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….
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…
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…
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…
Dana International, 1969-
International, whose real name is Sharon Cohen, is a pop singer and former drag performer. She became Israel’s third Eurovision Song Contest winner with “Diva” in 1998. She released her first album in 1993, the…
75 Non-Israelis Who Helped Shape Israel
Many people, Jewish and non-Jewish, have played a part in the State of Israel’s creation, survival and development despite never themselves becoming Israeli. For good or bad, Israel would not be what it is today…
75 Founders of the State of Israel
These 75 people helped establish the foundations for a Jewish state in the Land of Israel between the start of the 19th century and independence in 1948. Those involved in the work of Zionism in the…
Dalia Itzik, 1952-
The first female speaker of the Knesset from 2006 to 2009, Itzik was a teacher who began her political career as the chair of the Jerusalem Teachers Union for five years. She was elected to…
Ze’ev Jabotinsky, 1880-1940
A journalist born in Odesa, Jabotinsky organized self-defense units and fought for Jewish rights in Russia. He attended most Zionist Congresses from 1903 to 1933. He co-founded the Zion Mule Corps in World War I….
Henry “Scoop” Jackson, 1912-1983
As a congressman from 1941 to 1953 and a senator from 1953 until 1983 for Washington state, Jackson was one of the leading pro-Zionist and pro-Israel voices in Congress. He wrote legislative amendments in 1970…
Eddie Jacobson, 1891-1955
Jacobson and Harry Truman became close friends during World War I and partnered after the war in a failed haberdashery. In March 1948, Jacobson visited Truman, now the president, at the White House and persuaded…
Kenneth Jacobson, 1943-
The deputy national director of the Anti-Defamation League, Jacobson is the civil rights organization’s No. 2 official and its longest-serving professional. Since 1971, in roles that include international affairs, education, and marketing and communications, he…
