Prominent Figures
Send to a friendYigal Allon
Former Minister of Defence
Yigal Allon was born in Kefar Tavor in the Lower Galilee in 1918 and passed away in 1980. In 1937, he graduated from the Kadoorie Agricultural School, and in…Read more
Shulamit Aloni
Former government minister
Shulamit Aloni was born in Tel Aviv in 1928 to a mother who was a seamstress and a father who was a carpenter, descendants of a Polish rabbinical family. When…Read more
Gabi Ashkenazi
IDF Chief of Staff: Lieutenant General
Gabi Ashkenazi was born in Moshav Hagor in 1954 to a father who survived the Holocaust and a Syrian-born mother. He joined the Golani Brigade in 1972 and served as a…Read more
Aharon Barak
Former president of Israel's Supreme Court
Aharon Barak was born in Kaunus, Lithuania, and immigrated to Israel in 1947. He studied law, economics and international relations at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where, after…Read more
Dorit Beinisch
President of the Israel's Supreme Court
Dorit Beinisch was born in Tel Aviv 1942. After completing her army service with the rank of first lieutenant, she completed her law studies at The Hebrew University, Jerusalem, earning…Read more
Shlomo Ben-Ami
Former government minister
Prof. Shlomo Ben-Ami was born in Morocco in 1943. Arriving in Israel from Tangier at the age of 12, he grew up on a kibbutz. He was educated at Tel-Aviv…Read more
Eliezer Ben-Yehuda
Founder of Modern Hebrew
Eliezer Ben-Yehuda is credited with the revival of Hebrew as a modern tongue spoken by the Jewish nation. He was born Eliezer Yitzhak Perelman, in the Lithuanian village of Luzhky…Read more
Avraham Burg
Former Knesset Speaker
Avraham Burg was born in Jerusalem in 1955. He is the son of the late Dr Yosef Burg, a prominent leader of the National Religious Party, who served as minister…Read more
Moshe Dayan
The fourth Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces (1953–1958) and Minister of Defense (1967-1974)
Moshe Dayan was born in 1915 on kibbutz Deganya Alef. When he was only 14 years old, Dayan joined the Haganah, an underground defence organisation. During the Arab riots of…Read more
Abba Eban
Former Foeign Minister
Abba Eban was born in South Africa in 1925 and taken to England as an infant. He was in the midst of an academic career in Oriental languages at Cambridge…Read more
Rafael (Raful) Eitan
11th Chief of Staff of the IDF and leader of Tzomet party
Rafael Eitan was born in 1929 at Moshav Tel Adashim in the Jezre'el Valley, where he has continued to live throughout his military and public careers. Beginning as…Read more
Stanley Fischer
Governor of the Bank of Israel
Stanley Fischer was born in Zambia in 1943. He holds a B.Sc (Econ) and M.Sc. (Econ) at the London School of Economics from 1962-66, and obtained his Ph.D. in economics…Read more
Dan Gillerman
Former Permanent Representative to the UN
Former Ambassador Dan Gillerman was born in Israel in 1944 and was educated at Tel Aviv University and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He was appointed Israel's 13th Permanent Representative…Read more
A. D. Gordon
Philosopher of Labour Zionism
A.D. Gordon was one of the the pioneer philosophers of Labour Zionism. He was born in 1856 in Podolia, Russia to a pious family who were related to the magnate…Read more
Mordechai (Mota) Gur
10th Chief of Staff of the IDF
Lt.-Gen. (Ret.) Mordechai (Mota) Gur was born on May 6, 1930. At a young age, he joined the "Haganah" (the voluntary Jewish self-defence organisation). In 1948 he joined the IDF…Read more
Asher Ginzberg (Ahad Ha'am)
Leading thinker of Zionism
A leading thinker of the Zionist movement, Asher Ginzberg, known by his pen name Ahad Ha'am ("One of the People"), was born in Skvira, near Kiev in the Ukraine. Although…Read more
Dan Halutz
18th IDF Chief of Staff
Dan Halutz was born in Tel Aviv in 1948. In 1966 he began his military career in the Israel Air Force pilots' course as a cadet, completing it in 1968…Read more
Theodor Herzl
Visionary of Zionism
Theodor (Binyamin Ze'ev) Herzl, the visionary of Zionism, was born in Budapest in 1860 and was educated in the spirit of the German Jewish Enlightenment of the period, learning to…Read more
Ze'ev (Vladimir) Jabotinsky
Founder of the Zionist Revisionist movement
Ze'ev (Vladimir) Jabotinsky - Zionist leader, writer, orator, journalist and soldier - and the founder of the Zionist Revisionist Movement, was born in Odessa in 1880. Odessa was…Read more
Berl Katznelson
Leader of Zionist Labour movement
Berl Katznelson was a leader of the Zionist labour movement and a central figure of the Second Aliyah. Born in Bobrinsk, Belorussia, Katznelson was the son of a member…Read more
Menahem Mazuz
Attorney General
Menahem Mazuz was born in 1955 in Djerba, Tunisia, one of nine brothers and sisters. The family immigrated to Israel and settled in Netivot, a development town in the Negev.…Read more
Dan Meridor
Former Likud MK and founder of the Centre Party
Dan Meridor was born in Jerusalem in 1947, and holds a law degree from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He served in the Israel Defence Forces as a tank commander…Read more
Roni Milo
Former Likud and Centre Party MK
Roni Milo was born in Israel in 1949. He holds a law degree (L.L.B) from Tel Aviv University and served in the Israel Defence Forces as a legal officer.…Read more
Prof. Gabriela Shalev
Israel’s Ambassador to the UN
Gabriela Shalev was born in Israel in 1941 and earned her LL.B. (1966), LL.M. (1969) and Doctor Jur. (1973); at the Faculty of Law, Hebrew University, and was Visiting Scholar…Read more
Natan Sharansky
Founder of Yisrael B'Aliya and former government minister
Natan (Anatoly) Sharansky was born in 1948 in the Ukraine. He graduated in Computer Sciences from the Physical Technical Institute in Moscow. Sharansky was one of the founding…Read more
Moshe Ya'alon
Former IDF Chief of Staff
Lt.-Gen. Moshe Ya'alon was born in 1950 in Kiryat Haim. He was drafted into the IDF in 1968 and served in the Nahal Brigade Paratroop Regiment. He served as a…Read more
Yigal Yadin
Second Chief of Staff of the IDF
Yigal Yadin was born in Jerusalem in 1917 and joined the Haganah in 1933. He became a key figure in the Haganah leadership, was its operations officer, and helped devise…Read more
Rehavam Ze'evi
Former chairman of the Moledet party
Rehavam Ze'evi was born in Jerusalem in 1926. A former career army officer, Ze'evi graduated from the US Army Command and General Staff College. On retirement from the Israel Defence…Read more
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Featured Articles
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Quote of the day
Israel President Shimon Peres (Jewish News)
“In our 60 years of existence, Israel fought seven wars. Defeat would have ended our existence. However, victory did not…” Read more
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