passed away in 1997. Geoffrey Marshall died prematurely in 2003. Jack Pole left in 2010. Wilfrid Knapp succumbed to his disease in 2011, and now Bob left another hole in my soul.

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Bob will continue to live with my heart. He left so many good memories with me. He did so much good in this world for so many people. His kindness, wisdom, warm heart and beautiful personality will live forever. My deep condolences to Sally and to their daughters Kate and Jenny.