10 Famous People From Israel

Flag of Israel. Photo by jorono- Pixabay

10 Famous People From Israel

Israel is a country located in the Middle East on the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea. It is the only Jewish Country in the Middle East and is famous for its rich culture and historical sites.

Aside from being a tourist destination, Israel is home to talented models, musicians, and actors. Famous people from Israel have had an influence on the entertainment industry, political scene as well as world economy.  Below is a list of the top ten most famous Israeli citizens in the world.

1. Bar Rafaeli – Fashion Model

Bar Rafaeli is the most successful model from Israel. Rafaeli is also a television host, actress, and businesswoman. She is the second most influential person on Israeli Instagram with 3.5 million followers.

Rafaeli is the highest-paid model in Israel and has an estimated net worth of 20 million USD. She was the second Israeli model on the cover of Sports Illustrated, a popular American Magazine.

Bar is an environmentalist and has participated in campaigns to help reduce the use of plastic bags in Israel. She is also an activist for legislation on civil marriages and the LGBTQIA community.

2. Natalie Portman – Actress

Natalie Portman at the Cannes film festival. Photo By Georges Biard – Wikimedia Commons

Natalie Portman is an Israel-American actress. Her family moved to the United States when she was 3 and settled in Long Island New York. She took up her first role as an actress in 1994 in the film Leon.

Natalie’s role as Queen Amidala in Star Wars trilogy brought her name to the limelight in the entertainment industry. Her humanity role in Closer (2004) earned her a Golden Globe Award for best supporting actress.

Natalie’s acting career led her to win several awards including Young Artist Awards (2002), SFX Awards UK (2007), and Women Film Critics Circle Awards (2016).  She also received the 2010 British Academy Film Award for leading actress and the 2011 Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor.

3. Eli Cohen- Spy

Eli Cohen was publicly hanged by Syria on May 18, 1965. Photo Source Wikimedia Commons

Eli Cohen was an Israeli spy born in Alexandria, Egypt. He spent 5 years in Syria (1961-1964) fostering close relations with military officials and politicians while providing intelligence data to the Israeli army.

Cohen’s reliable intel was responsible for the successful capturing of the Syrian Golan Heights during the 1967 Six-Day War. After being exposed by the Syrian counterintelligence, he was sentenced to death and was hanged in front of a public gathering in 1965.

Although his remains are still retained in Syria, Cohen is celebrated as a national hero of Israel and has a memorial stone erected in the Garden of Missing Soldiers in Jerusalem, Israel.

4. Daniel Kahneman – Economist/ Psychologist

Daniel Kahneman is an Israeli economist and psychologist. His works and findings in psychology have been highly recognized both domestically and internationally. In 1979, Daniel and Amos T. created the prospect theory, a study based on behavioral economics and finance.

He and Vernon L. Smith were awarded the Noble Prize in Economic Sciences in 2002. Daniel’s book on psychological research, Thinking, Fast and Slow, was named in the top 10 New York Times Best Seller List 2011.

5. Benny Hinn- Evangelist

Benny Hinn, full name Toufik Benedictus Hinn, is a Christian evangelist well known for his televised religious summits, This Is Your Day. He was born in Jaffa, Israel but later moved to Toronto, Canada after the Six-Day War.

Hinn became a born-again Christian in 1972 and founded his first Christian center in 1983. He is the author of 12 books his latest work being Total Recovery, Supernatural Restoration and Release (2005).

6. Itzhak Perlman- Musician

Portrait of Itzhak Perlman, violinist, taken 1984. Photo By Kenneth C. Zirkel – Wikimedia Commons

Itzhak Perlman is a talented music teacher, violinist, and orchestra conductor. He was disabled at the age of four but continued to pursue his passion for music and violin. He is easily recognized due to the use of electric scooters and crutches during his musical performances.

Itzhak has received a total of 16 Grammy Awards and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015 for his artistic contribution to the national interests of the United States. He performed in President Obama’s 2009 inauguration and the White House State Dinner honoring Queen Elizabeth II.

7. Uri Geller- Illusionist/Magician

Uri Geller is an Israeli-British illusionist, psychic, and magician. He is popularly known for his spoon-bending trick, description of hidden drawings and his stimulating effects of telepathy and psychokinesis.

Uri’s first performances were in Israeli nightclubs but later grew his fanbase in the United States. He has been in the entertainment industry for more than 40 years! He is affiliated with influential people such as the late Michael Jackson.

Uri opened his own museum, Uri Geller Museum, in 2021 in Tel Aviv as a form of preserving his personal collections of objects and art throughout his career.

8. Ralph Bakshi- Animator

Ralph Bakshi is an American born Israeli animator, illustrator, and filmmaker. After moving from Israel to Brooklyn, Ralph’s interest in the urban scene and comic books grew massively. His career in animation and film contributed to his win of the Animafest Zagreb Lifetime Achievement Award.

Bakshi started his own studio Bakshi production in 1968 and made his first feature film, Fritz the Cat in 1972. The X-rated film was labeled the most successful independent animated feature of all time.

9. Moshe Dayan- Military Commander

Moshe Dayan. Photo by Karl H. Schumacher; White House photo – Wikimedia Commons

Moshe Dayan was a fearless Israeli military commander and politician. He was the defense minister during the 1967 Six-Day War. He led his government in negotiating the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel in 1978.

Moshe lost his eye during World War II when he was serving as the British Lieutenant General Sir Commander. Consequently, he had to wear an eye patch which over time, became his trademark.

After his death in 1981, Dayan’s eye patch was put up for sale on eBay with a starting bid of 75,000 USD. The rest of his belongings were left to his bodyguard. He is buried in his childhood village Nahalal, northern Israel.

10. Gene Simmons- Musician

Gene Simmons is a singer-songwriter who goes by the popular stage name The Demon. He is the co-founder, bassist, and lead singer of Kiss, an American rock band. His genre specialization is hard rock and heavy metal.

Gene’s musical career was influenced by the English rock band, The Beatles. The songs Rock and Roll All Nite and I Love It Loud have over 30 million views on YouTube. In 2012, Simmons was awarded the Revolver Magazine Golden God award in honor of members of the hard rock/heavy metal community.