Born: July 1854, Aleppo, Syria.Died: June 1902, Cairo, Egypt. Abdul Rahman al-Kawakibi was born in 1855 in the city of Aleppo. He is considered a Syrian Islamic reformist thinker. He lost his mother at a young age, and his aunt…
Born: March 1, 1904, Dhour El Choueir, Mount Lebanon. Died: July 8, 1949, Beirut, Lebanon. Antoun Saadeh was born on March 1, 1904, in the town of Dhour El Choueir in Mount Lebanon. His father, Dr. Khalil Saadeh, was a…
Born: October 22, 1843, Keidany; Died: 1910, Odessa Moshe Leib Lilienblum was a Jewish-Russian writer, scholar, and Zionist. He was born in the town of Keidany on October 22, 1843. He received a traditional Jewish education and was steeped in…
Born: 1795, Lissa; Died: 1874, Thorn Zvi Hirsch Kalischer was a Jewish Rabbi and Proto-Zionist. He was born in 1795 in the town of Lissa. He received a traditional Jewish education based on the Talmud, but he also encountered modern…
Born: July 14, 1785, Philadelphia; Died: May 22, 1851, New York Mordecai Manuel Noah was a Jewish-American diplomat, playwright, journalist, utopian, and activist. He was born on July 14, 1785 in Philadelphia and was of Portuguese Sephardic descent. His grandfather…
Born: 1789, Gibraltar; Died: 1852, Hebron Yehuda Bibas was a Rabbi and Proto-Zionist. He was born in 1789 in Gibraltar to a Sephardic Jewish family. He was descended from Chaim ibn Attar, an esteemed Rabbi in the Moroccan Jewish community…
Born: 1798, Sarajevo; Died: 1878, Jerusalem Yehuda Alkalai was a Rabbi and Proto-Zionist. He was born in 1798 in Sarajevo. He received a traditional Jewish education in Jerusalem where he was significantly influenced in Kabbalah or Jewish Mysticism. In 1825,…
Born: September 10, 1860, Mstislavl; Died: December 8, 1941, Riga Simon Dubnow was a Russian Jewish writer, historian, and social philosopher. He was born on September 10, 1860 in Mstislavl. He descended from a long line of Jewish Rabbis and…
Born: 1881, Zolotonosha; Died: 1917, Kiev Dov Ber Borochov was a writer, politician, and Marxist Zionist. He was born in 1881 in Zolotonosha. He did not have a traditional Jewish education, instead graduating from a Russian high school, however he…
Born: July 28, 1932, Hartford; Died: October 8, 2016, Rhinebeck Jacob Neusner was an American academic. He was born on July 28, 1932 in Hartford, Connecticut to a Reform Jewish family. His father worked as a publisher of a weekly…
Born: June 9, 1856, Troyanov; Died: February 22, 1922, Degania A.D. Gordon or Aaron David Gordon was a writer, philosopher, and Zionist. He was born on June 9, 1856 in Troyanov. He worked for over 20 years as a official…
Born: February 8, 1878, Vienna; Died: June 13, 1965, Jerusalem Martin Buber was an Austrian-Jewish philosopher, writer, and Zionist born in Vienna on February 8, 1878. His father was an agriculturalist, and he and his wife were both assimilated Jews….
Nachman Syrkin Born: February 11, 1868, Mogilev; Died: September 6, 1924, New York Nachman Syrkin was a writer, Zionist activist, and founder of Socialist Zionism. Syrkin was born in 1868 in Mogilev. He received a traditional Jewish education. He started…
Leo Pinsker Born: December 13, 1821, Tomaszow; Died: December 21, 1891, Odessa Leo Pinsker also known as Leon Pinsker or Judah Leib Pinsker was born on December 13, 1821 in Tomaszow. Pinsker was a doctor, writer, and Zionist activist and…
Moses Hess Born: January 21, 1812, Bonn; Died: April 6, 1875, Paris Moses Hess, also known as Moritz Hess was born on January 21, 1812 in Bonn, Germany. His father was an Orthodox Jew who worked as a merchant. Matrilineally,…
Max Nordau Born: July 29, 1849, Budapest; Died: Jan 23, 1923, Paris Max Nordau was a doctor, writer, and Zionist leader. Nordau was born on July 29, 1849 the son of a Sephardic Jewish Orthodox Rabbi. He moved away from…
Chaim Weizmann Born: November 27, 1874, Motol; Died: November 9, 1952, Rehovot Chaim Weizmann was an influential Zionist leader, scientist, and the first President of Israel who is recognized as a founder of Synthetic Zionism. Weizmann was born on November…
Theodor Herzl Born: May 2, 1860, Budapest; Died: July 3, 1904, Edlach Theodor Herzl was the founder of Political Zionism, a journalist, and lawyer. He was born on May 2, 1860 in Budapest. He went on to study law at…
Ahad Ha’am Born: August 18, 1856; Died: January 2, 1927, Tel Aviv Ahad Ha’am born Asher Hirsch Ginsberg was a Hebrew journalist and essayist, and one of the foremost pre-state Zionist thinkers. He is known as the founder of cultural…
Napoleon Bonaparte (Napoleon I) Born: August 15, 1769; Died: May 5, 1821, St. Helena Island Napoleon Bonaparte also referred to as Napoleon I, was the Emperor of the French from 1804-1814. Napoleone di Buonaparte was born to a Corsican family,…
Muhammad Ali Born: 1769, Kavala Died: August 2, 1849, Alexandria Muhammed Ali was the ruler, pasha (high level political and military Ottoman rank granted by the Sultan), and viceroy of Egypt. Muhammad Ali was born in 1796 in Kavala. Little…
Ze’ev Jabotinsky Born: October 17, 1880; Died: August 3, 1940, Hunter Ze’ev Jabotinsky born Vladimir Jabotinsky was a founder of the Revisionist Zionist movement, founder of the Beitar Youth Movement, and founder of the political party Hatzohar which would go…
Joseph Chamberlain Born: July 8, 1836, London; Died: July 2, 1914, London Joseph Chamberlain was a British businessman and politician who initially was a member of the Liberal party before joining the Liberal Unionist and ultimately the Conservative party. Chamberlain…
