List of 75 Zionist Founders

These 75 people helped establish the foundations for a Jewish state in the Land of Israel between the start of the 19th century and independence in 1948. Each is presented with an image, a brief bio addressing Zionist involvement, and links for context and further study. The list can be used to provide faces, stories and depth to explorations of Zionism before statehood. Class members could each take one person from the list for further study, leading to a research paper, a visual presentation or a role-playing activity.

Note that those involved in the work of Zionism in the first half of the 20th century who went on to be important leaders of the State of Israel, such as David Ben-Gurion and Chaim Weizmann, appear on our separate list of essential Israelis from history. We also have a list of current Israelis you should know and non-Israelis who helped shape Israel.