Sarit Hadad, 1978-
Hadad is one of Israel’s most popular singers. She was a 2002 Eurovision contestant and was Israeli Music TV’s Best Female Singer of the 2000s. She was a judge on “The Voice Israel” and was…
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…
Yehoshua Hankin, 1864-1945
Hankin was born in Ukraine and moved to Palestine with his father in 1882. The Hankins were among the founders of Rishon LeZion, now one of the largest cities in Israel. Acting on behalf of…
Shalom Hanoch, 1946-
Singer and composer Hanoch is considered the father of Israeli rock and is known for poetic lyrics. Born on Kibbutz Mishmarot, he began writing songs at 14 and joined the army band during his military…
David Harris, 1949-
Harris served as the chief executive of the American Jewish Committee from 1990 until the end of September 2022. He made advocacy for a Jewish, democratic, internationally accepted Israel a fundamental part of AJC’s efforts….
Gideon Hausner, 1915-1990
As Israel’s attorney general from 1960 to 1963, Poland-born Hausner successfully prosecuted Adolf Eichmann in 1961 for his crimes against humanity and the Jewish people during the Holocaust. Hausner persuaded the court to sentence Eichmann…
Esther Hayut, 1953-
Hayut is the Israeli Supreme Court’s president, a post she is due to hold until October 2023. The Jerusalem Post says she could be Israel’s most influential chief justice since Aharon Barak by reasserting the…
Ofra Haza, 1957-2000
Born into a Yemeni family in Tel Aviv, singer Haza helped popularize Mizrahi culture. Her song “Ga’agu’im” (“Yearning”) launched her career in 1973. She was Israel’s Singer of the Year from 1980 to 1983 and…
Avram Hershko, 1937-
A native of Hungary who immigrated to Israel in 1950, Hershko led the biochemistry department at the Technion. He and colleague Aaron Ciechanover became the first Israelis to win a Nobel Prize in the natural…
Arthur Hertzberg, 1921-2006
Hertzberg, who arrived in the United States from Poland in 1926, was a Conservative rabbi and scholar. He was the president of the American Jewish Congress in the 1970s and vice president of the World…
Theodor Herzl, 1860-1904
Born in Hungary, Herzl is viewed as the father of modern political Zionism. A journalist, novelist and playwright, he embraced Zionism after reporting on Alfred Dreyfus’ trial in France. His pamphlet “Der Judenstaat” (“The Jewish…
Chaim Herzog, 1918-1997
A politician, lawyer, diplomat and writer who immigrated from Ireland to Israel in 1935, Herzog was Israel’s sixth president. He led IDF military intelligence after the War of Independence. When the U.N. General Assembly passed…
Isaac Herzog, 1960-
Herzog has served as the 11th president of Israel since July 2021. His father, Chaim Herzog, also served as president, and grandfather Yitzhak HaLevi Herzog was the chief rabbi of Ireland. A Tel Aviv native,…
Moses Hess, 1812-1875
Born into an Orthodox family in Germany in 1812, Hess became interested in socialism, befriended Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, and contributed to the Communist Manifesto. He recognized that German nationalism would inspire increased antisemitism….
Malcolm Hoenlein, 1944-
Hoenlein is transitioning out of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, which coordinates support for Israel, after serving as the executive vice chairman since 1986. He handed the CEO position to William…
Eliezer Hoofien, 1881-1957
Born in Holland, Hoofien was the president of Bank Leumi L’Yisrael when it issued Israel’s first non-British currency. He arrived in Ottoman Palestine in 1912 to help run the Anglo-Palestine Bank, which financed land purchases…
David Horowitz, 1899-1979
Horowitz, who was born in Galicia and immigrated to Palestine in 1920, helped organize the state economy as the first director-general of Israel’s Finance Ministry. He founded the Bank of Israel in 1954 and was…
Bronislaw Huberman, 1882-1947
Born in the Russian-controlled Poland, Huberman toured Europe as an acclaimed violinist at age 11. He first visited the Land of Israel in 1929 and decided to bring classical music there. In 1936 he established…
Eli Hurvitz, 1932-2011
Hurvitz, who was born in Jerusalem, in 1976 merged three companies, including one where he started working while attending the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, into Teva Pharmaceuticals. It became the world’s largest manufacturer of generic…
King Hussein, 1935-1999
As Jordan’s king, Hussein tried to annex the West Bank and eastern Jerusalem while ruling them from 1948 to 1967. He lost everything west of the Jordan River after he attacked Israel to support Egypt…
