Doron Almog, 1951-
Almog, a retired IDF major general, was unanimously nominated in June 2022 to serve a four-year term as the chairman of the Jewish Agency for Israel, succeeding Isaac Herzog. A paratrooper, Almog was the first…
Shulamit Aloni, 1928-2014
Founder of the Meretz party, Aloni was known for advocating for peace and for human and civil rights, especially as a voice for women and against Orthodox control of society. She fought in the Palmach…
Yehuda Amichai, 1924-2000
Born in Germany, Amichai immigrated to Mandatory Palestine in 1935 and became one of Israel’s best-known poets and the poet laureate of Jerusalem. He fought for the British in World War II, then with the…
Yael Arad, 1967-
A Tel Aviv native and entrepreneur, Arad is the first Israeli to win an Olympic medal, taking a silver in judo at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona. She dedicated her medal to the 11 Israelis…
Linoy Ashram, 1999-
A native of Rishon LeZion, Ashram won gold in the rhythmic gymnastics all-around at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. She also won the European all-around in 2020 and captured 11 world championship medals in her…
Deni Avdija, 2001-
Avdija, the son of an Israeli Jewish mother who was an athlete and a Kosovo-born Israeli Muslim who was a professional basketball player, is a small forward for the NBA’s Washington Wizards, who drafted him…
Leonard Bernstein, 1918-1990
Born in Massachusetts to Ukrainian Jewish immigrants, Bernstein was a prominent pianist, conductor and humanitarian. His longtime association with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra began with a concert he conducted in Tel Aviv in 1947. Among…
Tal Brody, 1943-
New Jersey native Brody was a first-round NBA draft pick out of the University of Illinois in 1965, but after visiting Israel for the first time that summer for the Maccabiah Games, he decided to…
Arik Einstein, 1939-2013
Einstein has been called the most important man in Israeli music. Combining folk and rock, Einstein’s music has been celebrated since his first album in 1960 and still influences pop. He introduced rock to Israel,…
Gal Fridman, 1975-
Fridman was the first Israeli to win an Olympic gold medal, which he earned in windsurfing in Athens in 2004 after taking the bronze in Atlanta in 1996. He also was the first Israeli to…
Ahad Ha’am (Asher Ginsberg), 1856-1927
Born in Ukraine, Ahad Ha’am joined Hovevei Zion (Lovers of Zion) in Odesa and attended the First Zionist Congress but opposed political Zionism. He preferred cultural Zionism, creating a Jewish cultural center in Palestine as…
Rose Luria Halprin, 1896-1978
A two-time president of Hadassah, Halprin lived in Jerusalem in the late 1930s to serve as the Hadassah Medical Organization’s liaison during the construction of Hadassah Hospital at Mount Scopus. She spoke against violence during…
75 Israelis From History
Though they may have played important roles in helping Israel achieve statehood, these 75 people deserve recognition for what they did after Israel’s Declaration of Independence on May 14, 1948. Everyone on this list either…
Naftali Herz Imber, 1856-1909
Born in Ukraine, Imber moved to Palestine in 1882. Trained as a watchmaker, he instead became a Hebrew poet. His first poetry collection, which he published in Jerusalem in 1886, included “Tikvateinu” (“Our Hope”), which…
Daniel Kahneman, 1934-
Kahneman is an author and emeritus professor of behavioral psychology at Princeton who shared the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics in 2002 for his work on prospect theory, which explores how people make decisions under…
Frederick “Frank” Kisch, 1888-1943
A British brigadier general, Kisch chaired the predecessor to the Jewish Agency, the Palestine Zionist Executive, from 1918 to 1921. Kisch was prolific in Jewish life in Mandate Palestine. He helped found the Palestine Philharmonic…
Ephraim Kishon, 1924-2005
A Holocaust survivor from Hungary, Kishon was a columnist, playwright and film director. His satirical work portrayed social and political issues, often focusing on the day-to-day struggles of regular people or on the state bureaucracy….
Joseph Klausner, 1874-1958
A historian born in Lithuania who attended the First Zionist Congress and others, Klausner supported Ahad Ha’am’s cultural Zionism and succeeded Ha’am as the editor of Hashiloah. He immigrated in 1919 and became a Hebrew…
Moshe Levinger, 1935-2015
Jerusalem native Levinger was a leader in the settler movement. He brought 30 families to a Hebron hotel in June 1968 to demand and win the right to establish the first permanent Jewish presence in…
Adi Nes, 1966-
Kiryat Gat native Nes is one of Israel’s most prominent photographers. He stages art photos to convey themes of masculinity and identity, often reflecting the influence of iconic artworks and his experiences growing up gay…
Shaike Ophir, 1928-1987
A Palmach veteran of the War of Independence, Ophir was a comedian, actor and singer for whom the Israeli Film Academy Award was named. He starred in almost 30 films, including the Hebrew version of…
Amos Oz, 1939-2018
Oz was a journalist, a novelist and one of the first Israeli intellectuals to endorse a two-state solution through his 1967 article “Land of Our Forefathers.” He was a frequent critic of Israel’s military policies…
Hanna Rovina, 1888-1980
Called “the high priestess of the Hebrew theater” by a fellow actor, Belarus-born Rovina got her start onstage in Moscow with what became Israel’s national theater, Habimah. She was best known for playing Leah in…
Noa Sattath, 1977-
Sattath became the executive director of the Association for Civil Rights in Israel in November 2021 after 11 years leading the Reform movement’s Israel Religious Action Center. The rabbi also served as the executive director…
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