List of Israeli Americans

This is a list of notable Israeli Americans. It includes both original immigrants who obtained American citizenship, and their American descendants. The list is ordered by category of human endeavor. Persons with significant contributions in two fields are listed in both pertinent categories, to facilitate easy lookup.

To be included in this list, the person must have a Wikipedia article showing they are Israeli American, or must have independent references showing they are Israeli American and are notable.

Academics



 * Reuven Amitai, historian, writer, and Dean of the Faculty of Humanities at the Hebrew University
 * Dan Ariely, economist and author
 * Robert Aumann, Nobel laureate
 * Baruch Awerbuch, professor of computer science at Johns Hopkins University
 * Arie S. Belldegrun, director of the UCLA Institute of Urologic Oncology and is Professor and Chief of Urologic Oncology at the David Geffen School of Medicine
 * Yochai Benkler, Berkman Professor of Entrepreneurial Legal Studies at Harvard Law School, and author
 * Yossef Bodansky, Israeli-born American political scientist
 * Yaron Brook, president and executive director of the Ayn Rand Institute
 * Idit Harel Caperton, educational psychologist and epistemologist
 * Ezekiel Emanuel, bioethicist
 * Gerson Goldhaber, particle physicist and astrophysicist
 * Sulamith Goldhaber, high-energy physicist and molecular spectroscopist
 * Michael Goldsmith, law professor at Brigham Young University's J. Reuben Clark Law School
 * Shafrira Goldwasser, professor of electrical engineering and computer science at MIT, and professor of mathematical sciences at the Weizmann Institute of Science
 * Amos Grunebaum, ObGyn physician, inventor, professor Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine
 * Amos N. Guiora, professor of law at the S. J. Quinney College of Law, University of Utah, and an expert on drone attacks
 * Rabbi David Weiss Halivni, Israeli-American world-acclaimed scholar in the domain of Jewish Sciences and professor of Talmud
 * Michael Harris, political scientist, author, and professor
 * David Hazony, author and editor of The Tower Magazine
 * Daniel Kahneman, Nobel laureate
 * Ehud Kalai, Israeli-born American game theorist and mathematical economist, and James J. O’Connor Distinguished Professor of Decision and Game Sciences at Northwestern University
 * Avi Loeb, astronomer
 * Mario Livio, astrophysicist and author
 * Jessica Meir, post-doctoral researcher in comparative physiology at the University of British Columbia
 * Ithiel de Sola Pool, researcher in the field of social sciences
 * Avital Ronell, philosopher, professor at New York University
 * Emmanuel David Tannenbaum, biophysicist and applied mathematician, professor and researcher at the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and the Georgia Institute of Technology
 * Rina Tannenbaum, materials scientist and chemical engineer and presently Professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham
 * Amnon Yariv, professor of applied physics and electrical engineering at California Institute of Technology
 * Moshe Vardi, professor of computer science at Rice University

Actors



 * Shiri Appleby, film and television actress
 * Mili Avital, Israeli-born actress (Stargate)
 * Amir Blumenfeld, Israeli-American writer, comedian, actor, and television host
 * Steve Bond, Israeli-born television actor and model
 * Yaniv Rokah, actor
 * Assaf Cohen, actor
 * Oded Fehr Israeli/American film and television actor (The Mummy, Resident Evil: Extinction)
 * Alona Tal, actress
 * Hani Furstenberg, actress
 * Brian George, actor and voice actor
 * Omri Katz Israeli/American actor (Eerie, Indiana)
 * Amos Lavi, stage and film actor, won three Ophir Awards (Sh'Chur, Nashim and Zirkus Palestina)
 * Grayson McCouch, actor
 * Jonah Lotan, actor
 * Gal Gadot, actress
 * Aleph Millepied, actor
 * Amalia Millepied, actress
 * Vince Offer, "the ShamWow! Guy", Israeli-American actor known for his appearance in the infomercials for the absorbent towels ShamWow! during the 2000s
 * Natalie Portman Israeli-born American film star (Star Wars prequel trilogy, Black Swan)
 * Daniella Rabbani, Israeli/American actress, singer, and voiceover artist
 * Modi Rosenfeld, stand-up comedian, actor, and cantor
 * Odeya Rush, television and film actress (The Odd Life of Timothy Green, The Giver)
 * Scott L. Schwartz, film and television actor and stuntman, and former professional wrestler
 * Tami Stronach, Israeli-American actress (The Neverending Story)
 * Raviv Ullman, Israeli-born American actor, teen idol (Phil of the Future)
 * Inbar Lavi, actress
 * Yael Grobglas, actress

Arts and entertainment

 * Omri Amrany, sculptor and painter
 * Carmit Bachar, singer, dancer, model, actress and showgirl; member of The Pussycat Dolls (Israeli father)
 * Ralph Bakshi, Israeli-born animation film director
 * Amir Bar-Lev, film director, producer, and writer
 * Rhea Carmi, abstract expressionist and mixed-media artist
 * Elinor Carucci, photographer
 * Lior Ron, composer
 * Lyor Cohen, North American Chairman and CEO of Recorded Music for Warner Music Group (WMG)
 * Neil Druckmann, Israeli-born American writer, creative director and programmer for the video game developer Naughty Dog
 * Ari Emanuel, talent agent and co-CEO of William Morris Endeavor (WME), and basis for the character Ari Gold on the TV show Entourage
 * Amos Gitai, auteur filmmaker
 * Usher Morgan, filmmaker, businessman and studio executive
 * Maira Kalman, Israeli-born American illustrator, author, artist and designer
 * Hila Klein (née Hacmon), Israeli-born entertainer, notable for producing the husband-wife duo YouTube comedy channel h3h3Productions
 * Yael Kanarek, artist
 * Shuki Levy, Israeli-born American music composer whose best known work is soundtrack compositions for children's television programs of the 1980s.
 * Ephrat Livni, artist, writer, and lawyer
 * Rod Lurie, director, screenwriter, and film critic
 * Arnon Milchan, Israeli-American film producer and businessman who produced many films such as The War of the Roses, Once Upon a Time in America, Pretty Woman, Natural Born Killers, The Devil's Advocate, and L.A. Confidential
 * Oren Moverman, Israeli-American film director/screenwriter
 * Avi Nesher, Israeli-born film producer, film director, screenwriter and actor
 * Sassona Norton, Israeli-born sculptor and painter
 * Eran Preis, director, screenwriter, playwright, and producer
 * Ari Sandel, film director (West Bank Story)
 * Ophrah Shemesh, artist
 * Boaz Yakin, screenwriter and film director

Business

 * Abraham Karem, inventor of the drone
 * Avi Arad, Israeli-American businessman, founder of Marvel Studios
 * Shari Arison, American-born Israeli businesswoman and philanthropist, one of Israel's wealthiest women
 * Arison family, business family, founders of Carnival Cruise Lines, the largest cruise line in the world
 * Naftali Bennett, politician and former software entrepreneur
 * Safra Catz, businesswoman co-President and Chief Financial Officer at Oracle
 * Dovi Frances, financier, entrepreneur, and president of SG Acquisitions
 * Jacob Frenkel, economist and businessman; served as Governor of the Bank of Israel; currently the Chairman of JPMorgan Chase International
 * Orit Gadiesh, corporate strategist and chairwoman of management consulting firm Bain & Company
 * Gideon Gartner, entrepreneur and philanthropist, founder of Gartner, an information technology (IT) research and advisory company
 * Noam Gottesman, businessman and former hedge fund manager; co-founded GLG Partners; listed on the Forbes 400 list of richest people in America
 * Ynon Kreiz, entrepreneur and businessman, former CEO of Fox Kids Europe, Endemol and Maker Studios
 * Guy Oseary, Israeli-American businessman; Madonna's manager
 * Isaac Perlmutter, CEO of Marvel Entertainment
 * Shai Reshef, educational entrepreneur and founder and president of University of the People
 * Daniel Rirdan, author, global strategist, environmentalist, and Director of Product Development at The Exploration Company
 * Meshulam Riklis, businessman
 * Haim Saban, television and media proprietor notable for his adaptations of Power Rangers; ranked by Forbes as the 98th richest person in America
 * Arnon Milchan, Founder and owner of New Regency Films, second wealthiest mogul in Hollywood.
 * Tamir Sapir, Israeli-Georgian-American businessman; earned billions in the 1980s bartering fertilizers for oil; in 2006 was ranked at position 160 in list of the 400 richest Americans, with an estimated fortune of $2 billion
 * Adam Milstein, real estate investor, entrepreneur, and active philanthropist
 * Eli Tene, businessman, co-founder, co-managing director, and principal of the Peak Corporate Network
 * Boaz Weinstein, derivatives trader and hedge fund manager, and founder of Saba Capital Management
 * Jerry Zucker, businessman and philanthropist
 * Yaron Brook, entrepreneur, author, and economist, who currently serves as the president and executive director of the Ayn Rand Institute, a non-profit organization in Irvine, California that promotes the novels of Ayn Rand and her philosophy of Objectivism.
 * Lior Ron, entrepreneur, co-founder of Otto former lead of Google Maps
 * Shai Agassi, entrepreneur, founder and former CEO of Better Place
 * Gadi Amit, entrepreneur and designer, head designer of Fitbit and NewDealDesign

Fashion



 * Yigal Azrouël, fashion designer
 * Donna Feldman, American model, daughter of Israeli parents
 * Sharon Genish, Israeli/American model
 * Yael Markovich, Israeli/American model
 * Nili Lotan, fashion designer
 * Max Rhyser, Danish-American-Israeli model, stage, television and film actor
 * Yotam Solomon, fashion designer
 * Elie Tahari, founder of fashion label Elie Tahari

Government and politics

 * Rahm Emanuel, former White House Chief of Staff and current mayor of Chicago
 * Ari Ne'eman, disability rights activist
 * Stanley Fischer, Vice Chairman of the United States Federal Reserve
 * Josh Reinstein, director of the Knesset Christian Allies Caucus

Journalism

 * Irin Carmon, feminist author, blogger, and television personality
 * Michael Dorfman, Russian-Israeli essayist and human rights activist
 * Hadas Gold, politics, media and global business reporter for CNN
 * Daniel Pearl, Israeli-American journalist and South Asia Bureau Chief of the Wall Street Journal, who was kidnapped and murdered in Pakistan.
 * Nicole Lapin, Israeli-American anchor on CNBC and CNN Live
 * Haviv Rettig Gur, journalist at The Times of Israel, Former Director of Communications for the Jewish Agency
 * Hanna Rosin, journalist
 * Erez Ben-Ari, journalist at Jewish in Seattle, former Stand-up comedian
 * Yael Lavie, former senior producer, ABC News, anchor of I24NEWS, former senior Middle East editor for Sky News

Literature

 * Nick Simmons, comic book writer, musician, and voice over actor
 * Leora Skolkin-Smith, novelist (Edges: O Israel, O Palestine)
 * Ayelet Waldman, novelist and essayist

Musicians

 * The Alchemist, hip hop producer and rapper
 * Leigh Daniel Avidan, member of Ninja Sex Party and co-host of Internet webseries Game Grumps.
 * Carmit Bachar, member of the pop group, The Pussycat Dolls
 * Didi Benami, American singer who is best known for being a finalist on the ninth season of American Idol. Daughter of an Israeli Jewish father.
 * Ofer Ben-Amots, Israeli-American composer and professor of composition at Colorado College.
 * Miri Ben-Ari, hip-hop violinist plays songs with emcee Twista and R&B singer Alicia Keys
 * Ill Bill, rapper
 * Yefim Bronfman, Soviet-born Israeli-American pianist
 * Aviad Cohen, singer and songwriter
 * Kosha Dillz, hip hop MC
 * David Draiman, lead vocalist for heavy metal band Disturbed (band)
 * Eli Eban, clarinetist
 * Meir Finkelstein, cantor and composer of contemporary Jewish liturgical music
 * Yuval Gabay, hip hop drummer
 * Goapele, African-American soul and R&B singer-songwriter, daughter of a New York-born Israeli Jewish mother
 * Yehuda Hanani, international soloist, recording artist, cellist, and Professor of Violoncello at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music
 * Eyran Katsenelenbogen, jazz pianist
 * Joseph Malovany, tenor soloist, cantor of New York's Fifth Avenue Synagogue, and Distinguished Professor of Liturgical Music at Philip and Sarah Belz School of Jewish Music, Yeshiva University
 * Necro, rapper, producer, director, and record label owner; younger brother of Ill Bill
 * Itzhak Perlman, violin virtuoso
 * Shulamit Ran, composer, won the Pulitzer Prize
 * J.R. Rotem, record producer and songwriter
 * Gil Shaham, Israeli American award-winning violinist
 * Mordecai Shehori, pianist
 * Itaal Shur, composer, producer, and musician
 * Gene Simmons, guitarist and singer-songwriter from KISS, Israeli-born
 * Hillel Slovak, original guitarist of the band Red Hot Chili Peppers, Israeli-born
 * Emanuel Vardi, violist
 * Elliott Yamin, American singer, third place finalist on the fifth season of American Idol
 * Inon Zur, Israeli American award-winning music composer

Sports

 * Sue Bird (born 1980), point guard for the Seattle Storm; first overall pick in the 2002 WNBA Draft; two-time Olympic champion; four-time All-Star
 * Adam Bisnowaty (born 1993), football player for the New York Giants of the NFL
 * David Blatt, Head Coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers, NBA franchise
 * Ike Berger, Olympic and world champion weighlifter
 * Ryan Braun (born 1983), major league baseball player
 * Tal Brody, former professional basketball player for Maccabi Tel Aviv
 * David Blu, former professional basketball player for Maccabi Tel Aviv
 * Jake Cohen, professional basketball player
 * John DiBartolomeo, professional basketball player for Israeli powerhouse Maccabi Tel Aviv
 * Jordan Farmar, basketball player for the Sacramento Kings
 * D'or Fischer, professional basketball player
 * Dean Kremer (born 1996), baseball pitcher
 * Sylven Landesberg, basketball player for Maccabi Tel Aviv
 * T.J. Leaf, NBA player for the Indiana Pacers
 * Boyd "Rainmaker" Melson, light middleweight boxer
 * Jeron Roberts, former basketball player for the Israeli national team
 * Kenny Hasan Sayef, soccer player for Belgian club K.A.A. Gent
 * Jon Scheyer, professional basketball player
 * Derrick Sharp, former basketball player who holds an Israeli passport
 * Alana Shipp, American/Israeli IFBB professional bodybuilder
 * Eliot Teltscher (born 1959), professional top-10 tennis player
 * Alex Tyus, professional basketball player
 * Alex Zahavi, soccer player currently playing for Portuguese club S.C. Olhanense on loan from Maccabi Haifa
 * Daria Zuravicki, figure skater

Other

 * Nava Applebaum, 20-year-old woman killed together with her father Dr. David Applebaum on the evening before her wedding by a Palestinian suicide bomber.
 * Michael Arad, architect who won the design competition for the World Trade Center Memorial in New York City in 2004.
 * Juval Aviv, security consultant and writer
 * Ron Ben-Israel, pastry chef
 * Carol Shaya Castro, former New York City police officer and actress whose employment was terminated after she appeared in Playboy magazine
 * Eli Elezra, world-class poker player
 * Tamar Geller, dog trainer who developed "the Loved Dog" method of dog training
 * Chaim Gingold, noted for design work with the computer game Spore
 * Gavriel Holtzberg, Orthodox rabbi and Chabad emissary to Mumbai, India, killed by Pakistani Islamic militants in the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
 * Ami James, tattoo artist, businessman, and media personality (Miami Ink)
 * Cheryl Saban, philanthropist, woman's advocate, and wife of billionaire entertainment mogul Haim Saban