Top 10 Most Influential Israelis In International Business,
Science, and Culture in 2017

Simona Shemer

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Israelis are recognized leaders in any number of fields including technology, medical research, innovation and humanitarian aid.

As the year comes to a close, NoCamels has put together a list of this year’s most influential Israelis in the spheres of literature, science, tech, sports and the arts — people who have made their mark not only in their own country but on the world.

Here are 10 Israelis that fit that description for 2017:

The Actress: Gal Gadot

Israeli model and actress Gal Gadot was Israel’s hottest commodity in 2017. This year, exploding on to the scene as Wonder Woman, she became the sixth most searched person on Google, according to a Google Trends report, nestled between actor Kevin Spacey and US First Lady Melania Trump. Gadot was also a top grossing female star of 2017, according to Mashable. She was on every notable talk show and on numerous magazine covers. GQ named her their 2017 Wonder Woman of the Year. Many Israelis know Gadot as a former Miss Israel, a model, and a spokesperson for Israeli clothing brand Castro. But what really makes Gadot special, as she becomes a household name, is that she doesn’t appear to have lost her Israeli authenticity. She continues to be super nice and super Israeli — in a good way. Remember when she sampled Israeli chocolate on the Jimmy Fallon show? Or when she joked on an American morning talk show that having a second baby as Wonder Woman was harder than being in the Israeli military? Gadot is not afraid to talk about her upbringing and it’s utterly refreshing.

Gadot, too, has become a role model for young girls and women, perhaps by default, but she relishes the role and it shows in her appearances. She is not afraid to have the “sexism” conversation and has gone as far as to refuse to work on the Wonder Woman sequel, if Brett Ratner, the film’s producer who was accused of sexual misconduct, stays involved. He has since left the project.

Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman

The Author: David Grossman

Jerusalem-born author David Grossman has written at least seven books that have been translated into more than 30 languages. In his works, he’s addressed the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, young adult romance, and loneliness in childhood, writing a children’s book about a mother-son relationship, and even doing some poetry. He has been a bestselling Israeli writer for years and a celebrated one at that — his works have won global awards that include French Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, Germany’s Buxtehuder Bulle, Rome’s Premio per la pace e l’azione umanitaria, the Frankfurt peace prize, and Israel’s Emet prize.

Israeli Author David Grossman. Photo by the Emet Prize website via Wikimedia

This year, he won the Man Booker Prize for his book A Horse Walks Into a Bar in 2017, a prestigious international literary award from the UK given out to a deserving title in English translation, annually, with a £50,000 ($67,272) prize. Grossman’s book, a tale of a comedian suffering a breakdown in an Israeli comedy club, was selected from 126 titles from writers in Denmark, Argentina, France, and Israel. Critically acclaimed Israeli author Amos Oz was one of the finalists.

Grossman isn’t just recognized for being an Israeli writing about an Israeli character. He is recognized for being a “master storyteller,” the Man Booker Prize judges said.

The Entrepreneur: Adam Neumann

Miguel McKelvey and Adam Neumann, founders of WeWork

Adam Neumann, the Israeli-born co-founder of WeWork, the international co-working space company, is the founder of one of the most talked-about startups in the world right now. In September, Business Insider called it the “most valuable startup in New York City” after the company raised $4.4 billion in three months. With a $20 billion valuation, WeWork is actually considered the sixth most valuable startup in the world, according to the CBInsights, a venture capital database. So how did its New York-based founder build this company from the ground up? Neumann credits his Israeli character with helping him reach his goals, even though he doesn’t live in the country right now. At the WeWork Creator Awards in Tel Aviv in October, Neumann told the packed crowd that “Israeli is special” and filled with “an energy” that has helped it earn its “Startup Nation” title. “People here do things from the heart,” he said, “I always felt part of a community and that community is called Israel. We are so lucky to have this.”

Taking from Israel’s “community” concept could sound completely cliche if it wasn’t for the fact that Neumann is running one of the biggest “community”- related firms in the world. Founded in 2010 with Miguel McKelvey, WeWork now has 178 locations in 18 countries around the world and shows no signs of slowing down. The company, with its coworking space concepts and its offshoot projects that include shared apartments, and yes, even a private children’s school, is certainly making an impact. Adam Neumann is a big reason for that.

 

The Chef: Michael Solomonov

Chef Michael Solomonov in the kitchen. Photo via YouTube.

read more: Top 10 Most Influential…

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