Lists of Jews
This page is a list of people identified as Jews, either by themselves or by others. "Jewishness" has the meanings both of "adherence to the religion of Judaism" and "membership in the ethnic group 'Jews'". People of both groups are listed here.
This page does not differentiate between Orthodox Judaism, Conservative Judaism, Reform Judaism or Reconstructionist Judaism. It also does not take into account whether those listed acknowledge their Jewish identity or origins. Many may have spent their lives disguising their Jewish origins, and married gentile (non-Jewish) spouses. In many cases the individuals listed may have only one Jewish parent. They may have never practiced Judaism, and may even have adopted another faith, or may be secular or atheist.
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Arts (Performing)
Actors / actresses
- Anouk Aimee, French actress
- Woody Allen, US actor, film director
- Jason Alexander, US actor, known from Seinfeld
- Patricia Arquette, US actress
- Bea Arthur, US actress, known from Maude and The Golden Girls
- Ed Asner, US actor
- Lauren Bacall, US actress
- Barbara Bain, US actress, known from Mission Impossible
- Theda Bara, US actress
- Roseanne Barr, US TV actress
- Richard Belzer, US actor and comedian
- Sandra Bernhard, US actress
- Sarah Bernhardt, French actress
- Joey Bishop, US actor, member of the Rat Pack
- Jack Black, US actor and rock musician
- Mel Blanc, US cartoon voice actor
- Selma Blair, US actress
- Yasmine Bleeth, US actress
- Orlando Bloom, English Actor (Jewish father)
- Lisa Bonet, US actress, known from The Cosby Show
- Ernest Borgnine, US actor
- Tom Bosley, US actor
- Albert Brooks, US actor
- Mel Brooks, US comedian, filmmaker
- Brooke Bruke, US actress (Jewish mother)
- James Caan, US actor
- Dyan Cannon, US actress
- Kate Capshaw, US actress (converted)
- Nell Carter, US actress
- Jill Clayburgh, US Oscar-nominated actress
- Joan Collins, British actress, known from Dynasty'
- Jennifer Connelly, US actress
- Billy Crystal, US actor and comedian
- Jamie Lee Curtis, US actress
- Tony Curtis, US actor
- Larry David, US actor and comedy writer
- Sammy Davis Jr., US actor and performer (converted)
- Robert De Niro, US actor (Jewish mother)
- Kirk Douglas, US actor
- Michael Douglas, US actor, (Jewish father), son of Kirk Douglas
- Richard Dreyfuss, US actor
- Fran Drescher, US actress
- Peter Falk, US actor
- Itzik Feffer, Russian Yiddish actor
- Corey Feldman, US actor
- Norman Fell, US actor
- Harvey Fierstein, US actor
- Carrie Fisher, US actress, (father Jewish), star of Star Wars movies
- Harrison Ford, US actor, (mother Jewish)
- Al Franken, US actor and comedy writer
- Bonnie Franklin, US actress, known from One Day at a Time
- Allen Funt, US TV personality, creator of Candid Camera
- Eva Gabor, Hungarian-born US actress
- Zsa Zsa Gabor, Hungarian-born US actress
- Sarah Michelle Gellar, US actress
- Estelle Getty, US actress, known from Golden Girls
- Melissa Gilbert, US actress, known from Little House on the Prairie
- Judith Godrèche, French actress
- Jeff Goldblum, US actor
- Seth Green, US actor
- Jennifer Grey, US actress
- Joel Grey, US actor
- Charles Grodin, US actor
- Steve Gutenberg, US actor
- Laurence Harvey, Lithuanian-born British actor
- Goldie Hawn, US actress
- Judd Hirsch, US actor
- Dustin Hoffman, US actor
- Judy Holliday, US Oscar-winning actress
- John Houseman, Romanian-born US actor
- Kate Hudson, US actress, daughter of Goldie Hawn
- Amy Irving, US actress
- Al Jolson, US singer, actor, early sound film star
- Carolyn Jones, US actress, known from The Addams Family
- Madeline Kahn, US actress
- Gabriel Kaplan, US actor
- Andy Kaufman, US actor and comedian
- Danny Kaye, US actor, dancer, and singer
- Harvey Keitel, US actor
- Jack Klugman, US actor
- Lisa Kudrow, US actress
- Rikki Lake, US actress
- Hedy Lamarr, Austrian-born US actress
- Michael Landon US Actor
- Juliet Landau, US actress
- Martin Landau, US actor
- Piper Laurie, US actress
- Linda Lavin, US actress
- Jennifer Jason Leigh, US actress
- Eugene Levy, US actor
- Al Lewis, US actor, Grandpa on The Munsters
- Shari Lewis, US actress, known as companion of Lambchop
- Hal Linden, US actor
- Jonathan Lipnicki, US child actor
- Peggy Lipton, US actress, known from the Mod Squad
- Peter Lorre, US actor
- Tina Louise, US actress
- Jon Lovitz, US actor and comedian
- Ali MacGraw, US actress
- Marlee Matlin, US Oscar-winning deaf actress
- Benjamin Masten, US radio personality, Audience of Two
- Walter Matthau, US actor
- Solomon Mikhoels, Russian Yiddish actor
- Bette Midler, US singer and actress
- Marilyn Monroe, US actress (converted)
- Rick Moranis, Canadian actor
- Bess Myerson, US TV entertainer
- Judd Nelson, US actor, member of the Brat Pack
- Anthony Newley, British actor and singer
- Laraine Newman, US actress, known from Saturday Night Live
- Paul Newman, US actor
- Leonard Nimoy, US actor, known from Star Trek
- Sharon Osbourne, US actress, (wife of Ozzy Osbourne)
- Gwyneth Paltrow, US actress
- Sara Jessica Parker, US actress
- Rhea Perlman, US actress
- Suzanne Pleshette, US actress
- Kevin Pollack, US actor
- Tracy Pollan, US actress
- Natalie Portman, US actress
- Rachel, French actress
- Gilda Radner, US actress, known from Saturday Night Live
- Harold Ramis, US actor
- Winona Ryder, US actress
- Emma Samms, British actress, known from Dynasty
- Adam Sandler, US actor, comedian
- William Shatner, Canadian actor, known from Star Trek
- Ally Sheedy, US actress
- Dinah Shore, US actress
- Simone Signoret, French actress
- Jaclyn Smith, US actress, original Charlie's Angels
- Rena Sofer, US actress
- Howard Stern, US radio personality
- Barbara Streisand, US actress and singer
- David Suchet, British actor
- Elizabeth Taylor, British-born US actress (converted)
- Barbara Walters, US TV news personality
- Rachel Weisz, British actress
Comedians
- Woody Allen, US comedian
- Roseanne Barr, US comedienne
- Jack Benny, US comedian
- Milton Berle, US comedian
- Fanny Brice, US comedienne
- Lenny Bruce, US satirist
- George Burns, US comedian
- Sid Caesar, US comedian
- Eddie Cantor US comedian, singer, entertainer
- Andrew "Dice" Clay US comedian
- Sacha Baron Cohen, British comedian (Ali G)
- Rodney Dangerfield, US comedian
- Fran Drescher, US comedienne
- Marty Feldman, British comedian
- Larry Fine, US actor, one of the Three Stooges
- Gilbert Gottfried, US comedian
- Buddy Hackett, US comedian
- Curly Howard, US actor, one of the Three Stooges
- Moe Howard, US actor, one of the Three Stooges
- Shemp Howard, US actor, one of the Three Stooges
- Andy Kaufman, US comedian, actor, performance artist
- Richard Lewis, US comedian
- Jerry Lewis, US actor and comedian
- Alan King, US Show business personality and comic
- Howie Mandel, Canadian comedian
- Marx Brothers, US actors
- Anne Meara, US comedienne and actress
- Tony Randall, US comedian, The Odd Couple
- Joan Rivers, US comedian
- Mort Sahl, US comedian
- Jerry Seinfeld, US comedian
- Peter Sellers, British actor and comedian
- Jon Stewart, US comedian
- Ben Stiller, US actor and comedian
Directors
- John Frankenhimer, US director
- Sam Fuller, US director and screenwriter
- Henry Jaglom, US director
- Stanley Kubrick, US director
- Fritz Lang, German director
- Sidney Lumet, US director
- Branko Lustig, US-Croatian film director
- Roman Polanski, Polish-born US-European director
- Abraham Polonsky, US director
- Otto Preminger, Austrian-born US director
- Steven Spielberg, US director
- Edgar G. Ulmer, German born US director
- Billy Wilder, Austrian-born US director
- Michael Winner, British director
Hollywood bosses
- William Fox (Fox Film Corporation; 20th Century-Fox)
- Michael Eisner (Paramount Pictures; Disney Studios)
- Robert Evans (Paramount Pictures)
- David Geffen (Warner Brothers; DreamWorks SKG)
- Sam Goldwyn, (the "G" in MGM)
- Jeffrey Katzenberg (Paramount Pictures; DreamWorks SKG)
- Carl Laemmle (Universal Pictures)
- Carl Laemmle Jr (Universal Studios)
- Marcus Loew (MGM)
- Joseph Schenck (20th Century Pictures)
- Steven Spielberg (DreamWorks SKG)
- Louis B. Mayer, (the "M" of MGM)
- Jack Warner (Warner Brothers)
- Lew Wasserman (Universal Studios)
- Darryl Zanuck (Warner Brothers; 20th Century Pictures; 20th Century-Fox)
- Bob Weinstein (Miramax)
- Harvey Weinstein (Miramax)
- Adolph Zukor (Paramount Pictures)
Illusionists
- David Blaine, US illusionist
- David Copperfield, US illusionist
- Uri Geller, Israeli spoon bending magician
- Harry Houdini, US illusionist
- Ricky Jay, US magician
Business
- Roman Abramovich, Russian billionaire
- Steve Ballmer, US CEO of Microsoft
- Boris Berezovsky, Russian billionaire
- Michael Bloomberg, US politician, founder of Bloomberg News
- Sergey Brin Russian-born US co-founder of Google
- Samuel Bronfman, Ukrainian-born Canadian founder of Seagrams Distilleries
- Edgar Bronfman, Sr., Canadian original owner of Seagrams Distilleries
- Edgar Bronfman, Jr., Canadian-US owner of Vivendi Universal
- Isaac Carasso, Spanish founder of Danone group
- Andre Citroen, French automaker of Citroen
- Joshua Lionel Cowen, US toy inventor and manufacturer
- Jack Cohen, British businessman, founder of Tesco supermarkets
- Mark Cuban, US billionaire owner of Dallas Mavericks
- Marcel Dassault, French industrialist
- Michael Dell, US founder of Dell Computer Corporation
- Bernie Ecclestone, British F1 motor-racing entrepreneur
- Larry Ellison, US CEO of Oracle Corporation
- Mikhail Fridman, Russian billionaire
- Alan Greenspan, US economist, chairman of the US Federal Reserve
- Andrew Grove, Hungarian-born US co-founder of Intel
- Vladimir Gusinsky, Russian billionaire
- Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Russian billionare
- Henry Kravis, American financier
- Lev Leviev, Russian-born Israeli diamond billionaire
- Daniel M. Lewin, Israeli Internet entrepeneur
- Moses Haim Montefiore, English financier and Zionist
- Roy Neuberger, US art dealer of Neuberger & Berman
- Harry Oppenheimer, South African diamond and gold mines billionare, (became Christian)
- William Paley, US billionaire who built CBS
- Ron Popeil, US inventor
- Sumner Redstone, US CEO of Viacom
- Mayer Amschel Rothschild, German banker, first of the Rothschild family
- Nathan Mayer Rothschild, British financier and philanthropist
- David Sarnoff, General Manager of RCA corporation
- Ron Sommer, CEO of Deutsche Telekom
- George Soros, Hungarian-born US billionaire, investor, philanthropist
- Laurence Tisch, US billionaire, owned CBS
- Victor Vekselberg, Russian billionaire
- Max Warburg, German banker
- Paul Warburg, US banker, Federal Reserve founder and board member
Cartoons and comics
- Al Capp, US cartoonist; creator of Li'l Abner
- Will Eisner, US cartoonist; (The Spirit)
- Mark Evanier, US comics and animated cartoons writer for Disney and Hanna-Barbera
- Max Fleischer, US animated cartoonist; (Popeye, Superman)
- Bob Kane, US cartoonist; creator of Batman
- Jack Kirby, US comics and animated cartoons creator; co-creator of Captain America, (Fantastic Four, Hulk)
- Stan Lee, US cartoon writer and creator of Marvel Comics and its heroes
- Harvey Pekar, US comic book writer; (American Splendor)
- Julius Schwartz, US comic book and magazine editor; (The Flash; Green Lantern).
- Joe Shuster, Canadian-US comics artist; co-creator of Superman
- Jerome Siegel, US comics artist; co-creator of Superman
- Joe Simon, US cartoonist; co-creator of Captain America'
- Art Spiegelman, Swedish-US comic-book artist; creator of Maus
- Mort Weisinger, US comic book and magazine editor; (Superman, Supergirl)
Clothing
- Marc Jacobs, US clothing designer
- Calvin Klein, US fashion designer, CK Jeans
- Donna Karren, US fashion designer, DKNY Jeans
- Ralph Lauren, US fashion designer
- Isaac Mizrahi, US fashion designer
- Levi Strauss, German-born US "Father of Jeans"
Crime
- Yigal Amir, Israeli assassin (of Rabin)
- David Berkowitz, "Son of Sam", US serial killer, (adopted by Jews, became Christian)
- Moe Dalitz, US gangster
- Ira Einhorn US political activist and killer
- Baruch Goldstein, US-born Israeli Arab killer
- Meyer Lansky, US gangster
- Leopold and Loeb, US killers
- Michael Milken, US "junk bond' king, swindler, philanthropist
- Kevin Mitnick, US hacker
- Arnold Rothstein, US gangster
- Jack Ruby, US assassin (of Lee Harvey Oswald)
- Dutch Schultz, US gangster
- Bugsy Siegel, US gangster
- Salomon Morel, Russian death camp commander
Fictional characters
See also: List of Jewish superheroes
- Fagin the Jew from Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist
- Harold Berman from Hey Arnold!
- Shylock, from The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare
- Leopold Bloom, from Ulysses by James Joyce
- Krusty the Clown, from The Simpsons
- Kyle Broslofski, from South Park
- Tevye, the dairyman from Fiddler on the Roof
Law
- Louis Brandeis, US Supreme Court Justice
- Stephen G. Breyer, US Supreme Court Justice
- Benjamin N. Cardozo, US Supreme Court Justice
- Arthur Chaskalson, Chief Justice of the Republic of South Africa
- Zelman Cowen, Australian legal scholar and Governor-General
- Alan Dershowitz, US lawyer
- Abe Fortas, US Supreme Court Justice
- Felix Frankfurter, US Supreme Court Justice
- Ruth Bader Ginsburg, US Supreme Court Justice
- Arthur J. Goldberg, US Supreme Court Justice
- Richard Goldstone, South African judge, international war crimes prosecutor
- Stanley Mosk, US jurist, California Supreme Court Justice and Attorney General
- Louis Nizer, British born American jurist
- Laurence H. Tribe, Professor of Law, Harvard University
Literature and journalism
- Otto Maria Carpeaux, Austro-Brazilian literary and musical critic, journalist and historian
- Ahad Ha'am, Ukrainian-born, Hebrew writer and Zionist leader
- Sholem Aleichem, Ukrainian-born, Yiddish writer
- Shmuel Yosef Agnon, Israeli writer
- Isaac Asimov, US science fiction author
- Isaak Babel, Russian journalist and writer
- Saul Bellow, US writer
- Max Brod, Czech-Israeli writer and composer
- Harold Brodkey, US novelist
- Joseph Brodsky, Soviet-born poet, Nobel laureate
- Isaac Deutscher, British historian
- Ilya Ehrenburg, Soviet writer and international peace activist
- Harlan Ellison, US fantasy writer
- Itzik Feffer, Soviet writer
- Anne Frank, Dutch Holocaust victim, diarist
- Allen Ginsberg, US poet
- Gluckl of Hamelin, German Yiddish religious writer
- Leah Goldberg, Israeli poet
- David Goodis, US mystery writer
- Nadine Gordimer, South African writer, won a Nobel Prize for Literature
- Vassily Grossman, Soviet journalist and writer
- Ben Hecht, US novelist, playwright, screenwriter and Zionist activist
- Immanuel the Roman, Italian religious erotic poet
- Isidore Isou, Romanian-born French poet
- Susan Jacoby, Author, (father half-Jewish, converted to Catholicism)
- Franz Kafka, Czech-born Austrian-German Bohemian writer
- Arthur Koestler, Hungarian-born Austrian and English novelist and activist
- William Kristol, US pro-Israel political commentator
- Irving Layton, Romanian-born Canadian poet
- Norman Mailer, US novelist and social critic
- Primo Levi, Italian novelist and chemist
- Bernard Malamud, US writer
- David Mamet, US playwright
- Arthur Miller, US playwright
- Erich Mühsam, German poet and revolutionary
- Amos Oz, Israeli writer
- S. J. Perelman, US writer
- I. L. Peretz, Yiddish writer
- Harold Pinter, British playwright
- Chaim Potok, US writer
- Marcel Proust, French writer, (son of a Jewish mother)
- Ayn Rand, Russian-born US writer
- Mordecai Richler, Canadian writer
- Tanya Reinhart, Israeli writer
- Philip Roth, US writer
- Robert Silverberg, US science-fiction author
- Isaac Bashevis Singer, US writer
- William Steig, US writer, author of Shrek
- Tristan Tzara, Romanian-born French poet
- Elie Wiesel, US, Hungarian-born, French writer about Holocaust
- Stefan Zweig, Austrian writer
- Jan Brzechwa, Polish writer
- Stanisław Jerzy Lec, Polish writer
- Jan Lechoń, Polish writer
- Bruno Schulz, Polish writer
- Antoni Słonimski, Polish writer
- Natan Tenenbaum, Polish writer
- Julian Tuwim, Polish writer
- Nathanael West, US writer
- Eliezer Ben-Yehuda, Lithuanian-born, "Father of modern Hebrew language"
- Israel Zangwill, English writer and Zionist
Media
- Carl Bernstein, US journalist, investigated Watergate break-in
- Wolf Blitzer, US news anchor for CNN
- Amira Hass, Israeli journalist
- Larry King, US TV and radio talk show host
- Ted Koppel, US news anchor, ABC TV Nightline
- Morley Safer, US news reporter, CBS TV 60 Minutes
- William Safire, US newspaper columnist, speechwriter for US President Nixon
- Laura Schlessinger, US radio personality
- Joel Stein, US columnist for TIME magazine
- Mike Wallace, US news reporter, CBS TV 60 Minutes
- Barbara Walters, US news commentator, ABC TV 20/20
Military
- Ivan Chernyakhovsky, Russian Soviet military commander
- David Abramovich Dragunsky, Russian anti-Zionist Colonel-General
- Vladimir Jabotinsky, Russian founder and leader of British Jewish Legion
- Josephus, Jewish priest and military leader who went over to the side of ancient Rome
- Judah the Maccabee, Judean leader of Maccabees against ancient Greeks
- Simon bar Kokhba Judean leader of Jewish revolt against ancient Rome
- John Monash, Australian general
- Hyman Rickover US Admiral, Father of the Nuclear Navy
- Haym Solomon, Polish-born US financier of the American Revolution and Revolutionary War
- Mordechaj Anielewicz, Polish Warsaw ghetto leader
- Berek Joselewicz, Polish colonel, organized Jewish squads and uprisings
Israeli military
- Ron Arad, Israeli pilot, missing in action
- Moshe Dayan, former Israeli chief of staff, minister of defense
- Arie Eldad, former medical officer and surgeon
- Uziel Gal, Israeli designer of the UZI submachine gun
- Israel Galili, Israeli designer of the Galil assault rifle
- David (Mickey) Marcus US colonel, assisted Israel in 1948 war, first Israeli Brigadier general
- Shaul Mofaz, Israeli general, former chief of staff, minister of defense
- Yoni Netanyahu, Israeli commander of Operation Entebbe, killed in action
- Yitschak Rabin, Israeli chief of staff, Prime Minister of Israel
- Ilan Ramon, Israeli pilot attacked Iraqi reactor; Israel's first astronaut, died on Columbia space shuttle
- Ariel Sharon, Israeli general, Prime Minister of Israel
- Israel Tal, Israeli general, oversaw development of Israel's Merkava tank
- Joseph Trumpeldor, Russian soldier , founded Zion Mule Corps, killed in early Palestine
- Moshe Yaalon, Israeli general and chief of staff
US generals
- Julius O. Adler (World War II)
- Leopold Blumenberg (Civil War)
- Wesley Clark (Kosovo) (father was Jewish)
- Phineas Horowitz (Civil War)
- Stanley H. Hyman (Vietnam)
- Frederick Knefler (Civil War)
- Alfred Mordechai (Civil War)
- Leopold Newman (Civil War)
- Maurice Rose (World War II)
- Edward S. Salomon (Civil War)
- Robert B. Solomon (Vietnam)
Music and song
- Vladimir Ashkenazy, Russian conductor
- Herb Alpert, US musician
- Burt Bacharach, US musician and songwriter
- Daniel Barenboim, Israeli classical musician and conductor
- Irving Berlin, US songwriter, composer
- Dan Bern, US songwriter, singer
- Leonard Bernstein, US conductor, composer
- Georges Bizet, French composer
- Ernest Bloch, Swiss-born US composer
- Marc Bolan, British rock musician for band T. Rex
- Eric Carmen, US musician, songwriter
- Leonard Cohen, Canadian singer (converted to Buddhism)
- Aaron Copland, US composer
- Sammy Davis, Jr., US singer (convert to Judaism)
- Neil Diamond, US singer
- Paul Dukas, French composer
- Bob Dylan, US singer, songwriter
- Giora Feidman, clarinet player and Klezmer musician
- Perry Farrell, US musician, bandleader
- Flo and Eddie US musicians
- Kinky Friedman, US country singer, author
- Jackie Fox, US bassist of band The Runaways
- Nikolai Fraiture , French-born US bassist for rock-n-roll band The Strokes
- Kenny G, US musician
- Serge Gainsbourg, French singer, songwriter
- Art Garfunkel, US singer
- J. Geils, US rock musician
- Graham Gouldman, British musician and songwriter
- Benny Goodman, US musician, bandleader
- Richard Hell, US rock musician, poet
- Billy Joel, US singer
- Al Jolson, US singer
- Mick Jones, British rock musician
- Jascha Heifetz, US violinist
- Susannah Hoffs, US member of band The Bangles
- Carole King, US singer and songwriter
- Ed King, US rock guitarist of The Strawberry Alarm Clock and Lynyrd Skynyrd
- Otto Klemperer, German-born US-Isreali conductor
- Lee Konitz, US jazz musician
- Lenny Kravitz, US musician
- Ted Lewis, US musician, entertainer
- György Ligeti, Hungarian composer
- Ron Mael and Russell Mael,US rock band stars of Sparks
- Gustav Mahler, Austro-Hungarian Viennese composer (converted to Catholicism)
- Barry Manilow, US entertainer
- Manfred Mann, South African born British rock musician
- Shelly Manne, US jazz musician
- Malcolm McLaren, British impresario and recording artist
- Felix Mendelssohn, German Romantic composer (converted to Christianity)
- Yehudi Menuhin, US-British violinist, conductor, educator
- Giacomo Meyerbeer, German opera composer
- Mezz Mezzrow, US jazz musician
- Darius Milhaud, French composer
- Nathan Milstein, US violinist
- Sandy Nelson, US musician
- Randy Newman, US singer
- Phil Ochs, US singer, songwriter
- Jacques Offenbach, French composer
- Itzhak Perlman, Israeli-US violinist
- Joey Ramone, US rock singer
- Lou Reed, US singer, songwriter
- Buddy Rich, US jazz musician
- Jonathan Richman, US singer, songwriter
- Anton Rubinstein, Russian pianist and composer
- David Lee Roth, US rock singer
- Curt Sachs, German-US musicologist
- Artur Schnabel, Polish-Austrian-US classical pianist
- Arnold Schoenberg, Austrian composer
- Neil Sedaka, US singer, songwriter
- Artie Shaw, US jazz musician, bandleader
- Shel Silverstein, US songwriter
- Gene Simmons, US bass player for rock group KISS
- Paul Simon, US musician
- Slash, British born US lead guitarist for metal band Guns n' Roses
- P.F. Sloan, US singer, songwriter
- Pat Smear, US rock musician
- Georg Solti, Hungarian-US conductor
- Phil Spector, US record producer and songwriter
- Isaac Stern, US violinist
- Barbra Streisand, US singer, actress
- Willie "The Lion" Smith, US pianist
- Paul Stanley, US guitar player for rock band KISS
- Sylvain Sylvain, Egyptian-born US rock musician
- Richard Tucker, US opera singer
- Sophie Tucker, Russian-born US singer and entertainer
- Charlie Watts, British drummer of rock band The Rolling Stones
- Leslie West, US rock guitarist
- Jane Wiedlin, US member of band The Go-Gos
- Kurt Weill, German-US composer
- Max Weinberg, US drummer for the E Street Band and leader of the Max Weinberg Seven
- Peter Wolf, US rock singer
- John Zorn, US saxophonist and composer
Nobel Prize winners
Biomedical Sciences
- Julius Axelrod, US, discoveries concerning the humoral transmitters in the nerve terminals and the mechanism for their storage, release and inactivation
- David Baltimore, US, discoveries concerning the interaction between tumor viruses and the genetic material of the cell
- Robert Barany, Austria, for work on the physiology and pathology of the vestibular apparatus
- Baruj Benacerraf, Venezuela, discoveries concerning genetically determined structures on the cell surface that regulate immunological reactions
- Konrad Bloch, Germany, discoveries concerning the mechanism and regulation of the cholesterol and fatty acid metabolism
- Baruch Blumberg, US, discoveries concerning new mechanisms for the origin and dissemination of infectious diseases
- Sydney Brenner, South Africa, discoveries concerning genetic regulation of organ development and programmed cell death
- Michael Brown, US, discoveries concerning the regulation of cholesterol metabolism
- Ernst Chain, Germany, discovery of penicillin and its curative effect in various infectious diseases
- Stanley Cohen, US, discoveries of growth factors
- Gerty Theresa Cori, Czechoslovakia, discovery of the course of the catalytic conversion of glycogen
- Paul Ehrlich, Germany, for work on immunity
- Gerald Edelman, US, discoveries concerning the chemical structure of antibodies
- Gertrude Elion, US, discoveries of important principles for drug treatment
- Joseph Erlanger, US, for discoveries relating to the highly differentiated functions of single nerve fibers
- Robert Furchgott, US, discoveries concerning nitric oxide as a signaling molecule in the cardiovascular system
- Alfred Gilman, US, discovery of G-proteins and the role of these proteins in signal transduction in cells
- Joseph Goldstein, US, discoveries concerning the regulation of cholesterol metabolism
- Paul Greengard, US, for signal transduction in the nervous system
- Francois Jacob, France, discoveries concerning genetic control of enzyme and virus synthesis
- Robert Horvitz, US, discoveries concerning genetic regulation of organ development and programmed cell death
- Eric Kandel, Austria, for signal transduction in the nervous system
- Bernard Katz, Germany, discoveries concerning the humoral transmitters in the nerve terminals and the mechanism for their storage, release and inactivation
- Arthur Kornberg, US, discovery of the mechanisms in the biological synthesis of ribonucleic acid and deoxyribonucleic acid
- Hans Adolf Krebs, Germany, discovery of the citric acid cycle
- Karl Landsteiner, Austria, for discovery of human blood groups
- Joshua Lederberg, US, discovered genetic recombination and the organization of the genetic material of bacteria
- Rita Levi-Montalcini, Italy, discoveries of growth factors
- Fritz Lipmann, Germany, discovery of co-enzyme A and its importance for intermediary metabolism
- Otto Loewi, Austria, for discoveries relating to chemical transmission of nerve impulses
- Salvador Luria, Italy, discoveries concerning the replication mechanism and the genetic structure of viruses
- Andre Lwoff, France, discoveries concerning genetic control of enzyme and virus synthesis
- Elie Mechnikov, Russia, for work on immunity
- Otto Meyerhof, Germany, for discovery of the relationship between consumption of oxygen and the metabolism of lactic acid in the muscle
- Cesar Milstein, Argentina, theories concerning the specificity in development and control of the immune system and the discovery of the principle for production of monoclonal antibodies
- Hermann Muller, US, discovery of the production of mutations by means of X-ray irradiation
- Daniel Nathans, US, discovery of restriction enzymes and their application to problems of molecular genetics
- Marshall Nirenberg, US, interpretation of the genetic code and its function in protein synthesis
- Stanley Prusiner, US, discovery of Prions - a new biological principle of infection
- Tadeus Reichstein, Poland, discoveries relating to the hormones of the adrenal cortex, their structure and biological effects
- Martin Rodbell, US, discovery of G-proteins and the role of these proteins in signal transduction in cells
- Andrew Schally, Poland, discoveries concerning the peptide hormone production of the brain
- Howard Temin, US, discoveries concerning the interaction between tumor viruses and the genetic material of the cell
- Harold Varmus, US, discovery of the cellular origin of retroviral oncogenes
- Selman Waksman, Russia, discovery of streptomycin, the first antibiotic effective against tuberculosis
- George Wald, US, discoveries concerning the primary physiological and chemical visual processes in the eye
- Rosalyn Yalow, US, for the development of radioimmunoassays of peptide hormones
Chemistry
- Sidney Altman, Canada, discovery of catalytic properties of RNA
- Christian Anfinsen, US, work on ribonuclease, especially concerning the connection between the amino acid sequence and the biologically active conformation
- Paul Berg, US, for his fundamental studies of the biochemistry of nucleic acids, with particular regard to recombinant-DNA
- Herbert Brown, Ukraine, development of the use of boron- and phosphorus-containing compounds, respectively, into important reagents in organic synthesis
- Melvin Calvin, US, research on the carbon dioxide assimilation in plants
- George de Hevesy, Hungary, the use of isotopes as tracers in the study of chemical processes
- Walter Gilbert, US, contributions concerning the determination of base sequences in nucleic acids
- Fritz Haber, Germany, for the synthesis of ammonia from its elements
- Herbert Hauptman, US, development of direct methods for the determination of crystal structures
- Alan Heeger, US, for the discovery and development of conductive polymers
- Roald Hoffmann, Poland, theories, developed independently, concerning the course of chemical reactions
- Jerome Karle, US, development of direct methods for the determination of crystal structures
- Aaron Klug, Lithuania, development of crystallographic electron microscopy and his structural elucidation of biologically important nucleic acid-protein complexes
- Walter Kohn, Austria, for his development of the density-functional theory
- Rudolph Marcus, Canada, contributions to the theory of electron transfer reactions in chemical systems
- Henri Moissan, France, for investigation and isolation of the element fluorine, and for the adoption in the service of science of the electric furnace called after him
- George Olah, Hungary, for his contribution to carbocation chemistry
- Max Perutz, Austria, studies of the structures of globular proteins
- Ilya Prigogine, Russia, contributions to non-equilibrium thermodynamics, particularly the theory of dissipative structures
- William Stein, US, contribution to the understanding of the connection between chemical structure and catalytic activity of the active center of the ribonuclease molecule
- Adolf von Baeyer, Germany, for services in the advancement of organic chemistry and the chemical industry, through his work on organic dyes and hydroaromatic compounds
- Otto Wallach, Germany, pioneer work in the field of alicyclic compounds
- Richard Willstatter, Germany, for his researches on plant pigments, especially chlorophyll
Philosophy and academic
- Uriel Acosta, Potuguese philosopher (raised Catholic)
- Alfred Adler, Austrian psychoanalyst
- Theodor Adorno, German philosopher, composer, (father became Protestant, mother Catholic)
- Walter Benjamin, German philosopher, critic, essayist
- Ernst Bloch, German philosopher
- Harold Bloom, US academic
- Martin Buber, German and Israeli philosopher
- Hermann Cohen, German Jewish Kantian philosopher
- Noam Chomsky, US linguist, political writer
- Jacques Derrida, French philosopher
- Emile Durkheim, French sociologist
- Erik Erikson, US psychologist (mother was Jewish, biological father was Danish)
- Norman Finkelstein, US academic
- Sigmund Freud, Austro-Hungarian Viennese "Father of psychoanalysis"
- Lazar Gulkowitsch, Russian-German philosopher
- Zellig Harris, US linguist
- Bernard Henri-Levy, French philosopher, journalist, film director
- Samuel Hirsch, German rabbi and philosopher
- Max Horkheimer, German philosopher, sociologist
- Irving Howe, US historian
- Edmund Husserl, Austro-Hungarian Viennese and German philosopher and Holocaust victim
- Baruch Kimmerling, Israeli sociologist
- Israel Kirzner, US economist
- Emmanuel Levinas, Lithuanian born French philosopher
- Deborah Lipstadt, US historian
- Maimonides, Spanish-North African philosopher, doctor, rabbi
- Herbert Marcuse, German-born US philosopher, sociologist, political scientist
- Abraham Maslow, US psychologist
- Benny Morris, Israeli philosopher
- Nostradamus French philosopher, (raised Catholic)
- Fritz Perls, German psychologist
- Philo, Alexandrian (Egypt) philosopher
- Daniel Pipes, US Mideast and Islam scholar and researcher
- Karl Popper, Austrian philosopher
- Yehoshua Porath, Israeli historian
- Neil Postman, US Media Critic
- Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy, German social philosopher. (Converted to Christianity)
- Franz Rosenzweig, German Jewish philosopher
- Peter Singer, Australian philosopher
- Baruch Spinoza, Dutch philosopher, espoused Pantheism
- Leo Strauss, German-American philosopher
- Ludwig von Mises, Austrian economist
- Ludwig Wittgenstein, Austrian philosopher (father's parents became Protestants, mother was Catholic gentile)
- Ruth Westheimer, German-born, Israeli-American sex expert
- Howard Zinn, US Historian
Politics
Activists
- Frank Collin, former neo-Nazi, now diffusionist (father was Jewish)
- Abe Foxman, US director of the Anti-Defamation League
- Jonah Goldberg, US conservative writer
- David Horowitz, US neoconservative writer and social activist
- Mel Mermelstein, Auschwitz survivor; reward-winner: Institute for Historical Review
- Irv Rubin, chairman of the Jewish Defense League
- Simon Wiesenthal, Nazi-hunter
- Tim Wise, anti-racism lecturer and activist
Israeli politicians
- Moshe Ahrens, former minister of defense
- Yigal Allon, former general, government minister
- Ehud Barak, former chief of staff, Israeli Prime Minister
- Yossi Beilin, former Labor party minister
- Menachem Begin, former head of Irgun, Israeli Prime Minister
- David Ben-Gurion, founder of Israel, Israeli Prime Minister
- Yitzhak Ben-Zwi, second President of Israel
- Moshe Carmel, former party leader and army commander
- Abba Eban, former foreign minister
- Moshe Dayan, former chief of staff, defense and foreign minister
- Levi Eshkol, former Prime Minister of Israel
- Chaim Herzog, former general and diplomat, sixth President of Israel
- Meir Kahane, founder of Kach party (subsequently banned) (assassinated)
- Moshe Katsav, eighth President of Israel
- Tommy Lapid, minister of Justice and leader of Shinnui party
- David Levy, former foreign minister
- Golda Meir, former Prime Minister of Israel
- Benjamin Netanyahu, minister of finance and former Prime Minister
- Shimon Peres, former defense and foreign minister and Prime Minister
- Yitzhak Rabin, former chief of staff, Israeli Prime Minister (assassinated)
- Elyakim Rubinstein, former state attorney general
- Yitzhak Shamir, former head of Lehi, Prime Minister of Israel
- Moshe Sharett, former Prime Minister of Israel
- Ariel Sharon, Israeli general, minister and Prime Minister
- Chaim Weizmann, leading Zionist and scientist, first President of Israel
- Eli Yishai, former minister of interioer, leader of the Shas party
- Rehavam Zeevi, former minister and founder of Moledet (assassinated)
Revolutionaries
- Daniel Cohn-Bendit, French student leader
- Kurt Eisner, German revolutionary politician
- Emma Goldman, US feminist and anarchist
- Abbie Hoffman, US radical
- Lev Kamenev, Russian Bolshevik leader
- Lazar Kaganovich, Soviet Politburo member
- Bela Kun, Hungarian revolutionary leader
- Maxim Litvinov, Soviet Foreign Minister
- Rosa Luxemburg, German Communist leader
- Karl Marx, German founder of Marxism. (Athiest. Raised a Lutheran)
- Jerry Rubin, US radical
- Irv Rubin, US radical JDL leader (committed suicide in prison)
- Abraham Serfaty, Moroccan dissident
- Joe Slovo, Lithuanian-born head of South African Communist Party
- Avraham Stern, Polish-born founder of anti-British Stern Gang (Lehi)
- Leon Trotsky, Russian Bolshevik leader
- Grigory Zinoviev, Russian Bolshevik leader
US politicians
- Elliott Abrams, State Department and NSC
- Gary Ackerman, Congressman from New York
- Madeleine Albright, Secretary of State (raised Christian)
- Abe Beame, Mayor of New York City
- Anthony Beilenson, Congressman from California
- Judah P. Benjamin Senator, then Confederate Secretary of War and Secretary of State
- Howard Berman, Congressman from California
- Michael Bloomberg, Mayor of New York City
- Rudy Boschwitz, Senator from Minnesota
- Barbara Boxer, Senator from California
- Harold Brown, Secretary of Defense
- Emmanuel Cellar, Congressman from New York
- William Cohen, Senator from Maine; Defense Secretary (father was Jewish)
- Norm Coleman, Senator from Minnesota
- Rahm Emanuel, Congressman from Illinois
- Eliot Engel, Congressman from New York
- Dianne Feinstein, Senator from California
- Russ Feingold, Senator from Wisconsin
- Douglas Feith, Secretary of Defense for Policy
- Ari Fleischer, Press secretary to the President
- Barney Frank, Congressman from Massachusetts
- Barry Goldwater, Senator from Arizona (father was Jewish)
- Oscar Goodman, Mayor of Las Vegas, Nevada
- Jacob Javits, Senator from New York
- John Kerry, Senator from Massachusetts (father was Jewish, raised as a Catholic)
- Henry Kissinger, National Security Advisor, then Secretary of State
- Ed Koch, Congressman and New York City mayor
- Herb Kohl, Senator from Wisconsin
- Tom Lantos, Congressman from California, (Hungarian-born Holocaust survivor)
- Herbert H. Lehman, Governor of NY (1933-1942)
- Fiorello H. LaGuardia, Mayor of New York City (mother was Jewish)
- Frank Lautenberg, Senator from New Jersey
- Carl Levin, Senator from Michigan
- Joe Lieberman, Vice-President candidate and US Senator from Connecticut
- Julius L. Meier, Governor of Oregon
- Allard Lowenstein, Congressman from New York
- Howard Metzenbaum , Senator from Ohio
- Henry Morgenthau, Jr., Secretary of the Treasury, 1934-1945
- Jerrold Nadler, Congressman from New York
- Richard Perle, Under-secretary Department of Defense
- Robert Reich, Secretary of Labor
- Edward Rendell, Governor of Pennsylvania, Mayor of Philadelphia
- Abraham Ribicoff, Senator from Connecticut
- Steve Rothman, Congressman from New Jersey
- Robert Rubin, Secretary of the Treasury
- Warren Rudman, Senator from New Hampshire
- Adam Schiff, Congressman from California
- James Schlesinger, Secretary of Defense; CIA Director
- Charles Schumer, Senator from New York
- Brad Sherman, Congressman from California
- Arlen Specter, Senator from Pennsylvania
- Henry Waxman, Congressman from California
- Anthony Weiner, Congressman from New York
- Paul Wellstone Senator from Minnesota
- Robert Wexler, Congressman from Florida
- Paul Wolfowitz, Deputy Secretary of Defense
- Ron Wyden, Senator from Oregon
World politicians
- Peter Baume, Australian Cabinet Minister
- Joe Berinson, Australian Cabinet minister
- Léon Blum, Prime Minister of France
- Marek Borowski, Polish politician, (b. 1946)
- Leon Brittan, British Cabinet minister
- Moss Cass, Australian Cabinet minister
- Barry Cohen, Australian Cabinet minister
- Michael Danby, Australian politician
- Benjamin Disraeli, British Prime Minister (raised an Anglican)
- Sid Einfeld, Deputy Premier of New South Wales, Australia
- Laurent Fabius, Prime Minister of France
- Malcolm Fraser, Australian Prime Minister (raised Presbyterian, mother born Jewish)
- Bronisław Geremek, Polish politician, (b. 1932)
- Herb Gray, Canadian Cabinet minister
- Theodor Herzl, founder of Zionism
- Michael Howard, leader of the British Conservative Party
- Isaac Isaacs, Australian politician and Governor-General
- Rufus Isaacs, 1st Marquess of Reading, British politician and Viceroy of India
- Vladimir Jabotinsky, Zionist leader
- Keith Joseph, British Cabinet Minister
- Bruno Kreisky, Austrian Chancellor
- Jack Lang, French minister of culture
- Ferdinand Lasalle, German Socialist leader
- Nigel Lawson, British Cabinet minister
- Tony Leon, South African opposition leader
- Peter Mandelson, British Labour MP and Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (father was Jewish)
- Pierre Mendès-France, French Prime Minister
- Shirley Porter, British local government leader
- Walther Rathenau, German industrialist and statesman
- Petre Roman, Prime Minister of Romania (father was Jewish)
- Malcolm Rifkind, British Foreign Secretary and Scotch MP
- Jorge Sampaio, Portuguese President
- Herbert Samuel, British politician and High Commissioner of Palestine
- Vaiben Solomon, Premier of South Australia
- Helen Suzman, South African anti-Apartheid member of Parliament
- Julius Vogel, Prime Minister of New Zealand
- Simone Veil, French politician
- Vladimir Zhirinovsky, Russian politician (recently acknowledged Jewish father)
- Szmul Zygielbojm, Polish politician, (1895-1943)
Religious figures
Biblical Tanakh ("Old Testament") figures
(The historicity of these figures is doubted by secular scholars)
- Aaron, brother of Moses and the first High Priest
- Abigail, a prophetess who became a wife of King David
- Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Judaism's "Three Patriarchs"
- Amram and Jochebed, both Levites, parents of Moses, Aaron, and Miriam
- Avishai, one of King David's generals and relative
- Avner, cousin of King Saul and army commander
- Avshalom, rebelious son of King David
- Bathsheba, queen, wife of King David, and mother of King Solomon
- Boaz, husband of Ruth and ancestor of King David
- Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, prophets and leaders of the Exile and Return to Zion
- Elijah and Elisha, important prophets who rebuked the kings of Israel
- Elkanah and Hannah, parents of the prophet Samuel
- Esther and Mordechai, Persian queen, and her uncle, saviors of the Jews on Purim
- Gedaliah, last governor of Judea appointed by Babylonians, (assassinated)
- Gershom and Eliezer, Moses' and Zipporah's sons
- Gideon, general during the time of the Judges
- Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, the "Twelve Minor Prophets"
- Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, major Prophets
- Jeroboam, Nadab, Baasha, Elah, Zimri, Omri, Ahab, Ahaziah, Jehoram, Jehu, Jehoahaz, Jehoash, Jeroboam II, Zachariah, Shallum, Menahem, Pekahiah, Pekah, Hoshea, the kings of the northern Kingdom of Israel
- Jethro, Zipporah's father and father-in-law of Moses, became a convert after Mt. Sinai
- Jonah, prophet during Kingdom of Israel
- Jonathan, son of King Saul and slain with him in battle
- Joshua, Othniel, Ehud, Shamgar, Deborah, Barak, Gideon, Abimelech, Tola, Jair, Jephthah, Ibzan, Elon, Abdon, Samson, and Eli, the Judges who ruled after Moses and before the kings
- King Saul, King David, and King Solomon the first three major Jewish kings who ruled over a united kingdom of the 12 Tribes
- Miriam, prophetess, sister of Moses and Aaron
- Moses leader of the Exodus from Egypt received the Torah, Mosaic Law
- Nathan, prophet in time of King David
- Neriah a prophet, and his son Baruch the scribe of Jeremiah
- Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun,Gad,Asher, Dan, Naphtali, Joseph, Benjamin, the "Twelve Tribes" the "Children of Israel", sons of Jacob called Israel
- Ephraim and Manasseh, Joseph's sons (also counted as part of the 12 tribes at times)
- Rehoboam, Abijam, Asa, Jehoshaphat, Jehoram, Ahaziah, (Queen) Athaliah, Jehoash, Amaziah, Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, Manasseh, Amon, Josiah, Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jeconiah, Zedekiah, the kings of the southern Kingdom of Judah
- Ruth, Moabite convert and ancestor of King David
- Samuel, last of the Judges and first of the Prophets
- Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, and Leah, Judaism's "Four Matriarchs"
- Tamar, daughter-in-law, and then levirate wife, of Judah
- Yoav, relative of King David, military leader
- Zerubbabel, lived in time of Ezra and Babylonian exile
- Zilpah and Bilhah, additional wives of Jacob, mothers of 4 of the 12 Tribes
- Zipporah, Moses' wife
Rabbis (Talmudic)
- Abbahu, 4th century Talmudist
- Abaye, 3rd century Talmudist
- Abba Arika, 3rd century Talmudist
- Rabbi Akiva, 1st century Judea, central scholar in Mishnah
- Rav Ashi, 5th century Babylonian Talmudic sage
- Hillel the Elder, 1st century BCE, in Judea, considered the greatest sage of the Second Temple period.
- Hillel II, 4th century creator of the Hebrew calendar, in Judea, son of Judah Nesiah, grandson of Gamaliel IV
- Hillel, son of Gamaliel III, 3rd century, in Judea, grandson of Judah ha-Nasi, and younger brother of Judah Nesiah
- Judah haNasi, 2nd century, Judah the Prince, in Judea, redactor (editor) of the Mishnah
- Eleazar Kalir, early Talmudic liturgist and poet
- Shammai, 1st Century BCE, in Judea, key scholar in Mishnah
- Simeon bar Yohai, 1st century mystic, reputed author of the Zohar
- Ben Sira, 2nd century BCE, Egypt, ethics and wisdom teacher
- Yohanan ben Zakkai, 1st century sage in Judea, key to the development of the Mishnah
Rabbis (Middle Ages)
- Abba Mari, (Minhat Kenaot), 13th Century French Talmudist
- Isaac Abendana, 17th century Sephardic scholar in England
- Jacob Abendana, 17th century Sephardic rabbi in England
- Abraham ibn Daud, (Sefer HaKabbalah), 12th century Spanish philospher
- Abraham ibn Ezra, (Even Ezra), 12th century Spanish-North African Biblical commentator
- Asher ben Jehiel, (Rosh), 13th century German-Spanish Talmudist
- Yair Bacharach, (Havvot Yair), 17th century German Talmudist
- Bahya ibn Paquda, (Hovot ha-Levavot), 11th century Spanish philosopher and moralist
- Rabbenu Gershom, 11th century German Talmudist and legalist
- Gersonides, Levi ben Gershom, (Ralbag), 14th century French Talmudist and philosopher
- Jacob ben Asher, (Baal ha-Turim), 14th century German-Spanish legal scholar, wrote Arba'ah Turim codes
- Judah Low ben Bezalel, (Maharal), 16th century Prague mystic and Talmudist
- Hillel ben Eliakim, (Rabbeinu Hillel), 12the century Talmudist and disciple of Rashi
- Hillel ben Naphtali Zevi, (Bet Hillel), 17th century Lithuanian scholar
- Yosef Karo, (Mechaber), 16th centuray Spanish and Land of Israel legal codifier of the Shulkhan Arukh code of Torah Law
- Isaac Luria, (Ari), 16th century Holy Land mystic, founder of Lurianic Kabbalah
- Maimonides, Moshe Ben Maimon, (Rambam), 13th century Spanish-North African Talmudist, philosopher, and law codifier
- Nahmanides, Moshe ben Nahman, (Ramban), 13th century Spanish and Holy Land mystic and Talmudist
- Obadiah ben Jacob Sforno, (Sforno), 16th century Italian scholar and rationalist
- Solomon ben Isaac, (Rashi), 11th century Talmudist used as the main teacher of Talmud to this day
- Sforno, 15th, 16th, and 17th century family of Italian Torah scholars and philosophers
- Tosafists, 11th, 12th and 13th century Talmudic scholars, France and Germany, parallel Rashi in importance
- Yehuda Halevi, (Kuzari), 12th century Spanish-Zionist philosopher and poet, lover of Zion
Rabbis (Orthodox)
- Meir Berlin, 20th century religious Zionist leader
- Eliyahu Eliezer Dessler, 20th century religious philospher and ethicist
- Dovber, 19th century Russian second Rebbe of Lubavitch
- Dovber of Mezeritch, (Maggid), 18th century Eastern European mystic, primary disciple of the Baal Shem Tov
- Elijah ben Solomon, (Gra), 18th century Talmudist and mystic, Lithuanian leader of the Mitnagdim, opponent of Hasidim
- Elimelech of Lezhinsk, (Noam Elimelech) 18th century Polish mystic and Hasid
- Jacob Emden, 18th century German Talmudist and mystic
- Jacob Ettlinger, 19th century German scholar and opponent of Reform
- Nosson Zvi Finkel, (Alter/Sabba), early 20th century founder of Slabodka Yeshiva, Lithuania. Disciples opened major yeshivas in US and Israel
- Ger Rebbes, (Gerrer), Polish Hasidic dynasty in Israel
- Azriel Hildesheimer, 19th century German rabbi and philosopher
- Samson Raphael Hirsch, 19th century founder of the Torah im Derech Eretz branch of Orthodox Judaism in Germany
- Yitzchok Hutner, (Pachad Yitzchok), 20th century European born, American and Israeli Rosh Yeshiva
- Israel ben Eliezer, (Baal Shem Tov), 18th century mystic, founder of Hasidic Judaism
- Moshe Feinstein, (Igrot Moshe), 20th century Russian-American legal scholar and Talmudist
- Yisrael Meir Kagan, (Chofetz Chaim), 20th century Polish legalist and moralist
- Meir Kahane, 20th century founder of the American Jewish Defense League and the Israeli Kach party
- Aryeh Kaplan, Othodox 20th century writer and mystic
- Abraham Isaac Kook, 20th century philosopher and mystic, first chief rabbi of Palestine
- Aharon Kotler, 20th cetury Lithuanian scholor, founder of Lakewood Yeshiva in US
- Norman Lamm, 21st century American modern Othodox thinker, head of Yeshiva University
- Moses Chaim Luzzato, (Ramchal), 18th century Italian philosopher, mystic, and moralist
- Meir Lob ben Jehiel Michael, (Malbim), 19th century Russian preacher and scholar
- Rabbi Menachem Mendel, (Tzemach Tzedek), 19th century Russian third Rebbe of Lubavitch
- Shraga Feivel Mendlowitz, 20th century European-born head of US Yeshiva Torah Vodaath
- Nachman of Breslav, (Reb Nachman), 19th century Ukrainian Hasidic rebbe and mystic
- Yisrael Lipkin Salanter, 19th century Lithuanian ethicist and moralist
- Sholom Dovber, 20th century Russian fifth Rebbe of Lubavitch
- Menachem Mendel Schneerson, (Lubavitcher Rebbe), 20th century Hasidic mystic and scholar, seventh Chabad Rebbe
- Joseph Isaac Schneersohn, 20th century sixth Rebbe of Lubavitch
- Shneur Zalman of Liadi, (Alter Rebbe), 18th century mystic and Talmudist, founder of Lubavitch Hasidism and first Lubavitcher Rebbe
- Rabbi Shmuel, 19th century Russian fourth Rebbe of Lubavitch
- Joseph Soloveitchik, 20th century European-born Talmudist and philosopher, leading figure in American Modern Orthodoxy
- Adin Steinsaltz, 21st century Israeli Talmud scholar and philosopher
- Joel Teitelbaum, (Satmar Rebbe), 20th century Hasidic Hungarian-American rebbe known for anti-Zionism
- Ovadia Yosef, 21st century Iraqi-Israeli former Israel Sephardic Chief Rabbi, legal scholar
- Vizhnitz Rebbes, (Vizhnitzer), Polish dynasty of Hasidic rebbes in Israel
- Chaim Michael Dov Weissmandl, 20th century European scholar in the Holocaust, wanted to save Jews from Auschwitz
Rabbis (Reform, Conservative, Reconstructionist, and other)
- Elliot N. Dorff, 20th century Conservative rabbi and bioethicist
- Louis Finkelstein, 20th century Conservative Talmud scholar
- Zecharias Frankel, 19th century critical historian, founder of the positive-historical (Conservative) school of Judaism
- Neil Gillman, 21st century American Conservative philosopher
- Louis Ginzberg, 20th century American Conservative Talmud scholar
- Robert Gordis, 20th century leader in Conservative Judaism
- David Weiss Halivni, 21st century Hungarian-American Talmudist of Union for Traditional Judaism (UTJ)
- Jules Harlow, 20th century Conservative Judaism liturgist
- Abraham Joshua Heschel, 20th century Conservative scholar of Hasidism
- Emil Hirsch, 19th century American Reform rabbi and scholar
- Samuel Hirsch, 19th century German-American philosopher of the Reform Movement
- Samuel Holdheim, 19th century German rabbi and founder of classic German Reform Judaism
- Mordecai Kaplan, 20th century founder of the Reconstructionist movement in America
- Isaac Klein, 20th century American Conservative rabbi and scholar
- Nachman Krochmal, 19th century Austrian philosopher and historian
- Harold Kushner, 20th century American Conservative rabbi and popular writer
- Michael Lerner, 21st century American Jewish Renewal, Reconstructionist political activist
- Saul Lieberman, 20th century Lithuanian-American Conservative-Orthodox Talmud scholar
- Jacob Neusner, 20th century Conservative trained scholar and prolific writer
- Joel Roth, 20th century Conservative scholar and rabbi
- Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, 20th century leader of the Jewish Renewal movement
- Mathilde Roth Schechter, 20th century American Conservative scholar
- Solomon Schechter, 20th century scholar and a founder of Conservative Judaism
- Ismar Schorsch, 21st century American Conservative educator and leader
- Stephen S. Wise, 20th century Reform rabbi and Zionist activist
- Leopold Zunz, 19th century German scholar, founded Science of Judaism school
Religious leaders (other)
- Aaron ben Moses ben Asher, 10th century Karaite
- Anan ben David, founder of the Karaites
- Apostles, the "Twelve Apostles", first followers of Jesus who began Christianity
- Jacob Frank, false messiah in Poland, founder of Frankists
- John the Baptist, revered by Christians
- Jesus, founder of Christianity
- Anton LaVey, founder of the Church of Satan
- Jean-Marie Lustiger, French Cardinal (raised Catholic)
- Mary, mother of Jesus
- Mary Magdalene, a follower and, perhaps, friend of Jesus
- Ram Dass, US Buddhist author
- Simon of Galilee, considered the first Pope
- Saul of Tarsus (Paul), early Christian leader
- Edith Stein, nun, Holocaust victim
- Shabtai Tzvi, false messiah in Turkey, founder of the Sabbatians and Donmeh
Science and mathematics
- Niels Henrik Bohr, Danish-born, Swedish-US physicist, (mother was Jewish)
- Herman Branover, Russian-Israeli physicist
- Albert Einstein, German-Swiss, US physicist
- Paul Erdös, Hungarian mathematician
- Moshe Feldenkrais, Ukrainian-British, US-Israeli, engineer, founded Feldenkrais Method
- Rosalind Franklin, British chemist
- Murray Gell-Mann, US physicist
- Stephen Jay Gould, US paleontologist and author of popular science
- Andrew Grove HUngarian-born US co-founder and chairman of Intel corporation
- Fritz Haber, German chemist
- Roald Hoffmann, Polish-born US theoretical chemist
- Karl Gustav Jacobi, German mathematician
- Arthur R. Jensen, US psychologist
- Hans Krebs German-born English biologist, discovered Krebs Cycle
- Benoit Mandelbrot, Polish-born French mathematician, creator of fractal geometry
- Lise Meitner, Austrian physicist
- Herman Minkowski, German mathematician
- Robert Oppenheimer, US physicist, leader of the Manhattan project
- Yakov I. Perelman, Russian author of popular science books
- Gregory Pincus, US biologist, inventor of the birth control pill
- Steven Pinker, Canadian psychologist
- Lionel Rothschild, 2nd Lord Rothschild, British zoologist, businessman, and politician
- Oliver Sacks, British-US neurologist and author
- Carl Sagan, US astronomer
- Jonas Salk, US medical scientist, inventor of polio vaccine
- Saharon Shelah, Israeli mathematician
- Robert Sternberg, US psychologist
- Lina Stern, Soviet biochemist, inventor of "Soviet penicillin", the only female full member of the USSR Academy of Sciences
- Leo Szilard Hungarian-US physicist, worked on the Manhattan Project
- Edward Teller, Hungarian-US physicist, worked on the hydrogen bomb
- Stanislaw Ulam, Polish-US mathematician, worked on the hydrogen bomb
- John von Neumann, Hungarian-US mathematician and computer scientist
- George Waldbott, German-US physician; allergy and fluoride research pioneer
- Andre Weil, French mathematician
- Steven Weinberg US Nobel prize winning physicist
- Doron Zeilberger, Israeli-US mathematician, methods used in computer algebra software
Spies
- Sarah Aaronsohn, British-Palestine head of anti-Turk Nili spy-ring
- Denise Bloch, French World War II Special Operations Executive agent
- Eli Cohen, Israeli spy, hanged by Syria
- Jonathan Pollard, United States Navy intelligence analyst, passed information to Israel
- Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, US Communist spies, gave nuclear information to USSR
- Krystyna Skarbek, Polish-born British Special Operations Executive agent
- Hannah Szenes, Hungarian-born British-Palestine, Special Operations Executive agent
- Mordechai Vanunu, Moroccon-born Israeli, spied on Israel's Dimona nuclear reactor, (converted to Christianity)
Sports
- Bob Arum, US boxing promoter
- Moe Berg, US baseball player
- Gary Bettman, US National Hockey League Commissioner
- Bernie Ecclestone, British owner of F1 racing
- Marty Friedman, US basketballer
- Bill Goldberg, US professional wrestler
- Shawn Green, US baseball player
- Hank Greenberg, US baseball player
- Alfréd Hajós Hungarian swimmer (double Olympic champion)
- Sandy Koufax, US baseball player
- Sid Luckman, US football player
- Ron Mix, US football player
- Barney Ross, US world champion boxer
- Mike Rossman, US world champion boxer (Jewish mother)
- Dolph Schayes, US basketball player
- Mathieu Schneider, US hockey player
- Bud Selig, US Baseball Commissioner
- Mark Spitz, US Olympic swimmer
- David Stern, US Basketball Commissioner
- James Toney, US world champion boxer
Victims
- Menahem Mendel Beilis, Russian victim of Russian blood libel mistrial
- Alan Berg, US radio personality, killed by neo-Nazis
- Nick Berg, US entrepreneur, beheaded by Iraqi terrorists
- Alfred Dreyfus, French army officer falsely accused of treason
- Anne Frank, Dutch teenage Holocaust victim and writer
- Leo Frank, lynched in Georgia, USA.
- Ronald Goldman, murdered together with Nicole Brown Simpson. O.J. Simpson was found guilty for his wrongful death and ordered to pay $8.5 million to the Goldman family
- Herschel Grynszpan, Holocaust victim, killed Nazi
- Chandra Levy, US intern, mysteriously murdered in Washington, DC
- Mel Mermelstein, Holocaust survivor who sued for damages
- Edgardo Mortara, Jewish Italian child kidnapped by Catholics
- Daniel Pearl, Wall Street Journal journalist, beheaded by Islamic terrorists
- Nancy Spungeon, US girlfriend (who was murdered) of Sid Vicious
Visual arts
- Diane Arbus, US fashion photographer
- Richard Avedon, US portrait photographer
- Marc Chagall, Russian-French painter and stained glass artist
- Judy Chicago, US feminist painter; (The Dinner Party)
- Robert Frank, Swiss-American photographer; (The Americans)
- Frank Gehry, Canadian-US architect, art museum designer
- Rube Goldberg, US cartoonist, sculptor, and author; (Rube Goldberg machine)
- Al Hirschfeld, US caricaturist, featured in New York Times
- Max Jacob, French artist (converted to Catholicism)
- Frida Kahlo, Mexican painter, friend of Leon Trotsky, (Jewish father, Catholic mother)
- Pinchus Kremegne, Russian-born French sculptor and painter
- Michel Kikoine, Russian-born French painter
- John Lautner, US architect, worked under Frank Lloyd Wright
- Daniel Libeskind, German-born US architect, designer of new World Trade Center; (Freedom Tower)
- Roy Liechtenstein, US popular art painter
- Peter Max, German-born Israeli-US artist
- Amedeo Modigliani, Italian painter and sculptor
- Helmut Newton, German photographer of nudes
- Jules Pascin, Bulgarian-French Expressionist artist
- Camille Pissarro, French painter, "Father of Impressionism"
- Man Ray, US-French surrealist photographer and film director
- H.A. Rey and Margret Rey, German-US illustrators; (Curious George)
- Robert Rauschenberg, US painter and sculptor; (Black Paintings and Red Paintings)
- Chaim Soutine, Russian-born French expressionist painter
- William Steig, US cartoonist and illustrator, "King of Cartoons"; (Shrek)
- Weegee, Austrian-Polish-born US photographer and photojournalist; (Naked City)
Miscellaneous
- Kitty Carlisle, US game show panelist
- Roy Cohn, US prosecutor and assistant to Sen. Joe McCarthy
- Alex Chiu, inventor of "immortality ring" (convert)
- Monty Hall, Canadian game show host
- Monica Lewinsky, US intern to President Bill Clinton
- Max Nordau, Hungarian Zionist leader
- Judith A. Resnik, US astronaut, killed on space shuttle Challenger
Personalities with unproven and/or distant Jewish heritage
- David Beckham, English Soccer (mother's father is Jewish)
- Fidel Castro, Cuban leader (may be descended from conversos)
- Vladimir Lenin, leader of Russian Bolsheviks during Russian Revolution (father's father was a Jew)
- Federico Garcia Lorca, Spanish poet, playwright (acknowledged descent from conversos)
- Rupert Murdoch, US-Australian, (Unknown if mother is Jewish: Elizabeth Joy Greene)
- Colin Powell, US Secerarty of State (father's side has Jewish strain through Broomfield according to his autobiography)
- Carlos Santana, Mexican born US musician (acknowledges descent from conversos)
- Jack Straw, British Foreign Secretary (1 grandparent was Jewish)
- Tomas de Torquemada, leader of the Spanish Inquisition, may have had Jewish ancestry
- Caspar Weinberger, US Secretary of Defense (Christian, father's father was Jewish)
- Wanda Wasilewska, Polish communist leader, alleged Stalin mistress and collaborator
See also
- List of Polish Jews
- List of converts to Judaism
- List of people by belief
- List of Biblical figures
- List of Jewish history topics
- The Chanukah Song
External links
- Jewhoo(More links)
- Jinfo, Lists of prominent Jewish scientific and cultural figures