Aaron Aaronsohn, 1876-1919
Aaronsohn, who made aliyah to Ottoman Palestine as a 6-year-old in 1882, discovered a strain of emmer wheat that could sustain itself in harsh climates. The agronomist became known worldwide, even working with the U.S….
Sarah Aaronsohn, 1890-1917
Aaronsohn was born in Zikhron Ya’akov in Ottoman Palestine. After witnessing the Armenian genocide, she decided to help the British against the Ottomans in World War I with the Nili ring of Jewish spies, founded…
Mansour Abbas, 1974-
Abbas is a dentist who lives in the Galilee town of Maghar. Since 2019, he has served in the Knesset as the head of the Islamist party Ra’am. After Ra’am broke from the Joint List…
Bella Abzug, 1920-1998
Abzug was the first Jewish woman elected to Congress, representing New York as a Democrat in the House from 1971 to 1977. The daughter of immigrants from Russia, she joined Zionist youth group Hashomer Hatzir…
Sheldon Adelson, 1933-2021
Casino magnate Adelson was one of the biggest donors to Israeli and Jewish causes. He launched and owned Israel Hayom, Israel’s most widely distributed newspaper, and was a stalwart backer of Benjamin Netanyahu. He funded…
Konrad Adenauer, 1876-1967
Adenauer, West Germany’s chancellor from 1949 to 1963, initiated talks in March 1952 that resulted in West Germany agreeing to pay Israel 3 billion marks over 12 years as Holocaust reparations. The funds were crucial…
S.Y. Agnon, 1887-1970
Known by the acronym Shai, Agnon became Israel’s first Nobel laureate when he received the literature prize in 1966. No other Hebrew writer has won the Nobel in literature. Born in Galicia, now part of…
Gershon Agronsky, 1894-1959
Born in Ukraine, Agronsky immigrated to the United States. He wrote for Jewish newspapers and later for the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. In 1918 he joined Britain’s Jewish Legion in Palestine. He dived into Zionist politics…
Chava Alberstein, 1946-
Singer-songwriter-musician Alberstein is a native of Poland who moved to Israel with her family in 1950. She has released more than 60 albums, recording in Hebrew, English and Yiddish, and is one of Israel’s most…
Reuven Alcalay, 1907-1976
A Jerusalem native, Alcalay was a lexicographer best known for his “The Complete Hebrew-English Dictionary,” which was popular for its colloquial style. He also wrote “The Hebrew Lexicon of Foreign Words and Phrases.” He was…
Ghassan Alian, 1972-
A major general since 2021, Alian is the highest-ranking Druze officer in the IDF. He commanded COGAT, the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, during the 2023-2025 war with Hamas and thus oversaw aid…
Judah Alkalai, 1798-1878
Alkalai is credited with the idea of a national fund for Jewish land purchases. Adamant about the Jewish people returning to Eretz Yisrael, he advocated statehood in a booklet called “Shema Yisrael.” After the Damascus…
Yigal Allon, 1918-1980
Allon led the Palmach and was an IDF major general who oversaw the Southern Command. He served in the Knesset from 1955 until his death. After the 1967 war, he proposed returning the West Bank…
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…
Ruth Almog, 1936-
Born in Petah Tikvah to German Jewish immigrants, Almog is considered one of the most important writers in Hebrew literature. Trained as a teacher, she published her first story in 1967 and first novel, The…
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…
Natan Alterman, 1910-1970
A Warsaw native who moved to Tel Aviv as a teen, Alterman was a playwright, poet, journalist and translator who influenced Labor Zionism and socialist Jewish policies despite never holding political office. He opposed martial…
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…
Aharon Appelfeld, 1932-2018
Born in a part of Romania that is now in Ukraine, Appelfeld was a writer and professor who survived the Holocaust as a child after escaping a concentration camp. He reached the Land of Israel…
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…
Chaim Arlosoroff, 1899-1933
Arlosoroff, an ardent socialist and Zionist, was born in Ukraine and immigrated to Palestine in 1921. He was a founder of the Histadrut labor federation. Working with the Jewish Agency, he helped negotiate the Haavara…
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…
Robert Aumann, 1930-
Aumann is an Israeli-American mathematician who shared the Nobel Memorial Prize in economics in 2005 for his game theory analysis of conflict and cooperation. His family escaped Germany two weeks before Kristallnacht. A Religious Zionist,…
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…
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