The Most Famous
MUSICIANS from Israel
This page contains a list of the greatest Israeli Musicians. The pantheon dataset contains 3,175 Musicians, 11 of which were born in Israel. This makes Israel the birth place of the 31st most number of Musicians behind Turkey, and Switzerland.
Top 10
The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Israeli Musicians of all time. This list of famous Israeli Musicians is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Israeli Musicians.
1. Itzhak Perlman (b. 1945)
With an HPI of 62.90, Itzhak Perlman is the most famous Israeli Musician. His biography has been translated into 48 different languages on wikipedia.
Itzhak Perlman (Hebrew: יִצְחָק פרלמן; born August 31, 1945) is an Israeli-American violinist. He has performed worldwide and throughout the United States, in venues that have included a state dinner for Elizabeth II at the White House in 2007, and at the 2009 inauguration of Barack Obama. He has conducted the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and the Westchester Philharmonic. In 2015, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Perlman has won 16 Grammy Awards, including a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, and four Emmy Awards.
2. Gene Simmons (b. 1949)
With an HPI of 61.95, Gene Simmons is the 2nd most famous Israeli Musician. His biography has been translated into 43 different languages.
Gene Simmons (born Chaim Witz; Hebrew: חיים ויץ [χaˈim ˈvits]; born August 25, 1949) is an American musician. Also known by his stage persona "The Demon", he was the bassist and co-lead singer of the hard rock band Kiss, which he co-founded with Paul Stanley, Ace Frehley and Peter Criss in the early 1970s until their retirement in 2023. Simmons was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014 as a member of Kiss.
3. Ivry Gitlis (1922 - 2020)
With an HPI of 56.25, Ivry Gitlis is the 3rd most famous Israeli Musician. His biography has been translated into 24 different languages.
Ivry Gitlis (Hebrew: עברי גיטליס; 25 August 1922 – 24 December 2020) was an Israeli virtuoso violinist and UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador. He performed with the world's top orchestras, including the London Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmonic, Vienna Philharmonic, and Philadelphia Orchestra.
4. Hillel Slovak (1962 - 1988)
With an HPI of 54.36, Hillel Slovak is the 4th most famous Israeli Musician. His biography has been translated into 33 different languages.
Hillel Slovak (Hebrew: הלל סלובק; April 13, 1962 – June 25, 1988) was an Israeli-American musician, best known as the founding guitarist of the Los Angeles rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers, with whom he recorded two albums. His guitar work was rooted in funk and hard rock, and he often experimented with other genres, including reggae and speed metal. He is considered to have been a major influence on Red Hot Chili Peppers' early sound. Born in Israel, he later moved to the United States. Slovak met future bandmates Anthony Kiedis, Flea, and Jack Irons while attending Fairfax High School in Los Angeles. There, he formed the group What Is This? with Irons, Alain Johannes, and Todd Strassman; Flea later replaced Strassman. Slovak, Flea, Kiedis, and Irons founded Red Hot Chili Peppers in 1983, gaining popularity in Los Angeles through their energetic stage presence and spirited performances. Slovak eventually quit to focus on What is This?, which had been signed to a record deal, leaving the Red Hot Chili Peppers to record their 1984 debut album without him, including five songs he co-wrote. Slovak rejoined the Chili Peppers in 1985 and recorded the albums Freaky Styley (1985) and The Uplift Mofo Party Plan (1987) with them. During his career, Slovak developed a serious heroin addiction. He attempted to rehabilitate several times but died of an overdose on June 25, 1988, at age 26. Several Red Hot Chili Peppers songs have been written as tributes to Slovak, including "Knock Me Down", "Otherside" "My Lovely Man", and "Feasting on the Flowers". In 1999, his brother James published a book, Behind the Sun: The Diary and Art of Hillel Slovak, which features Slovak's diaries and paintings. Slovak was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Red Hot Chili Peppers on April 14, 2012, with his brother accepting the award on his behalf.
5. Pinchas Zukerman (b. 1948)
With an HPI of 52.51, Pinchas Zukerman is the 5th most famous Israeli Musician. His biography has been translated into 27 different languages.
Pinchas Zukerman (Hebrew: פנחס צוקרמן, born 16 July 1948) is an Israeli-American violinist, violist and conductor.
6. Shlomo Artzi (b. 1949)
With an HPI of 47.34, Shlomo Artzi is the 6th most famous Israeli Musician. His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.
Shlomo Artzi (Hebrew: שלמה ארצי; born 26 November 1949) is an Israeli folk rock musician, composer, music producer, radio host and singer-songwriter. He is one of the most popular and successful musicians in Israel.
7. Avishai Cohen (b. 1970)
With an HPI of 44.82, Avishai Cohen is the 7th most famous Israeli Musician. His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.
Avishai Cohen (Hebrew: אבישי כהן; born April 20, 1970) is an Israeli jazz double bassist, composer, singer, and arranger.
8. Keren Ann (b. 1974)
With an HPI of 40.18, Keren Ann is the 8th most famous Israeli Musician. Her biography has been translated into 22 different languages.
Keren Ann Zeidel (Hebrew: קרן אן זיידל born 10 March 1974), known professionally as Keren Ann (קרן אן), is an Israeli and Dutch singer, songwriter, composer, producer, and engineer based largely in Paris, Tel Aviv, and New York City. She plays guitar, piano, and clarinet. She also engineers and writes choir and musical arrangements.
9. Yitzhak Yedid (b. 1971)
With an HPI of 35.74, Yitzhak Yedid is the 9th most famous Israeli Musician. His biography has been translated into 21 different languages.
Yitzhak Yedid (Hebrew: יצחק ידיד, born 29 September 1971) is an Israeli-Australian composer of contemporary classical music. He is also a pianist and an educator. The recipient of numerous awards, Yedid won the Azrieli Music Prize in 2021 for his work Kiddushim Ve’ Killulim, the Sidney Myer Creative Fellowship in 2019, and the Landau Prize for Performing Arts in 2009. His compositional style has been characterised as "eclectic, multicultural, and deeply personal," blending elements of jazz and Jewish cantor music, classical European traditions, and avant-garde experimentation. He has been hailed as one of the most original composers on the international music scene today. Interfaith dialogue and Cross-cultural integration are central to Yedid's artistic practice. Yedid's work is a reflection of his deep interest in Middle Eastern culture, ancient rituals, the aesthetics of classical and liturgical Arabic music, and non-Western music performance practices. Yitzhak Yedid specializes in performing Judaeo-Sephardic and Middle Eastern sacred music in concert piano recitals.
10. Oren Lavie (b. 1976)
With an HPI of 32.22, Oren Lavie is the 10th most famous Israeli Musician. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.
Oren Lavie (born June 13, 1976) is an Israeli songwriter, author, theatre and video director. His music video for "Her Morning Elegance" earned a 2009 Grammy Award nomination for "Best Short Form Music Video" and has become a YouTube hit with over 35 million views to date. Lavie released his debut studio album, The Opposite Side of the Sea, on March 10, 2009, in the United States. He is the winner of the ASCAP Foundation Award for promising lyricist. His first book for children, The Bear Who Wasn't There, was published in 2014 and has since been translated to numerous languages. Lavie's second studio album, Bedroom Crimes, was released in May 2017.
People
Pantheon has 12 people classified as Israeli musicians born between 1922 and 1987. Of these 12, 10 (83.33%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Israeli musicians include Itzhak Perlman, Gene Simmons, and Pinchas Zukerman. The most famous deceased Israeli musicians include Ivry Gitlis, and Hillel Slovak. As of April 2024, 1 new Israeli musicians have been added to Pantheon including Oren Lavie.
Living Israeli Musicians
Go to all Rankings
Itzhak Perlman
1945 - Present
HPI: 62.90
Gene Simmons
1949 - Present
HPI: 61.95
Pinchas Zukerman
1948 - Present
HPI: 52.51
Shlomo Artzi
1949 - Present
HPI: 47.34
Avishai Cohen
1970 - Present
HPI: 44.82
Keren Ann
1974 - Present
HPI: 40.18
Yitzhak Yedid
1971 - Present
HPI: 35.74
Oren Lavie
1976 - Present
HPI: 32.22
Miri Ben-Ari
1978 - Present
HPI: 29.88
Borgore
1987 - Present
HPI: 25.49
