Elias H. Tuma

1928 - 2016

Elias H. Tuma
1928-2016

Elias H. Tuma, professor emeritus at UC Davis passed away peacefully in his home on July 23 while in the company of Dory, his wife of 57 years. He was 87.
He was born in the Galilee area of Palestine in 1928, where he witnessed tremendous violence and hardship in the years leading up to the establishment of the state of Israel. In 1955, he received a scholarship from the University of Redlands to attend college, and moved to the US where he earned his bachelor's degree in 1957. He received his PhD in Economics from the University of California, Berkeley in 1963.
He joined the faculty of the economics department at the University of California, Davis as an Assistant Professor in 1965. During his almost 30 years of service to the department, he taught numerous courses, specializing in economic history and economics of the Middle East. He authored 11 books, including Twenty-Six Centuries of Agrarian Reform (1965), Peacemaking and the Immoral War: Arabs and Jews in the Middle East (1972), The Economic Case for Palestine, which was co-written with Haim Darin- Drabkin (1978), Economic and Political Change in the Middle East (1987), and The Persistence of Economic Discrimination (1995). He was a Fulbright Scholar and served as a consultant to the United Nations, and to Harvard and Cambridge Universities. Professor Tuma loved university life and continued to teach one freshman seminar course each year for several years after his retirement in 1994. He loved working with students and believed in the power of education to change lives and to change the world.
The last 24 years of his life were spent in Auburn, California where he and his wife built a home and established a tree farm on 8.5 acres. Over the years, he estimated that he planted more than 30,000 trees, including incense cedar, scotch pine, Arizona cypress, and coast redwoods. He also planted a fruit and nut tree orchard that included nine types of figs, fifteen almond trees and several varieties of citrus.
Throughout his life, he was motivated by his passions for honest work and fairness, and a drive to make the world a better place. He enjoyed woodworking, swimming, and travel. He loved nature, old movies and being with friends and family. He was a loving husband, father and grandfather. He is survived by his wife, his children John, Mary and Rabiya and his grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held on October 15, 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the International House in Davis. In lieu of flowers, the family welcomes gifts to UNICEF or to UC Davis for The Pantry, which provides nutritious food to students in need.