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List 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.

This list is incomplete. You can help Wikipedia by adding to it.

Table of contents
1 Arts (Performing)

1.1 Actors / actresses
1.2 Comedians
1.3 Directors
1.4 Hollywood bosses
1.5 Illusionists

2 Business
3 Cartoons and comics
4 Clothing
5 Crime
6 Fictional characters
7 Law
8 Literature and journalism

8.1 Media

9 Military

9.1 Israeli military
9.2 US military

10 Music and song
11 Nobel Prize winners

11.1 Biomedical Sciences
11.2 Chemistry

12 Philosophy and academic
13 Politics

13.1 Activists
13.2 Israeli politicians
13.3 Revolutionaries
13.4 Russian revolutionaries
13.5 World revolutionaries
13.6 US politicians
13.7 World politicians

14 Religious figures

14.1 Biblical Tanakh ("Old Testament") figures
14.2 Rabbis (Talmudic)
14.3 Rabbis (Middle Ages)
14.4 Rabbis (Orthodox)
14.5 Rabbis (Reform, Conservative, Reconstructionist, and other)
14.6 Religious leaders (other)

15 Science and mathematics
16 Spies
17 Sports
18 Victims
19 Visual arts
20 Miscellaneous
21 Personalities with unproven and/or distant Jewish heritage
22 See also
23 External links

Arts (Performing)

Actors / actresses

Comedians

Directors

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

Business

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

Crime

  • Yigal Amir, Israeli assassin (of Rabin)
  • David Berkowitz, "Son of Sam", US serial killer, (adopted by Jews, became Christian)
  • Moe Dalitz, US gangster

Fictional characters

See also: List of Jewish superheroes

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

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
  • Elena Lappin, British novelist and journalist, known as US deportee
  • 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 military

  • Julius O. Adler (World War II)
  • Jeremy Boorda Admiral, (Vietnam; Kosovo)
  • Louis Bush, (Revolutionary war)
  • Mathias Bush, (Revolutionary war)
  • Solomon Bush, (Revolutionary war)
  • Leopold Blumenberg (Civil War)
  • Wesley Clark (Kosovo) (father 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

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

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

Russian revolutionaries

  • Vladimir Antonov-Ovseenko, Soviet Red Army
  • Pavel Axelrod, Soviet revolutionary
  • Matvei D. Berman, Soviet chief of Gulag system
  • Simeon Dimanstein, Soviet Commissar of Nationalities
  • Ilya Ehrenburg, Soviet propaganda minister
  • Jacob Fuerstenberg, Russian aide to Lenin
  • Lev Kamenev, Russian Bolshevik leader
  • Lazar Kaganovich, Soviet Politburo member
  • Mikhail Koltsov, Soviet journalist
  • Adolph Ioffe, Soviet Commissar of Foreign Affairs
  • Martyn Latsis, Soviet Cheka official, author
  • Maxim Litvinov, Soviet Foreign Minister
  • I. P. Meshkovsky, Soviet Central Committee member
  • Karl Radek, Soviet Central Committee
  • Leon Trotsky, Russian Bolshevik leader
  • Moisei Uritsky, Soviet Petrograd Cheka
  • V. Volodarsky, Soviet press commissar, Petrograd
  • Genrikh Yagoda, Soviet NKVD chief
  • Grigory Zinoviev, Russian Bolshevik leader

World revolutionaries

US politicians

World politicians

Religious figures

Biblical Tanakh ("Old Testament") figures

(The historicity of these figures is doubted by secular scholars)

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 Leżajsk, (Noam Elimelech) 18th century Polish mystic and Hasid
  • Jacob Emden, 18th century German Talmudist and mystic
  • Yechiel Michel Epstein, 19th/20th century posek
  • 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