Albert Einstein, 1879-1955

Einstein was a Zionist who wrote about the importance of Jewish nationalism in 1921. The physicist credited Zionism with strengthening the Jewish community, though he preferred a binational Palestine to partition. He raised money for the Hebrew University and spoke at its site in 1923. After Chaim Weizmann died in 1952, Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion offered Einstein the presidency of Israel, which he declined.

Photo: Oren Jack Turner