Israel

Arkady Volozh

Co-founder of Yandex, Russia's answer to Google

David Ben-Gurion

Israel's founder, born in Płońsk, Russian Empire

Golda Meir

Israel's Iron Lady, born in Kyiv

Mikhail Fridman

Oligarch forged in Soviet Lviv, exiled by war

Natan Sharansky

Soviet dissident who defied the KGB for Israel

Roman Abramovich

Oligarch who bought Chelsea FC, worth $10B+

Ada Yonath

Deciphered the ribosome, atom by atom.

Alexander Shatilov

Soviet-born Olympic gymnast who represented Israel at London and Rio

Alma Zack

Israeli singer with Polish-German Jewish roots — winner of HaKokhav HaBa

Amos Oz

Israel's conscience, forged in Odessa's shadow.

Anastasia Michaeli

Russian-born Israeli model elected to the Knesset

Ania Bukstein

Israeli actress with Russian immigrant roots who starred in Game of Thrones

Anna Smashnova

Minsk-born fighter who conquered Israeli tennis

Arcadi Gaydamak

Moscow-born oligarch who bought Israeli influence

Ari Folman

Animated trauma into the Beirut massacre

Ariel Sharon

From Brest-Litovsk roots to Israel's Iron Wall.

Arik Einstein

The voice Israel called its own.

Arkady Duchin

Soviet-born Israeli jazz pianist bridging Russian conservatory tradition and Middle Eastern music

Artem Dolgopyat

Soviet-born gymnast who brought gold to Israel

Assi Azar

Israeli TV host with Russian immigrant roots and leading LGBTQ+ activist

Avigdor Lieberman

Soviet-born powerbroker who reshaped Israeli politics.

Avram Hershko

Decoded cellular destruction—and won the Nobel for it.

Bar Refaeli

Israel's global face with Eastern European roots.

Boris Gelfand

Minsk's grandmaster who reshaped elite chess

Chaim Weizmann

Chemist from Pinsk who became the first President of Israel

Chava Alberstein

Voice of the Israeli Yiddish revival, born a child of the Russian Empire's Pale

Check Point Founders

Soviet-born founders who invented the commercial firewall and built the world's largest pure cybersecurity company

Dan Shechtman

Israeli Nobel laureate with Russian roots who discovered quasicrystals and changed chemistry

Dana International

Tel Aviv trans icon with Romanian-Yemeni roots who won Eurovision and changed Israel forever

Daniel Kahneman

The psychologist who rewired economics

David Grossman

Israel's most acclaimed novelist with Russian-Polish roots who writes about loss and the cost of conflict

Eli Cohen

Egypt-born Israeli spy who infiltrated Syria's inner circle and gave Israel victory in the Six-Day War

Eliezer Ben-Yehuda

Born in Belarus, he resurrected Hebrew as a living spoken language

Elon Lindenstrauss

Israeli mathematician with Russian roots who won the Fields Medal for work in ergodic theory

Emil Sutovsky

Baku-born chess grandmaster and CEO of FIDE, the world chess federation

Ephraim Katzir

Kyiv-born biophysicist who became the fourth President of Israel

Ephraim Kishon

Hungarian-born satirist who fled the Holocaust to Israel and became the country's greatest humorist

Esti Ginzburg

Israeli model and actress with Russian-Jewish roots who became a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit star

Etgar Keret

Israeli short story master with Russian-Polish roots who writes fables for the absurd present

Gal Gadot

From the Pale of Settlement to the silver screen.

Gideon Raff

Israeli showrunner with Russian roots who created Prisoners of War — the Israeli series that became Homeland

Hagai Levi

Israeli showrunner with Russian roots who created BeTipul — the series that became HBO's In Treatment

Harel Skaat

Israeli pop idol and Eurovision representative with Yemenite-Iraqi Jewish roots

Idan Raichel

Israeli world-music pioneer whose ancestors came from Russia and Poland

Ilia Smirin

Vitebsk-born grandmaster who became one of Israel's greatest chess champions

Inbar Lavi

Israeli actress with Polish-Moroccan Jewish roots who starred in Imposters and Prison Break

Isser Harel

Born in Vitebsk, built the Mossad and personally captured Adolf Eichmann

Ivri Lider

Israeli pop star with Polish-Russian roots who became a symbol of LGBTQ+ visibility in Israeli culture

Jonathan Erlich

Israeli tennis doubles Grand Slam champion with Russian roots

Joseph Cedar

New York-born Israeli director with Russian roots who received two Oscar nominations for Beaufort and Footnote

Joshua Jortner

Polish-Russian Jewish scientist who became Israel's most decorated chemist and reshaped quantum chemistry

Katia Pisetsky

Zaporizhzhia-born Israeli actress and public figure

Keren Peles

One of Israel's most successful pop singers with Polish-Russian Jewish heritage

Kira Radinsky

Kyiv-born AI pioneer who predicted cholera outbreaks and became Salesforce's chief scientist in Israel

Konstantin Razvozov

Born in Birobidzhan — the Jewish Autonomous Region — became an Israeli tech entrepreneur

Leonid Nevzlin

Yukos co-owner who fled Russia, bankrolled opposition media and became a top anti-Putin activist from Israel

Levi Eshkol

Born in Ukraine, became Israel's third Prime Minister and led the country through the Six-Day War

Linoy Ashram

Israeli rhythmic gymnastics Olympic champion whose family has Russian and Greek roots

Lior Raz

Creator and star of Fauda — the Israeli Netflix thriller that became a global phenomenon

Marina Maximilian

Dnipro-born Israeli pop star who brought Russian musical soul into Hebrew music

Mark Ivanir

Chernivtsi-born actor who appeared in Schindler's List and The Terminal

Maxim Rodshtein

Leningrad-born chess grandmaster who became one of Israel's strongest players

Mayumana (group)

Israeli percussion and dance troupe with Russian-Soviet roots that became a global theatrical phenomenon

Meir Dagan

Born in Novosibirsk to Holocaust survivors — became the most feared Mossad chief in history

Menachem Begin

Born in Brest-Litovsk — from the Irgun to the Nobel Peace Prize and the Egypt-Israel peace treaty

Michael Cherney

Tashkent-born metals billionaire at the heart of Russia's most turbulent post-Soviet aluminium wars

Michael Levitt

Born in Lithuania, won the Nobel Prize for developing multiscale models of complex chemical systems

Misha Zilberman

Moscow-born Israeli chess grandmaster — one of the strongest players in Israeli history

Morgenshtern (Alisher Morgenshtern)

Ufa-born rapper who became Russia's most-streamed artist — then fled Russia and became a vocal war opponent

Moshe Dayan

Born in Ukraine, became Israel's most iconic military commander — the eye patch and the Six-Day War

Moshe Sharett

Born in Kherson, Ukraine — Israel's second Prime Minister and first Foreign Minister

Netta Barzilai

Israeli Eurovision winner with Polish Jewish roots — Toy became an anthem for a generation

Nicolle Zelikman

Baku-born Israeli singer and Eurovision representative who became a popular figure in Israeli music

Ninet Tayeb

Israeli pop phenomenon who won Kokhav Nolad and sang with Roger Waters at the Wall

Rita (Rita Yahan-Farouz)

Israel's greatest diva — Iranian-Jewish heritage who sang in Russian for a million new Israelis

Robert Aumann

Born in Frankfurt to a family with Russian roots — won the Nobel Prize for game theory and became Israel's greatest economist

Robert Shwartzman

St. Petersburg-born Formula 2 champion racing toward Formula 1 with Haas and Ferrari

Rotem Sela

Israeli actress and model with Turkish and Polish Jewish roots — voice of a generation on social media

Sasha Demidov

Tashkent-born Israeli entrepreneur and investor in deep technology

Shari Arison

Daughter of Ted Arison — Israel's wealthiest woman with Romanian-Russian Jewish roots

Shimon Peres

From Pale of Settlement to President of Israel

Shlomo Artzi

Israel's most beloved male singer — his family came from Romanian Bukovina, on the fringes of the Russian Empire

Shoshana Damari

Yemenite-born Queen of Hebrew Song — the voice of Israel's founding generation

Sofa Landver

Born in Leningrad — became Israel's Minister of Immigrant Absorption and voice of the Russian-speaking community

Tal Gilboa

Israeli singer with Romanian-Russian Jewish roots who won The X Factor Israel

Tali Ploskov

Born in Balti, Moldova — Israeli actress and public figure from the Russian-speaking community

Tomar Kapon

Israeli actor with Russian-Iraqi Jewish roots who starred in When Heroes Fly

Topol (Chaim Topol)

Israeli actor who played Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof on film — his family came from Russia and Poland

Wolfgang Lotz

Yaakov Kedmi

Yael Grobglas

Yehoram Gaon

Yevgeni Aryeh

Yitzhak Ben-Zvi

Born in Poltava, Ukraine — became Israel's second President and a founding father of the Jewish state

Yitzhak Rabin

His mother Rosa Cohen came from Mogilev, Belarus — he led Israel to peace and was assassinated for it

Yitzhak Shamir

Born in Ruzhany, Belarus — Stern Gang leader turned Prime Minister, the hardest man in Israeli politics

Yuli Edelstein

Born in Chernivtsi, Ukraine — imprisoned by the KGB as a Zionist, became Speaker of the Israeli Knesset

Zalman Shazar

Born in Mir, Belarus — Israel's third President and the poet-statesman of the founding generation

Ze'ev Elkin

Born in Kharkiv — Israeli Cabinet minister and one of the most prominent Russian-born politicians in Israel

Zvi Zamir

Zvika Pick

German Khan

Kyiv-born Alfa Group co-founder and one of Russia's wealthiest men, now Israel-based

Moshe Kantor

Moscow-born fertilizer billionaire and President of the European Jewish Congress

Igor Kolomoisky

Dnipro oligarch who co-owned Privat Group and financed Ukraine's defence — then fell out with Zelensky

Vadim Moshkovich

Moscow-born agricultural billionaire who built Rusagro into Russia's largest sugar producer

Gennady Bogolyubov

Dnipro co-founder of PrivatBank who built Ukraine's largest financial institution

Michael Mirilashvili

Tbilisi-born Israeli billionaire and president of the World ORT charitable network

Vyacheslav Kantor

Moscow-born Acron Group founder and globally recognised antisemitism campaigner

Lev Khasis

Built Pyaterochka, ran Walmart Russia, rose to deputy CEO of Sberbank — then emigrated to Israel in 2022

Mikhail Iakovlev

World-class Russian track cyclist who broke world records then switched to Israel to bypass international bans

Aharon Appelfeld

Escaped a Nazi camp at age 9, hid in Ukrainian forests for years — became Israel's greatest Holocaust author