List of Romanian Jews

This is a list of Romanian Jews who are or were Jewish or of Jewish ancestry.

Academics

• Aaron Aaronsohn, botanist
• J. J. Benjamin, historian
• Martin Bercovici, energy engineer
• Randolph L. Braham, political scientist, historian
• Nicolae Cajal, virologist and Jewish community leader
• Gedeon Dagan, hydrologist
• Constantin Dobrogeanu-Gherea, sociologist and Marxist theorist
• Lazăr Edeleanu, chemist
• Zicman Feider, biologist, acarologist
• Herman Finer, political scientist
• Peter Freund, theoretical physicist
• Moses Gaster, hakham (Sephardi scholar & Rabi), linguist (Hebrew, Romanian), early Zionist leader
• Lucien Goldmann, philosopher, critic, sociologist
• Alexandru Graur, linguist
• Michael Harsgor, historian
• Joseph M. Juran, industrial engineer
• Ernest Klein, linguist
• Charles H. Kremer, dentist and war-crimes investigation activist
• Liviu Librescu, physicist
• Mario Livio, astrophysicist
• Edward Luttwak, economist and historian
• Norman Manea, writer and college professor
• Meinhard E. Mayer, physicist
• Serge Moscovici, social psychologist
• Victor Neumann, historian and political analyst
• Andrei Oișteanu, historian and anthropologist
• Zigu Ornea, literary critic
• Julius Popper, explorer
• Lazăr Șăineanu, (Eliezer Schein) linguist and folklorist
• Itamar Singer (1946–2012), Israeli historian
• Heimann Hariton Tiktin, linguist
• Vladimir Tismăneanu, historian and political analyst
• David Wechsler, psychologist
• Avram Leib Zissu, political leader, Zionist activist, author, opinion journalist

Mathematicians

• Peter Constantin, mathematician
• David Emmanuel, mathematician
• Murray Gerstenhaber (1927–2024), mathematician and lawyer
• Sergiu Hart, mathematician, economist
• George Lusztig, mathematician
• Sergiu Klainerman, mathematician
• Solomon Marcus, mathematician
• Isaac Jacob Schoenberg, mathematician

Artists

• Avigdor Arikha, painter
• Victor Brauner, painter and photographer
• Sorel Etrog, sculptor
• André François, painter and graphic artist
• Idel Ianchelevici, sculptor
• Marcel Iancu, architect and painter
• Iosif Iser, painter
• Isidore Isou, Letterist
• Alex Leon, painter
• Moissaye Marans, sculptor
• M. H. Maxy, painter
• Constantin Daniel Rosenthal, painter
• Reuven Rubin, painter
• Herman Sachs, muralist
• Arthur Segal, painter
• Saul Steinberg, cartoonist
• Hedda Sterne, painter, sculptor and graphic artist
• Nicolae Vermont, painter and graphic artist
• Jean Weinberg, photographer
• Medi Dinu, painter

Business people

• Max Auschnitt, financier
• Emil Calmanovici, financier and communist activist
• Safra Catz, business executive
• Solomon Leibovici, financier
• Eduardo Saverin (grandson of a Romanian Jew), co-founder of Facebook

Film and stage figures

• Israil Bercovici, playwright
• Lauren Bacall, actress
• Lucian Bratu, director/film producer
• Christian Calson, director/writer
• Winona Ryder, actress

• Yael Stone, actress
• I.A.L. Diamond, screenwriter
• Abraham Goldfaden, founder of Yiddish-language theater
• Marin Karmitz, director, producer
• Elina Löwensohn, actress
• Sigmund Mogulesko
• Maia Morgenstern (1962 - ) film and stage actress^[2]
• Bernard Natan, film producer
• Ovitz family, circus actors and traveling musicians
• Edward G. Robinson, actor
• Abba Schoengold
• Dumitru Solomon, playwright
• Jacob Sternberg, director

Miscellaneous

• Iancu Țucărman, Holocaust and Iași pogrom survivor

Musicians

• Art Garfunkel, composer, singer-songwriter
• Dana International, Israeli singer and musician
• Shlomo Artzi, musician now living in Israel
• Dan Bittman, singer
• Alexander Uriah Boskovich, composer
• Dumitru Bughici composer, pianist
• Sergiu Comissiona, conductor, violinist
• Alma Gluck, soprano
• Sarah Gorby singer
• Clara Haskil, pianist
• Philip Herschkowitz, music theorist and composer
• Gabriel Iranyi, composer
• Mindru Katz, pianist
• Max Leibowitz violinist and bandleader
• Sammy Lerner, composer
• Yoel Levi, conductor
• Sergiu Luca, violinist
• Radu Lupu, pianist
• Silvia Marcovici, violinist
• Ion Marin, conductor
• Abraham Moskowitz, singer and theatre actor
• Joseph Moskowitz, klezmer musician
• Moishe Oysher, cantor and singer
• Simon Paskal singer, cantor and theatre actor
• Mendi Rodan. conductor, composer and violinist.
• Beverly Sills, opera singer

Political figures

• Martin Abern, Trotskyist activist
• Colette Avital, Israeli politician
• Davicion Bally, public servant
• Olga Bancic, communist activist
• Silviu Brucan, communist politician and dissident
• Simion Bughici, communist politician
• Avram Bunaciu, communist politician
• Iosif Chișinevschi, communist politician
• Alexandru Dobrogeanu-Gherea, communist activist
• Mișu Dulgheru, communist activist, spy
• Miriam Eshkol, wife of Israeli Prime Minister Levi Eshkol
• Max Goldstein, communist activist
• Michael Howard, British politician
• Serge Klarsfeld, anti-Nazi activist
• David Korner, Trotskyist activist
• Alex Kozinski, judge
• Leon Lichtblau, communist activist
• Samuel Leibowitz, attorney
• Vasile Luca, communist politician
• Gheorghe Gaston Marin, communist politician
• Nati Meir, politician
• Ghiță Moscu, communist activist and politician
• Alexandru Nicolschi, communist politician
• Ana Pauker, communist politician
• Marcel Pauker, communist politician
• Mircea Răceanu, diplomat and dissident (Jewish father)
• Leonte Răutu, communist politician
• Valter Roman, communist politician
• Petre Roman, politician (Jewish father)
• Leonte Tismăneanu, communist politician
• Ghizela Vass, communist activist

Religious figures

• Moses Gaster, rabbi, philologist, community leader, early Zionist
• David L. Genuth, rabbi
• Ernest Klein, rabbi
• Moses Rosen, rabbi
• Moses Josef Rubin, rabbi
• Alexandru Șafran, rabbi
• Meir Shapiro, rabbi
• Nicolae Steinhardt, Christian Orthodox monk (Jewish father)
• Richard Wurmbrand, minister of religion

Sportspeople

Baseball

• Harry Feldman
• Hank Greenberg
• Bud Selig
• Kevin Youkilis

Basketball

• Ernie Grunfeld, Romania-born US, NBA 6' 6" guard/forward & GM, Olympic champion

Boxing

• Victor Zilberman, boxer

Canoeing

• Leon Rotman, sprint canoer, 2x Olympic champion (C-1 10,000 meter, C-1 1,000-meter) and bronze (C-1 1,000-meter), 14 national titles

Chess

• Abraham Baratz, chess player
• Alexandru Tyroler, chess player
• Bernardo Wexler, chess player

Fencing

• Andre Spitzer, fencing master and coach

Football

• Itay Shechter, soccer player
• Avi Strool, soccer player
• Samuel Zauber, late soccer player
• Rudolf Wetzer, late soccer player
• Jack Moisescu, late soccer player
• Elemer Hirsch, late soccer player
• Norberto Höfling, late soccer player

Table tennis

• Angelica Rozeanu (Adelstin), Romania/Israel, 17x world champion, ITTFHoF

Writers

• Aharon Appelfeld (1932–2018), novelist and Holocaust survivor
• Iuliu Barasch, physician and writer
• Zelig Bardichever, poet and songwriter
• Max Blecher, writer
• Srul Bronshtein, poet
• Nina Cassian, poet
• Paul Celan, poet
• Andrei Codrescu, poet and essayist
• Vladimir Colin, short story writer and novelist
• Benjamin Fondane, poet, playwright, and literary critic
• Abraham Goldfaden, poet and playwright
• Zeydl Shmuel-Yehuda Helman, songwriter, journalist and actor
• D. Iacobescu, poet
• Isidore Isou, poet
• Irving Layton, poet
• Stan Lee (1922–2018) born Stanley Martin Lieber, writer, editor, publisher, and co-creator of most of the Marvel Comics Universe.
• Gherasim Luca, poet
• Isac Ludo, novelist
• Norman Manea, novelist
• Cilibi Moise, storyteller and humorist
• Florin Mugur, author (poetry, prose, essays)
• Sașa Pană, poet and short story writer
• Maurice Samuel, novelist
• Elias Schwarzfeld, historian and novelist
• Mihail Sebastian, playwright
• Nicolae Steinhardt, writer (Jewish father)
• Alexandru Toma, poet
• Tristan Tzara, poet and essayist, founder of Dadaism
• Tudor Vianu, literary critic
• Ilarie Voronca, poet and essayist
• Elie Wiesel, writer
• Haralamb Zincă (Hary Isac Zilberman), writer
• Gellu Naum, poet, dramatist, novelist, children's writer, and translator (Jewish Mother, Maria Naum née Rosa Gluck)

See also

• History of the Jews in Romania
• Category:American people of Romanian-Jewish descent

References