Esther Raab, 1894-1981
Considered one of the four mothers of modern Hebrew poetry, Raab was the only one born in the Land of Israel. She was the child of one of Petah Tikvah’s founding couples. Her poems celebrated…
Yitzhak Rabin, 1922-1995
Rabin was a two-time prime minister whose assassination shattered hopes for peace under the Oslo Accords, for which he shared the 1994 Nobel Peace Prize with Shimon Peres and Yasser Arafat. He also signed a…
Itamar Rabinovich, 1942-
Diplomat and historian Rabinovich is a former ambassador to the United States and former president of Tel Aviv University. A former IDF lieutenant colonel, he was Israel’s chief negotiator with Syria in the 1990s. His…
Gideon Rafael, 1913-1999
Berlin-born Rafael made a career in diplomacy after time as a soldier with the Haganah and the British. He was part of the Jewish Agency‘s U.N. delegation in 1947, was a founder of the Foreign…
Ilan Ramon, 1954-2003
Israel’s first astronaut, Ramon was an air force colonel and pilot who flew in Operation Opera, which destroyed Iraq’s nuclear reactor in 1981. He was one of the seven crew members aboard the space shuttle…
Ronald Reagan, 1911-2004
Although considered pro-Israel, Reagan, the 40th U.S. president, acted to balance U.S. policy toward Israel and Arab states. Under Reagan, the United States halted F-16 sales to Israel after its raid on Iraq’s nuclear reactor…
Miri Regev, 1965-
Regev has served in the Knesset since 2013 as a member of Likud. During a 25-year military career in IDF public relations, she rose to the rank of brigadier general in the reserves. Her roles…
Isaac Jacob Reines, 1839-1915
A Lithuanian Orthodox rabbi born in Belarus, Reines was one of the earliest leaders of Religious Zionism, supported an unsuccessful effort to establish a settlement mixing Torah and labor in the early 1890s, and founded…
Reuven Rivlin, 1939-
The 10th president of Israel from 2014 to 2021, Rivlin was a Likud politician who served as the speaker of the Knesset from 2003 to 2006 and 2009 to 2013. As president, he pushed for…
Russell Robinson, 1956-
The CEO of the Jewish National Fund (JNF-USA) since 1997, Robinson has led programs to raise billions of dollars for Israeli infrastructure beyond trees, including reservoirs, the revival of Be’er Sheva, and the sustainable development…
Dennis Ross, 1948-
Working in the Defense Department, with the National Security Council or in the State Department under every president from Jimmy Carter to Barack Obama, Ross helped shape U.S. Middle East policy. He helped get Israel…
Baron Edmond James de Rothschild, 1845-1934
A member of the French banking family, Rothschild was a leading proponent of the Zionist movement and, beginning in 1882, provided decisive financial assistance to Jewish settlements such as Rishon LeZion, Zichron Ya’akov and Rosh…
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…
Alexander Rubowitz, 1929-1947
Rubowitz was a member of the underground militant group Lehi (the Stern Gang) who disappeared from Rehavia in Jerusalem while carrying propaganda and became a Zionist martyr. Part of Brit Hashmonaim, a religious youth group…
Arthur Ruppin, 1876-1943
Ruppin was a German Jew sent to Palestine in 1907 to assess the Jewish community and potential of Zionist settlement. He opened the Zionist Organization’s Palestine office and became the chief land agent. He was…
John Ruskay, 1946-
Ruskay was the executive vice president and CEO of UJA-Federation of New York from 1999 to 2014, giving him influence over millions of dollars a year allocated within Israel. He remains a consultant to nonprofits…
Pinhas Rutenberg, 1879-1942
Rutenberg was born in Russia and devoted himself to the Russian revolutions of the early 20th century. After realizing that antisemitism remained potent in European politics, he immigrated to Palestine. During the British Mandate, he…
