麻豆APP

10 Most Famous Israeli Women

1. Mary, Mother of Jesus

Mary, Mother of Jesus art- Source; Tamoikin Art Fund- Wikimedia

According to the gospels of Matthew and Luke in the New Testament, Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph, and the mother of Jesus.

Both the New Testament and the Quran describe Mary as a virgin. According to Christian theology, Mary conceived Jesus through the Holy Spirit while still a virgin, and accompanied Joseph to Bethlehem, where Jesus was born.

Mary also has the highest position in Islam among all women. She is mentioned in the Quran more often than in the Bible, where two of the longer chapters of the Quran are named after her and her family.

According to Catholic and Eastern Christian teachings, at the end of her earthly life, God raised Mary’s body into heaven; this is known in the Christian West as the Assumption of Mary, and in the East as the Dormition of the Mother of God.

2. Ofra Haza (1957- 2000)

Ofra Haza- Source; https://gpophotoeng.gov.il- Wikimedia

Bat-Sheva Ofra Haza was born on 19th November, 1957 and died on 23rd, February 2000.

She was an Israeli singer, actress, Gramm Award-nominated recording artist, writer and journalist commonly known in the Western world as “The Israeli Madonna”, or “Madonna of the East”. Her voice has been described as a “tender” .

Of descent, Haza’s music is known as a mixture of traditional and commercial singing styles, fusing elements of Eastern and Western instrumentation, orchestration and dance-beat.

She became successful in Europe and the Americas; during her singing career, she earned many platinum and gold discs. In Israel, Haza was an influential cultural figure who helped to popularize Mizrahi culture.

3. Haya Harareet (1931- 2021)

Haya Harareet- Author; Harry Pot- Wikimedia

Haya Harareet was an Israeli actress and screenwriter. One of her major film roles was playing Esther, Ben Hur’s love interest in the 1959 Hollywood-made film Ben-Hur. She was born on 20th September 1931 and died on 3rd February 2021.

Harareet began her career in Israeli films with ‘Hill 24 Doesn’t Answer’ (1955), which was nominated for the  at the .

Her major role as Esther in  (1959) remained her most widely remembered performance in international cinema. ‘Variety’, in its review of Ben-Hur, praised Harareet’s performance.

On 3 February 2021, Harareet died at her home in Marlow, Buckinghamshire, England, at age 89 from natural causes. At the time of her death, she was the last surviving credited cast member of Ben Hur.

4. Sibylla, queen of Jerusalem (1159- 1190)

Born in the year 1159 and passing on July 25th, 1190, Sibylla was  from 1186 to 1190.

She reigned alongside her husband , to whom she was unwaveringly attached despite his unpopularity among the barons of the Kingdom of Jerusalem.

Shortly after giving birth to a son, Sibylla came to be associated with her brother in public acts, thereby being designated as next in line to the throne.

Sibylla’s second marriage, to Guy of Lusignan, was arranged in 1180 by her brother likely to foil a coup planned by Raymond, but it deeply divided the nobility. By 1183, King Baldwin had become completely disabled as well as disillusioned with Guy’s character and ability to lead.

In order to prevent Guy’s accession to the throne, he had Sibylla’s son crowned as co-king and attempted to separate Sibylla from Guy, but she refused.

5. Golda Meir

Golda Meir- Author; Willem van de Poll- Wikimedia

Golda Meir born as Golda Mabovitch on May 3rd, 1898 and died on December 8th, 1978, was an Israeli politician, teacher, and  who served as the fourth prime minister of Israel from 1969 to 1974.

She was the first woman to become head of government in Israel.

Meir was Prime Minister during the  of 1973 when Israel was caught off guard and suffered severe losses in the first days of the war, before recovering and defeating the invading armies.

Public anger at the government caused Meir’s resignation the following year. She died in 1978 of .

6. Gal Gadot

Gal Gadot- Author; By Gage Skidmore – Wikimedia

Born as Gal Gadot-Varsano on 30th April 1985,  Gal Gadot is an Israeli actress and became a model at age 18,  where she was crowned . She then served two years in the  as a combat fitness instructor, where she began studying at while building her modeling and acting careers thereafter.

Gadot’s first international film role came as Gisele Yashar in ‘Fast & Furious’ (2009), a role she reprised in several subsequent installments of the film franchise.

Dubbed as the “biggest Israeli superstar” by local media outlets, Gadot was included on the  by Time in 2018, and has been placed twice in annual rankings of the world’s highest-paid actresses.

Gadot was named as celebrity endorser for  in 2020, replacing Jennifer Aniston, who had served in that role since 2008.

7. Bar Refaeli

Bar Refaeli- Author; Nadja Amireh- Wikimedia

Born on 4th June 1985, Bar Refaeli is an Israeli model, television host, entrepreneur, and actress.

She is considered among the most internationally successful models to come from Israel, appearing on the cover of the 2009 , and being voted No. 1 on  magazine’s Hot 100 list of 2012.

As a television host, Refaeli has hosted The X Factor Israel since 2013 and co-hosted the  in Tel Aviv.

As a result of her modeling and investment careers, her net worth was estimated at US$20 million in 2015. She was the highest-paid model in Israel according to Forbes Israel in 2013.

8. Odeya Rush

Odeya Rush- Author; iDominick- Wikimedia

Odeya Rushinek known professionally as Odeya Rush, is an Israeli actress and model. She was born on 12th May 1997 and is best known for her lead roles in ‘The Giver’ (2014), ‘Goosebumps’ (2015), ‘The Bachelors’ (2017), ‘Lady Bird’ (2017), ‘Dumplin’ (2018), and ‘Let It Snow’ (2019).

Before becoming an actress, Rush began her career in her childhood and adolescence when she was discovered as a model in the United States, appearing in major campaigns and advertisements for fashion brands Polo Ralph Lauren, among others.

She also starred in a summer campaign for a collaboration between  and  in 2018.

9. Netta Barzilai

Netta Barzilai- Author; Finsent- Wikimedia

Netta Barzilai, born on 22nd, January 1993, is also known mononymously as Netta. She is an Israeli singer-songwriter, musician and looping artist.

After winning the fifth season of , she earned the right to represent her country at the Eurovision Song Contest 2018.

On 12th May 2018, she won the contest, held in Lisbon, Portugal, with her song “Toy”, marking Israel’s fourth win in the Eurovision Song Contest (after 1978, 1979, and 1998).

In February 2018, she performed “Wannabe” by the Spice Girls, and although she lost a duel to Ricky Ben Ari, she proceeded to the next stage after being selected by the judges.

10. Deborah

Judge Deborah- Author; Guillaume Rouille- Wikimedia

Deborah was an Israeli prophetess and a judge of Israel who made her judgments underneath a date palm tree between Bethel in the Tribe of Ephraim and Ramah in Benjamin. According to the Bible, Deborah was the only female judge in pre-monarchic Israel.

Many scholars contend that the phrase, “a woman of Lappidot”, as translated from biblical Hebrew in Judges 4:4, denotes her marital status as the wife of .

Alternatively, “lappid” translates as “torch” or “lightning”, therefore the phrase, “woman of Lappidot” could be referencing Deborah as a “fiery woman.”

Deborah told Barak, an Israelite general from Kedesh in Naphtali, that God commanded him to lead an attack against the forces of  king of Canaan and his military commander  .

Judges chapter 5 gives the same story in poetic form. This passage, often called The Song of Deborah, may date to as early as the twelfth century BC, and is perhaps the earliest sample of Hebrew poetry.