List of Israelis

Politicians

Ehud Barak – prime minister (1999–01)

Menachem Begin – prime minister (1977–83); Nobel Peace Prize (1978)

Yossi Beilin – leader of the Meretz-Yachad party and peace negotiator

David Ben-Gurion – first Prime Minister of Israel (1948–54, 1955–63)

Yitzhak Ben-Zvi – first elected/second president President of Israel (1952–63)

Naftali Bennett – leader of The Jewish Home party, minister of economy and minister of religious services (2013–present)

Levi Eshkol – prime minister (1963–69)

Abba Eban – diplomat and Foreign Affairs Minister of Israel (1966–74)

Effie Eitam – former leader of the National Religious Party, now head of the Renewed Religious National Zionist party

Moshe Katsav – president (2000–07), and convicted rapist

Teddy Kollek – former mayor of Jerusalem

Yair Lapid – leader of the Yesh Atid party, minister of finance (2013 – March 2015)

Yosef Lapid – former leader of the Shinui party

Golda Meir – prime minister (1969–74)

Benjamin Netanyahu – prime minister (1996–99), (2009–); Likud party chairman

Ehud Olmert – prime minister (2006–09); former mayor of Jerusalem

Shimon Peres – President of Israel (2007–2014); prime minister (1984–86, 1995–96); Nobel Peace Prize (1994)

Yitzhak Rabin – prime minister (1974–77, 1992–95); Nobel Peace Prize (1994) (assassinated November 1995)

Ayelet Shaked – Knesset member (2013–present)

Yitzhak Shamir – prime minister (1983–84, 1986–92)

Moshe Sharett – prime minister (1954–55)

Ariel Sharon – prime minister (2001–06)

Chaim Weizmann – first President of Israel (1949–52)

Rabbi Ovadia Yosef – spiritual leader of the Shas party

Rehavam Zeevi – founder of the Moledet party (assassinated October 2001)

Uzi Eilam – ex-director of Israel's Atomic Energy Commission

Military

Ron Arad – MIA navigator

Gabi Ashkenazi – Chief of the IDF General Staff

Yohai Ben-Nun – sixth commander of the Israeli Navy

Eli Cohen – spy

Moshe Dayan – military leader

Rafael Eitan – Chief of the IDF General Staff

Gadi Eizenkot – Chief of the IDF General Staff

David Elazar – Chief of the IDF General Staff

Giora Epstein – combat pilot, modern-day "ace of aces"

Hoshea Friedman – brigadier general in the IDF

Uziel Gal – designer of the Uzi submachine gun

Benny Gantz – Chief of the IDF General Staff

Dan Halutz – Chief of the IDF General Staff

Wolfgang Lotz – spy

Tzvi Malkhin – Mossad agent, captured Adolf Eichmann

Yonatan Netanyahu – Sayeret Matkal commando, leader of Operation Entebbe

Ilan Ramon – astronaut on Columbia flight STS-107

Gilad Shalit – kidnapped soldier held in Gaza, released in 2011

Avraham Stern – underground military leader

Israel Tal – general, father of Merkava tank

Moshe Ya'alon – Chief of the IDF General Staff

Yigael Yadin – Chief of the IDF General Staff

News anchors

Yonit Levi

Haim Yavin

Miki Haimovich

Ya'akov Eilon

Yigal Ravid

Ya'akov Ahimeir

Activists

Uri Avnery – peace activist, Gush Shalom

Yael Dayan – writer, politician, activist

Uzi Even – gay rights activist

Yehuda Glick – activist for Jewish rights at the Temple Mount

Uri Savir, peace negotiator, Peres Center for Peace

Israel Shahak – political activist

Natan Sharansky – Soviet-era human rights activist

Ronny Edry and Michal Tamir – originators of the Israel-Loves-Iran peace movement and its offshoots

Criminals

Yigal Amir – assassin of Yitzhak Rabin

Baruch Goldstein – murderer

Ami Popper – murderer

Benny Sela – rapist

Eden-Nathan Zada – murderer

Haredi rabbis

Yaakov Aryeh Alter Gerrer – Rebbe

Shlomo Zalman Auerbach

Yaakov Blau

Yisroel Moshe Dushinsky – Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem (Edah HaChareidis)

Yosef Tzvi Dushinsky – Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem (Edah HaChareidis)

Yosef Sholom Eliashiv

Mordechai Eliyahu – Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel 1983–93, (1929–2010)

Chaim Kanievsky

Avraham Yeshayeh Karelitz, Chazon Ish – (1878–1953)

Nissim Karelitz – Head Justice of Rabbinical Court of Bnei Brak

Meir Kessler – Chief Rabbi of Modi'in Illit

Zundel Kroizer – author of Ohr Hachamah

Dov Landau – rosh yeshiva of Slabodka yeshiva of Bnei Brak

Yissachar Dov Rokeach – the fifth Belzer rebbe

Yitzchok Scheiner – rosh yeshiva of Kamenitz yeshiva of Jerusalem

Elazar Menachem Shach – Rav Shach (1899–2001)

Moshe Shmuel Shapira – rosh yeshiva of Beer Yaakov

Dovid Shmidel – Chairman of Asra Kadisha

Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld – Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem (Edah HaChareidis)

Yitzchok Tuvia Weiss – Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem (Edah HaChareidis)

Ovadia Yosef

Amram Zaks – rosh yeshiva of the Slabodka yeshiva of Bnei Brak

Religious-Zionist rabbis

Shlomo Amar – Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Israel

David Hartman

Avraham Yitzchak Kook – pre-state Ashkenazic Chief Rabbi of the Land of Israel, (1865–1935)

Israel Meir Lau – Ashkenazic Chief Rabbi of Israel (1993–2003), Chief Rabbi of Netanya (1978–88), (1937–)

Aharon Lichtenstein

Yona Metzger – Ashkenazic Chief Rabbi of Israel

Shlomo Riskin – Ashkenazic Chief Rabbi of Efrat

Film, TV, radio and stage

Avital Abergel – film and TV actress

Gila Almagor – actress

Lior Ashkenazi – actor

Yvan Attal – actor, director

Mili Avital – actress

Aki Avni – actor

Mayim Bialik – actress and neuroscientist

David Faitelson – Mexican television sports commentator, born in Israel

Oded Fehr – actor

Eytan Fox – director

Gal Gadot – actress and model

Uri Geller – TV personality, self-proclaimed psychic

Amos Gitai – director

Arnon Goldfinger – director

Yael Grobglas – actress

Michael Karpin – broadcast journalist and author

Daphna Kastner – actress; married to actor Harvey Keitel

Amos Kollek – director, writer

Dover Kosashvili – director

Hanna Laslo – actress

Daliah Lavi – actress

Rod Lurie – director, film critic

Gad Lerner – journalist (currently living in Italy)

Arnon Milchan – producer

Ohad Naharin – choreographer

Eyal Podell – actor

Natalie Portman – actress

Ze'ev Revach – actor, comedian

Avner Strauss – musician

Haim Saban – TV producer

Elia Suleiman – director

Chaim Topol – actor

Raviv Ullman – actor

Yaron London – TV interviewer

Keren Yedaya – director

Ayelet Zurer – actress

Naor Zion – comedian, actor, director

Fashion models

Moran Atias

Nina Brosh

Esti Ginzburg

Esti Mamo

Yael Markovich

Bar Refaeli

Pnina Rosenblum

Shlomit Malka

Popular musicians

Chava Alberstein – singer/songwriter

Etti Ankri – singer/songwriter

Yardena Arazi – singer and TV host

Shlomo Artzi – singer/songwriter

Ehud Banai – singer/songwriter

Eef Barzelay – founder of Clem Snide

Miri Ben-Ari – jazz and hip hop violinist

Mosh Ben-Ari – singer/songwriter

Borgore - electronic dance music producer and dj

Mike Brant – French-language singer

David Broza – singer/songwriter

Matti Caspi – singer, multi-instrumentalist and composer

Avishai Cohen – jazz bassist

David D'Or – singer, songwriter

Arik Einstein – singer, actor, writer

Gad Elbaz – singer

Ethnix – pop-rock band

Uri Frost – rock guitarist, producer and director

Aviv Geffen – singer/songwriter

Gidi Gov – singer

Dedi Graucher – Orthodox Jewish singer

Shlomo Gronich – singer and composer

Sarit Hadad – Mizrahi singer

Ofra Haza – singer

Dana International – pop singer

Ishtar – vocalist for Alabina

Ehud Manor – songwriter and translator

Amal Murkus – singer

Yael Naïm – solo singer/musician

Ahinoam Nini (Noa) – singer

Esther Ofarim – singer

Idan Raichel – Ethiopian and Israeli music

Yoni Rechter – composer and arranger

Berry Sakharof – singer

Naomi Shemer – songwriter

Gene Simmons (real name Chaim Weitz) – lead member of KISS

Hillel Slovak – original guitarist for Red Hot Chili Peppers

Ninet Tayeb – pop rock singer and actress

Rika Zaraï, singer

Nir Zidkyahu – drummer, briefly in Genesis

Zino and Tommy – popular duo, songs in U.S. films

Classical musicians

Moshe Atzmon – conductor

Daniel Barenboim – conductor and pianist

Rami Bar-Niv – pianist and composer

Bart Berman – pianist

Gary Bertini – conductor

Natan Brand – pianist

Nir Brand – conductor

Yefim Bronfman – pianist

Giora Feidman – clarinetist

Ivry Gitlis – violinist

Matt Haimovitz – cellist

Ofra Harnoy – cellist

Eliahu Inbal – conductor

Sharon Kam – clarinetist

Amir Katz – pianist

Yoel Levi – conductor

Mischa Maisky – cellist

Shlomo Mintz – violinist

Itzhak Perlman – violinist

Inbal Segev – cellist

Gil Shaham – violinist

Hagai Shaham – violinist

Michael Shani – conductor

Edna Stern – pianist

Yoav Talmi – conductor

Arie Vardi – pianist

Ilana Vered – pianist

Pinchas Zukerman – violinist

Classical composers

Rami Bar-Niv

Ofer Ben-Amots

Paul Ben-Haim

Avner Dorman

Dror Elimelech

Andre Hajdu

Gilad Hochman

Mark Kopytman

Matti Kovler

Betty Olivero

Haim Permont

Shulamit Ran

Leon Schidlowsky

Noam Sheriff

Gil Shohat

Josef Tal

Writers

Shmuel Yosef Agnon (Shmuel Yosef Halevi Czaczkes) – author, Nobel Prize in Literature (1966)

Aharon Appelfeld – Prix Médicis étranger (2004)

Ron Ben-Yishai – journalist

Nahum Benari – author and playwright

Max Brod – author, composer and friend of Kafka

Orly Castel-Bloom – author

Yehonatan Geffen – author, poet and lyricist

David Grossman – author

Batya Gur – author

Emile Habibi – author

Amira Hass – journalist and author

Sayed Kashua – author and journalist

Shmuel Katz – author and journalist

Etgar Keret – author

Ephraim Kishon – satirist

Hanoch Levin – playwright

Julius Margolin – writer

Aharon Megged – author

Sami Michael – author

Samir Naqqash – author

Uri Orlev – author, Hans Christian Andersen Award (1996)

Amos Oz (Amos Klausner) – author and journalist, Goethe Prize (2005)

Ruchoma Shain – author

Meir Shalev – author and journalist

Zeruya Shalev – author

Moshe Shamir – author, poet

Mati Shemoelof – poet, editor and journalist

Chaim Walder – Haredi children's writer

A.B. Yehoshua – author

Benny Ziffer – author, journalist and translator

Poets

Nathan Alterman

Yehuda Amichai

Leah Goldberg

Uri Zvi Greenberg

Dahlia Ravikovich

Naomi Shemer – songwriter and lyricist

Avraham Shlonsky

Avraham Stern

Abraham Sutzkever

Nathan Zach

Zelda

Artists

Yaacov Agam – kinetic artist

Ron Arad – designer

Mordecai Ardon – painter

David Ascalon – sculptor and synagogue designer

Maurice Ascalon – sculptor and industrial designer

Isidor Ascheim – painter and printmaker

Mordechai Avniel – painter and sculptor

Yigal Azrouel – fashion designer

Ralph Bakshi – animation (director)

Tuvia Beeri – printmaker

Alexander Bogen – painter

Rhea Carmi – painter

Yitzhak Danziger – sculptor

Alber Elbaz – fashion designer

Yitzhak Frenkel – painter

Gideon Gechtman – sculptor

Moshe Gershuni – painter

Dudu Geva – artist and comic-strip illustrator

Nachum Gutman – painter

Israel Hershberg – realist painter

Shimshon Holzman – painter

Leo Kahn – painter

Shemuel Katz – illustrator

Dani Karavan – sculptor

Joseph Kossonogi – painter

Elyasaf Kowner – video artist

Sigalit Landau – video, installation, sculpture

Gil Lavi – photographer

Alex Levac – photographer

Ranan Lurie – political cartoonist

Lea Nikel – painter

Zvi Malnovitzer – painter

Tamara Musakhanova – sculptor and ceramist

Mushail Mushailov – painter

Ilana Raviv – painter

Leo Roth – painter

Reuven Rubin – painter

Hagit Shahal – painter

David Tartakover – graphic designer

Anna Ticho – painter

Sergey Zagraevsky – painter

Moshe Ziffer – sculptor

Architects

Michael Arad

Ram Karmi

Richard Kaufmann

David Kroyanker

David Resnick

Moshe Safdie

Arieh Sharon

Chefs

Yisrael Aharoni – famous chef and restaurateur

Erez Komarovsky – first artisanal bread baker in Israel

Computing and mathematics

Ron Aharoni – mathematician

Noga Alon – mathematician, computer scientist, winner of the Gödel Prize (2005)

Shimshon Amitsur – mathematician ring theory abstract algebra

Robert Aumann – mathematician game theory; Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences (2005)

Amir Ban and Shay Bushinsky – programmers of Junior (chess)

Yehoshua Bar-Hillel – machine translation

Joseph Bernstein – mathematician

Eli Biham – differential cryptanalysis

Aryeh Dvoretzky, mathematician

Uriel Feige – computer scientist, winner of the Gödel Prize (2001)

Abraham Fraenkel – ZF set theory

Hillel Furstenberg – mathematician; Wolf Prize in Mathematics (2006/7)

Shafi Goldwasser – computer scientist, winner of the Gödel Prize (1993 and 2001)

David Harel – computer science; Israel Prize (2004)

Abraham Lempel and Jacob Ziv – LZW compression; IEEE Richard W. Hamming Medal (2007 and 1995)

Joram Lindenstrauss – mathematician Johnson–Lindenstrauss lemma

Elon Lindenstrauss – mathematician

Michel Loève – probabilist

Joel Moses – MIT provost and writer of Macsyma

Yoram Moses – computer scientist, winner of the Gödel Prize (1997)

Judea Pearl – artificial intelligence, philosophy of action

Ilya Piatetski-Shapiro – representation theory; Wolf Prize in Mathematics (1990)

Amir Pnueli – temporal logic; Turing Award (1996)

Michael O. Rabin – nondeterminism, primality testing; Turing Award (1976)

Shmuel Safra – computer scientist, winner of the Gödel Prize (2001)

Nir Shavit – computer scientist, winner of the Gödel Prize (2004)

Adi Shamir – RSA encryption, differential cryptanalysis; Turing Award (2002)

Saharon Shelah – logic; Wolf Prize in Mathematics (2001)

Ehud Shapiro – Concurrent Prolog, DNA computing pioneer

Moshe Y. Vardi – computer scientist, winner of the Gödel Prize (2000)

Avi Wigderson – randomized algorithms; Nevanlinna Prize (1994)

Doron Zeilberger – combinatorics

Physics and chemistry

Yakir Aharonov – Aharonov–Bohm effect; Wolf Prize in Physics (1998)

Jacob Bekenstein – black hole thermodynamics; Wolf Prize in Physics (2012)

David Deutsch – quantum computing pioneer; Paul Dirac Prize (1998)

Joshua Jortner and Rafi Levine – molecular energy; Wolf Prize in Chemistry (1988)

Josef Imry – physicist

Aaron Katzir – physical chemistry

Ephraim Katzir – immobilized enzymes; Japan Prize (1985) The fourth President of Israel List of Presidents of Israel

Zvi Lipkin – physicist

Mordehai Milgrom – Modified Newtonian Dynamics (MOND)

Yuval Ne'eman – the "Eightfold way"

Asher Peres – quantum theory

Giulio Racah – spectroscopy

Nathan Rosen – EPR paradox

Nathan Seiberg – string theory

Dan Shechtman – quasicrystals; Wolf Prize in Physics (1999)

Igal Talmi – nuclear physics

Reshef Tenne – discovered inorganic fullerenes and inorganic nanotubes

Arieh Warshel – Nobel Prize in Chemistry (2013)

Chaim Weizmann – acetone production

Biology and medicine

Aaron Valero – Professor of Medicine, founder of Faculty of Medicine at the Technion, director of government hospital

Aaron Ciechanover and Avram Hershko – ubiquitin system; Lasker Award (2000), Nobel Prize in Chemistry (2004)

Moshe Feldenkrais – invented Feldenkrais method used in movement therapy

Hossam Haick – inventor of an electric nose for diagnosis of cancer

Israel Hanukoglu – structures of cytoskeletal keratins, NADP binding proteins, steroidogenic enzymes, Epithelial Sodium Channels (ENaC)

Gavriel Iddan – inventor of capsule endoscopy

Benjamin Kahn – marine biologist, defender of the Red Sea reef

Alexander Levitzki – cancer research; Wolf Prize in Medicine (2005)

Gideon Mer – Scientist, malaria control

Saul Merin – Ophthalmologist, author of Inherited Eye Diseases

Raphael Mechoulam – Chemist, discoverer of tetrahydrocannabinol and anandamide

Leo Sachs – blood cell research; Wolf Prize in Medicine (1980)

Michael Sela and Ruth Arnon – developed Copaxone; Wolf Prize in Medicine (1998)

Joel Sussman – 3D structure of acetylcholinesterase, Elkeles Prize for Research in Medicine (2005)

Meir Wilchek – affinity chromatography; Wolf Prize in Medicine (1987)

Ada Yonath – structure of ribosome, Nobel Prize in Chemistry (2009)

Amotz Zahavi – Handicap Principle

Engineering

David Faiman – solar engineer and director of the National Solar Energy Center

Liviu Librescu – Professor of Engineering Science and Mechanics at Virginia Tech, killed in the Virginia Tech massacre

Moshe Zakai – Electrical engineering

Jacob Ziv – Electrical engineering

Philosophy

Martin Buber

Berl Katznelson

Yeshayahu Leibowitz

Avishai Margalit

Joseph Raz

Gershom Scholem

Social sciences

Yehuda Bauer – historian

Daniel Elazar – political scientist

Haim Ginott – psychologist: child psychology

Eliyahu Goldratt – business consultant: Theory of Constraints

Louis Guttman – sociologist

Michael Harris – scholar, academic leader

Elhanan Helpman – economist: international trade

Daniel Kahneman – behavioural scientist: prospect theory; Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences (2002)

Smadar Lavie – anthropologist

Benny Morris – historian

Erich Neumann – analytical psychologist: development, consciousness

Nurit Peled-Elhanan – educator

Sheizaf Rafaeli – Management, information, communication,

Ariel Rubinstein – economist

Moshe Sharon – historian

Avi Shlaim – historian

Amos Tversky – behavioral scientist: prospect theory with Daniel Kahneman

Archaeology

Israel Finkelstein

Amihai Mazar

Benjamin Mazar

Eilat Mazar

Yigael Yadin

Humanities

Aharon Dolgopolsky – linguist: Nostratic

Moshe Goshen-Gottstein – Biblical scholar

Elias Khoury – law

Hans Jakob Polotsky – linguist

Chaim Rabin – Biblical scholar

Alice Shalvi – English literature, educator

Gershon Shaked – Hebrew literature

Shemaryahu Talmon – Biblical scholar

Emanuel Tov – Biblical scholar

Ghil'ad Zuckermann – linguist, revivalist

High-tech

Beny Alagem – founder of Packard Bell

Moshe Bar – founder of XenSource, Qumranet

Safra Catz – president of Oracle

Yossi Gross – recipient of almost 600 patents, founder of 27 medical technology companies in Israel and the Chief Technology Office officer of Rainbow Medical.

Itzik Kotler - Founder and CTO of SafeBreach, Information Security Specialist

Daniel M. Lewin – founder of Akamai Technologies

Bob Rosenschein – founder of GuruNet, Answers.com (Israeli-based)

Gil Schwed – founder of Check Point

Zeev Suraski and Andi Gutmans – founders of Zend Technologies (developers of PHP)

Arik and Yossi Vardi, Yair Goldfinger, Sefi Vigiser and Amnon Amir – founders of Mirabilis (developers of ICQ)

Zohar Zisapel – co-founder of the RAD Group

Iftach Ian Amit - co-founder of BeeFence, prominent Hacker and Information Security Practitioner

Other

Avi Arad and Isaac Perlmutter – owners of Marvel Comics

Ted, Micky and Shari Arison – founder/owners of Carnival Corporation

Eli Hurvitz – head of Teva Pharmaceuticals

Lev Leviev – diamond tycoon

Mordecai Meirowitz – inventor of the Mastermind board game

Guy Oseary – head of Maverick Records

Sammy Ofer – shipping magnate

Stef Wertheimer – industrialist

Yossi Dina – pawnbroker

Association Football

Ryan Adeleye – defender (Hapoel Be'er Sheva)

Eyal Ben Ami – midfielder various clubs, national team

Dudu Aouate – goalkeeper (RCD Mallorca, national team)

Jonathan Assous – defensive midfielder (Hapoel Petah Tikva), of French origin

Gai Assulin – winger/attacking midfielder (Manchester City, national team)

Pini Balili – striker (Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv, Israel national team)

Yossi Benayoun – attacking midfielder, national team captain, Hapoel Be'er Sheva, Maccabi Haifa, Racing Santander, West Ham United, Liverpool, Chelsea

David "Dedi" Ben Dayan – left defender (Hapoel Tel Aviv, national team)

Tal Ben Haim – center back/right back, Maccabi Tel Aviv, Bolton Wanderers, Chelsea, West Ham United

Eyal Berkovic – midfielder (national team), Maccabi Haifa, Southampton, West Ham United, Celtic, Manchester City, Portsmouth

Daniel Brailovski – midfielder (Argentina, Uruguay, and Israel national teams)

Tomer Chencinski – goaltender (Vaasan Palloseura)

Avi Cohen – defender, Liverpool and national team

Tamir Cohen – midfielder (Bolton Wanderers and national team)

Tvrtko Kale – Croatia/Israel, goalkeeper (Hapoel Haifa)

Yaniv Katan – forward/winger (Maccabi Haifa, national team)

Eli Ohana – won UEFA Cup Winners' Cup and Bravo Award (most outstanding young player in Europe); national team; manager

Haim Revivo – attacking/side midfielder (Israel national team), Maccabi Haifa, Celta de Vigo, Fenerbahçe, Galatasaray

Ronnie Rosenthal – left winger/striker (Israel national team), Maccabi Haifa, Liverpool, Tottenham, Watford

Ben Sahar – striker/winger (Hapoel Tel Aviv, national team)

Mordechai Spiegler – striker (Israel national team), manager

Idan Tal – midfielder (Beitar Jerusalem FC and Israel national team)

Nicolás Tauber – goalkeeper (Chacarita Juniors) of Argentine origin

Yochanan Vollach – defender (Israel national team); current president of Maccabi Haifa

Pini Zahavi – UK-based super-agent

Itzik Zohar – attacking midfielder (Israel national team), Maccabi Jaffa, Maccabi Tel Aviv, Royal Antwerp, Beitar Jerusalem, Crystal Palace, Maccabi Haifa, Maccabi Herzliya, Maccabi Netanya, F.C. Ashdod, Hapoel Nazareth Illit

Basketball

Miki Berkovich – Maccabi Tel Aviv

David Blu – (formerly "Bluthenthal"), Euroleague 6' 7" forward (Maccabi Tel Aviv)

Tal Brody – Euroleague 6' 2" shooting guard, Maccabi Tel Aviv

Tal Burstein – Maccabi Tel Aviv

Omri Casspi – 6' 9" small forward, drafted in 1st round of 2009 NBA Draft (Cleveland Cavaliers)

Tanhum Cohen-Mintz – 6' 8" center; 2x Euroleague All-Star

Shay Doron – WNBA 5' 9" guard, University of Maryland (New York Liberty)

Lior Eliyahu – 6' 9" power forward, NBA draft 2006 (Orlando Magic; traded to Houston Rockets), but completed mandatory service in the Israel Defense Forces and played in the Euroleague (Maccabi Tel Aviv)

Tamir Goodman – U.S. and Israel, 6' 3" shooting guard

Yotam Halperin – 6' 5" guard, drafted in 2006 NBA draft by Seattle SuperSonics (Olympiacos)

Gal Mekel – NBA basketball player

Amit Tamir – 6' 10" center/forward, University of California, PAOK Thessaloniki (Hapoel Jerusalem)

Bodybuilding

Alana Shipp – American/Israeli IFBB professional bodybuilder

Boxing

Sarah Avraham – kickboxer, 2014 Women's World Thai-Boxing Champion in 57–63 kilos (125–140 pounds)

Hagar Finer – WIBF bantamweight champion

Yuri Foreman – U.S. middleweight and World Boxing Association super welterweight champion

Roman Greenberg – ("The Lion from Zion"), International Boxing Organization's Intercontinental heavyweight champion

Fencing

Boaz Ellis – foil, 5-time Israeli champion

Lydia Hatoel-Zuckerman – foil, 6-time Israeli champion

Ayelet Ohayon – foil, European champion

Tomer Or, foil – junior world champion

Andre Spitzer – killed by terrorists

Figure skating

Alexei Beletski – ice dancer, Olympian

Galit Chait – ice dancer, World Championship bronze 2002

Natalia Gudina – figure skater, Olympian

Tamar Katz – figure skater

Lionel Rumi – ice dancer

Sergei Sakhnovsky – ice dancer, World Championship Bronze medal 2002

Daniel Samohin – figure skater

Michael Shmerkin – figure skater

Alexandra Zaretski – ice dancer, Olympian

Roman Zaretski – ice dancer, Olympian

Golf

Laetitia Beck – golfer

Gymnastics

Alexander Shatilov – World bronze (artistic gymnast; floor exercise)

Veronika Vitenberg – rhythmic gymnast

Judo

Yael Arad – judoka (Olympic silver: 1992, European champion: 1993, world silver: 1993). First Israeli Olympic medalist; light-middleweight

Yarden Gerbi – judoka (Olympic bronze: 2016)

Andrian Kordon – European Championship bronze; heavyweight

Daniela Krukower – Israel/Argentina judoka, World Champion (under 63 kg)

Yoel Razvozov – 2-time European Championship silver; lightweight

Or Sasson – judoka (Olympic bronze: 2016)

Oren Smadja – judoka (Olympic bronze: 1992; lightweight)

Ehud Vaks – judoka (half-lightweight)

Gal Yekutiel – European championship bronze

Ariel Zeevi – judoka (European champion: 2000, 2003, 2004; Olympic bronze: 2004; 100 kg)

Sailing

Zefania Carmel – yachtsman, world champion (420 class)

Gal Fridman – windsurfer (Olympic gold: 2004 (Israel's first gold medalist), bronze: 1996 (Mistral class); world champion: 2002)

Lydia Lazarov – yachting world champion (420 class)

Nimrod Mashiah – windsurfer; World Championship silver, ranked # 1 in world.

Shahar Tzuberi – Israel, windsurfer, Olympic bronze (RS:X discipline); 2009 & 2010 European Windsurf champion

Swimming

Vadim Alexeev – swimmer, breaststroke

Adi Bichman – 400-m and 800-m freestyle, 400-m medley

Yoav Bruck – 50-m freestyle and 100-m freestyle

Eran Groumi – 100 and 200 m backstroke, 100-m butterfly

Michael "Miki" Halika – 200-m butterfly, 200- and 400-m individual medley

Judith Haspel – (born "Judith Deutsch"), of Austrian origin, held every Austrian women's middle and long distance freestyle record in 1935; refused to represent Austria in 1936 Summer Olympics along with Ruth Langer and Lucie Goldner, protesting Hitler, stating, "I refuse to enter a contest in a land which so shamefully persecutes my people."

Amit Ivry – Maccabiah and Israeli records in Women's 100m butterfly, Israeli record in t Women's 200m Individual Medley, bronze medal in 100m butterfly at the European Swimming Championships.

Dan Kutler – of U.S. origin; 100-m butterfly, 4×100-m medley relay

Keren Leibovitch – Paralympic swimmer, 4x-gold-medal-winner, 100-m backstroke, 50- and 100-m freestyle, 200-m individual medley

Tal Stricker – 100- and 200-m breaststroke, 4×100-m medley relay

Eithan Urbach – backstroke swimmer, European championship silver and bronze; 100-m backstroke

Table Tennis

Marina Kravchenko – table tennis player, Soviet and Israel national teams

Angelica Rozeanu – (Adelstin), of Romanian origin, 17-time world table tennis champion, ITTFHoF

Track and Field

Alex Averbukh – pole vaulter (European champion: 2002, 2006)

Danielle Frenkel – Israeli high jump champion

Hanna Knyazyeva-Minenko – triple jumper and long jumper; participated in 2012 Summer Olympics

Shaul Ladany – world-record-holding racewalker, Bergen-Belsen survivor, Munich Massacre survivor, Professor of Industrial Engineering

Esther Roth-Shachamarov – track and field, hurdler and sprinter (5 Asian Game golds)

Tennis

Noam Behr

Ilana Berger

Gilad Bloom

Jonathan Erlich – 6 doubles titles, 6 doubles finals; won 2008 Australian Open Men's Doubles (w/Andy Ram), highest world doubles ranking # 5

Shlomo Glickstein – highest world singles ranking # 22, highest world doubles ranking # 28

Julia Glushko

Amir Hadad

Harel Levy – highest world singles ranking # 30

Evgenia Linetskaya

Amos Mansdorf – highest world singles ranking # 18

Tzipora Obziler

Noam Okun

Shahar Pe'er – (3 WTA career titles), highest world singles ranking # 11, highest world doubles ranking # 21

Shahar Perkiss

Andy Ram – 6 doubles titles, 6 doubles finals, 1 mixed double title (won 2006 Wimbledon Mixed Doubles (w/Vera Zvonareva), 2007 French Open Mixed Doubles (w/Nathalie Dechy), 2008 Australian Open Men's Doubles (w/Jonathan Erlich), highest world doubles ranking # 5

Eyal Ran

Dudi Sela – highest world singles ranking # 29

Anna Smashnova – (12 WTA career titles), highest world singles ranking # 15

Other

1972 Olympic team – see Munich Massacre

David Mark Berger – weightlifter originally from US, Maccabiah champion (middleweight); killed in the Munich Massacre

Max Birbraer – ice hockey player drafted by NHL team (New Jersey Devils)

Oren Eizenman – ice hockey player, Israel national team; Connecticut Whale)

Eli Elezra – professional poker player

Boris Gelfand, Emil Sutovsky, Ilya Smirin – chess Grandmasters (~2700 peak ELO rating)

Josh Cartu – Ferrari AFCorse Test Pilot, Entrepreneur, prolific Gumballer, Best Team 2013

Baruch Hagai – wheelchair athlete (multiple paralympic golds)

Michael Kolganov – sprint canoer/kayak paddler, world champion, Olympic bronze 2000 (K-1 500-meter)

Dean Kremer - Israeli-American baseball pitcher

Chanoch Nissany – Formula One auto racing test-driver

Ido Pariente – mixed martial artist

Chagai Zamir – Israel, 4-time Paralympic Games champion

Related links

Presidents of Israel

Prime Ministers of Israel