List of British Jews
Template:JewsByCountry The first Jews arrived in Britain with the Romans but it wasn't until the arrival of William the Conqueror in 1066 that organized Jewish communities first appeared. These existed until 1290 when the Jewish population was expelled by Edward I. (Hence plays such as The Jew of Malta and The Merchant of Venice were written when England was essentially devoid of Jews.) Jews were readmitted in 1656 by Oliver Cromwell, and emancipation took place in 1858. In the late 19th century there was mass Jewish immigration from anti-semitic Russia, and the 1930s saw an influx of refugees from Nazism. The Jewish population peaked at 450,000, but has since declined due to low birth rate, intermarriage and emigration. The current population according to the 2001 Census is around 240,000 (though many experts consider this an underestimate), most of whom live in London. The following is a list of some prominent British Jews.
Political figures
MPs
British Members of Parliament listed chronologically by first election date (in brackets):
- Sir Henry Drummond Wolff (1830-1908), diplomat, son of Joseph Wolff (Jewish father; raised Christian)
- Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield (1837), Conservative Prime Minister (family converted to Anglicanism)
- Lionel de Rothschild (1847, admitted 1858), Liberal MP, first openly Jewish MP
- Sir George Jessel (1868), Solicitor General, later Master of the Rolls
- Herbert Samuel, 1st Viscount Samuel (1902), Liberal cabinet minister & leader
- Rufus Isaacs, 1st Marquess of Reading (1904), Liberal cabinet minister & Viceroy of India. The only British Jew to elevated to a Marquessate.
- Alfred Mond, 1st Baron Melchett (1906), Liberal Cabinet Minister 1916-22
- Manny Shinwell, Lord Shinwell (1884-1986) (1922), Labour cabinet minister & Chairman
- Leslie Hore-Belisha, 1st Baron Hore-Belisha (1923), Liberal cabinet minister
- Sir Frank Meyer (1924), Conservative MP
- Lewis Silkin, 1st Baron Silkin (1936)
- Jack Diamond, Baron Diamond of the City of Gloucester (1945), Labour cabinet minister and SDP leader in the House of Lords
- Ian Mikardo (1908-1993) (1945), Labour MP
- Keith Joseph, Baron Joseph (1918-1994) (1956), Conservative cabinet minister
- John Silkin (1963), Labour MP and Cabinet minister
- Samuel Silkin (1964), Labour MP and Attorney General
- Reginald Freeson (1964), Labour minister
- Sir Anthony Meyer (1920-2004) (1964), Conservative MP (Jewish father, Sir Frank Meyer MP)
- Greville Janner, Lord Janner of Braunstone, (1970), Labour MP
- Sir Gerald Kaufman (1970), Labour cabinet minister
- Sir Clement Freud (1924-) (1973), Liberal MP
- Leon Brittan, Baron Brittan of Spennithorne (1939-) (1974), Conservative cabinet minister, European Commissioner
- Nigel Lawson, Baron Lawson of Blaby (1932-) (1974), Conservative Chancellor of the Exchequer
- Sir Malcolm Rifkind (1974), Conservative cabinet minister
- Jack Straw (1979), Labour cabinet minister (Home Secretary, Foreign Secretary) (Jewish grandmother)
- Edwina Currie (1983), Conservative minister
- Michael Howard (1983), Conservative cabinet minister & leader
- Peter Mandelson (1992), Labour cabinet minister, European Commissioner (Jewish father)
- Barbara Roche (1992), Labour minister
- Margaret Hodge (1994), Labour minister
- Louise Ellman (1997), Labour MP
- Oona King (1997), Labour MP, second black female MP (Jewish mother), niece of Miriam Stoppard
- Oliver Letwin (1997), Conservative Shadow Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
- Lynne Featherstone (2005), Liberal Democrat MP
Other
- Peter Benenson, founder of Amnesty International
- Nicky Gavron, Deputy Mayor of London
- Peter Goldsmith, Baron Goldsmith, Attorney General
- Victor Gollancz, publisher and political activist
- Sidney Hart, Trade Unionist
- Stephen Lander, Former head of MI5
- Dame Shirley Porter, Lord Mayor of Westminster 1991-92
- Józef Rotblat, anti-nuclear campaigner, Nobel Peace Prize (1995)
- Krystyna Skarbek, World War 2 spy
- Sir Julius Vogel, Prime Minister of New Zealand
- Walter Wolfgang, a founder of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
Religious leaders
- Israel Abrahams, scholar and educator
- Yehezkel Abramsky, Rabbi
- Hermann Adler, Chief Rabbi
- Nathan Marcus Adler, Chief Rabbi
- Sir Israel Brodie, Chief Rabbi
- Sir Hermann Gollancz, Rabbi and educator
- Joseph H. Hertz, Chief Rabbi
- Louis Jacobs, Rabbi and educator
- Lord Immanuel Jakobovits, Chief Rabbi
- Claude Montefiore, Lay synagogue leader
- Jonathan Sacks, Chief Rabbi
- Simeon Singer, Rabbi
- Joseph Wolff (1795-1862), German-born Christian missionary (did missons for Jewish people)
Scientists
See also: List of Jewish Fellows of the Royal Society
Physicists
- Sir Michael Berry, mathematical physicist
- David Bohm, American British physicist and philosopher,
- Sir Hermann Bondi, Austrian-born British cosmologist
- Max Born, physicist, Nobel Prize (1954)
- Paul Eisler, inventor of printed circuit board
- Dennis Gabor, inventor of holography, Nobel Prize (1971)
- William & Caroline Herschel, astronomers (Jewish paternal grandfather)
- Sir Peter Hirsch, materials scientist
- Brian David Josephson, physicist, Nobel Prize (1973)
- Nicholas Kurti, low-temperature physicist
- Leon Mestel, astronomer
- Sir Joseph Rotblat, physicist, Nobel Peace Prize (1995)
Chemists
- Gustav Victor Rudolf Born, Professor of Pharmacy
- Herbert Brown, chemist, Nobel Prize (1979) (UK-born)
- Sir Aaron Klug, physicist & chemist, Nobel Prize (1982)
- Harold Kroto, discoverer of buckminsterfullerene, Nobel Prize (1996) (Jewish father)
- Ludwig Mond, chemist & industrialist
- Sir Max Perutz, molecular biologist, Nobel Prize (1962)
- Michael Polanyi, polymath
Biologists
- Ephraim Anderson, microbiologist
- Walter Bodmer, geneticist
- Sydney Brenner, molecular biologist, Nobel Prize (2002)
- Sir Ernst Chain, co-developer of penicillin, Nobel Prize (1945)
- Sir Michael Epstein, co-discoverer of the Epstein-Barr virus
- Rosalind Franklin, molecular biologist, helped to discover structure of DNA
- Alan Fersht, protein folding (Jewish father)
- Lady Susan Greenfield, neuroscientist and writer
- Waldemar Haffkine, pioneer of cholera vaccine (Jewish father)
- Sir Bernard Katz, biophysicist, Nobel Prize (1970)
- Sir Hans Adolf Krebs, biochemist, Nobel Prize (1953)
- César Milstein, immunologist, Nobel Prize (1984)
- Leslie Orgel, evolutionary biologist
- Steven Rose, biologist
- Miriam Rothschild, entomologist
- Oliver Sacks, neurologist and author
- John Vane, biochemist, Nobel Prize (1982) (Jewish father)
- Lord Robert Winston, fertility expert and broadcaster
- Lewis Wolpert, developmental biologist and broadcaster
Mathematicians and Statisticians
- Abraham Manie Adelstein, statistician
- Abram Besicovitch, Russian-born British mathematician (karaite)
- Jacob Bronowski, mathematician & broadcaster
- Philip Dawid, statistician
- John Fox, statistician
- Benjamin Gompertz, mathematician
- Steven Haberman, professor of actuarial science
- Hyman Kestelman, mathematician
- Ruth Lawrence, mathematician & child prodigy
- Claus Moser, statistician
- Louis Mordell, number theorist
- Richard Rado, mathematician
- Klaus Roth, mathematician, Fields Medal (1958)
- David Spiegelhalter, statistician
- James Joseph Sylvester, mathematician
Computer scientists
- Samson Abramsky, computer scientist
- David Deutsch, quantum computing pioneer
- I.J. Good, cryptographer, philosopher of statistics & computing pioneer
- David Levy, computer chess expert
- Leo Marks, cryptographer & screenwriter
- Max Newman, mathematician & computing pioneer (Jewish father)
- Gordon Plotkin, computer scientist
- Leslie Valiant, computer scientist parallel computation
Academic figures
Philosophers
- Sir Alfred Ayer, philosopher, populariser of logical positivism (Jewish mother)
- Sir Isaiah Berlin, political philosopher
- H. L. A. Hart, legal philosopher
- Imre Lakatos, philosopher of science
- Sir Karl Popper, philosopher of science
- Ludwig Wittgenstein, philosopher (Jewish father)
Social scientists
- Michael Balint, psychoanalyst
- Simon Baron-Cohen, autism researcher
- Zygmunt Bauman, sociologist
- Basil Bernstein, linguist
- Meyer Fortes, anthropologist
- Anna Freud, child psychoanalyst
- Sigmund Freud, psychoanalyst (spent last few years of life in Britain)
- Morris Ginsberg
- Paul Hirst, social theorist (Jewish mother)
- Marie Jahoda, psychology of discrimination
- Melanie Klein, psychotherapist
- Judd Marmor, psychiatrist (UK-born)
- Ashley Montagu, anthropologist & humanist
Medical
- Lord Turnberg of Cheadle, Professor: FMedSci
Economists
- Peter Bauer, economist
- Noreena Hertz, economist & activist
- Richard F. Kahn, economist: multiplier
- Nicholas Kaldor, economist
- Israel Kirzner, economist (UK-born)
- Harold Laski, economist
- David Ricardo, economist
- Piero Sraffa, economist
Historians
- Geoffrey Alderman, historian
- Geoffrey Rudolph Elton, historian
- Isaac Deutscher, historian
- Sir Martin Gilbert, historian
- Eric Hobsbawm, historian
- Bernard Lewis, historian
- Simon Sebag Montefiore, historian
- Lewis Bernstein Namier, historian
- Sir Francis Palgrave (born Cohen) (1768-1861), UK historian
- Francis Turner Palgrave (1824-1897), anthropologist
- William Gifford Palgrave (1826-1888), scholar of Arabic (Christian)
- Sir Reginald Francis Douce Palgrave (1829-1904)
- Cecil Roth, historian and editor of the Encyclopedia Judaica
- Simon Schama, historian
- Sir Aurel Stein, archeologist
- Geza Vermes, historian
Theologians and Hebraists
- Chimen Abramsky, Professor of Hebrew
- Stefan Reif, Cambridge academic
Showbusiness
Film actors
- Alfie Bass, comic actor
- Claire Bloom, actress
- Orlando Bloom, actor (Jewish father [non-biological]; unclear if Bloom is biologically Jewish)
- Eleanor Bron, actress and name inspiration for Eleanor Rigby
- Helena Bonham Carter, actress (Jewish maternal grandmother)
- Katrin Cartlidge, actress (Jewish mother)
- Daniel Day Lewis, actor (Jewish mother)
- Marty Feldman, comic actor
- Jordan Frieda, actor (Jewish father)
- Laurence Harvey, actor (Lithuanian-born)
- Leslie Howard, actor
- Jason Isaacs, actor
- Sid James, comic actor
- Sir Ben Kingsley, actor (Jewish maternal grandparent)
- David Kossoff, actor and stage monologuist
- Miriam Margolyes, actress
- Ron Moody, actor
- Olivia Newton-John, film actress and singer (UK-born; Jewish maternal grandfather & half-Jewish maternal grandmother)
- Sophie Okonedo, actress (Jewish mother; raised Jewish)
- Paul Rudd, actor (U.S. born; British-born Jewish parents)
- Alicia Silverstone, actress (U.S. born; British-born Jewish parents)
- Ione Skye, actress (UK-born; Jewish mother)
- Dame Elizabeth Taylor, actress (convert to Judaism; parents were American)
- Rachel Weisz, actress
- Sam Wanamaker, actor
- Zoe Wanamaker, actress
- David Warner, actor (Jewish father)
- Naomi Westerman, actress
TV actors
- Sacha Baron Cohen, British comedian, notable for his highly successful comedy character Ali G.
- Dani Behr, tv presenter
- Lionel Blair, tv entertainer
- Joan Collins, Alexis Carrington in Dynasty (Jewish father)
- Vanessa Feltz, tv presenter
- Stephen Fry, comedian & actor (Jewish mother)
- Lesley Joseph, Dorian in Birds of a Feather
- Natasha Kaplinsky, tv presenter (Jewish father)
- Felicity Kendal, Barbara Good in The Good Life (convert to Judaism)
- Maureen Lipman, tv actress
- Kay Mellor, actress & scriptwriter
- Warren Mitchell, Alf Garnett in Til Death Us Do Part
- Sharon Osbourne, herself in The Osbournes (Jewish father)
- Esther Rantzen, presenter of That's Life!, founder of ChildLine
- Gaby Roslin, tv presenter
- Andrew Sachs, Manuel in Fawlty Towers (Jewish father)
- Emma Samms, tv actress
- Jane Seymour, lead in Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman (Jewish father)
- Jerry Springer, tv presenter (UK-born)
- David Suchet, lead in Hercule Poirot (Jewish father; raised Christian)
- Clive Swift, Richard Bucket from Keeping Up Appearances
- David Swift, Henry from Drop the Dead Donkey
Directors/producers/executives
- Jenny Abramsky, BBC executive
- Sir Michael Balcon, producer
- Sir Bernard Delfont, Baron Delfont executive
- Oscar Deutsch, founder of Odeon Cinemas
- Stephen Frears, director (Jewish mother; Frears only discovered this as an adult)
- Sidney J. Furie, director
- Jonathan Glazer, director
- Leslie Grade, executive
- Sir Lew Grade, Baron Grade of Elstree, executive
- Michael Grade, BBC executive
- Henry Jaglom, director (UK-born)
- Sir Alexander Korda, director & producer
- Zoltan Korda, director
- Mike Leigh, director
- Richard Lester, director
- Jonathan Lynn, director
- Sam Mendes, director (Jewish mother)
- Emeric Pressburger, director
- Irving Rapper, director (UK-born)
- Karel Reisz, director
- John Schlesinger, director
- Michael Winner, director
- Alan Yentob, BBC executive
Comedians
- Ronni Ancona, impressionist
- David Baddiel, comedian
- Sacha Baron Cohen, impressionist, Ali G
- Arnold Brown, comedian
- Ben Elton, comedian & writer
- Marty Feldman, comedian and actor
- Bud Flanagan, comedian & actor
- Stephen Fry, comedian & actor (Jewish mother)
- Paul Kaye, comedian & actor, Dennis Pennis
- Matt Lucas, comedian
- Denis Norden, scriptwriter and radio & TV personality
- Jerry Sadowitz, comedian
- Alexei Sayle, comedian & communist
- Peter Sellers, comedian & actor (Jewish mother; raised Jewish)
- Ruby Wax, comedian (UK-based)
Theatre
- Alain Boublil, author and lyricist
- Peter Brook, director
- Georgia Brown, musical theatre actress
- Maria Friedman, musical theatre actress
- Stephen Fry, comedian & actor (Jewish mother)
- Hermione Gingold, actress
- Henry Goodman, actor
- Nicholas Hytner, director
- Jonathan Miller, director
- Robert Rietti, actor
- Anthony Sher, actor
- Janet Suzman, actress
- Sam Wanamaker, the Globe Theatre project
- Zoe Wanamaker, actress
Radio
- Rabbi Lionel Blue, radio broadcaster
- Jono Coleman, radio broadcaster
- Sir Clement Freud, radio broadcaster
- Emma Freud, radio broadcaster (Jewish father)
- Alan Keith, radio broadcaster
- Charlie Wolf, TalkSport Radio
- Mike Mendoza, TalkSport Radio
Other
- Caprice Bourret, model
- Alicia Markova, dancer
Musicians
Popular musicians
- Ambrose (bandleader)
- Nicole, Natalie Appleton & Melanie Blatt, members of All Saints (Appletons Jewish mother)
- Marc Bolan, member of T. Rex (Jewish father; raised Jewish)
- Elkie Brooks, singer, member of Vinegar Joe
- Ian Broudie, member of The Lightning Seeds
- Johnny Clegg, South African musician (UK-born; Jewish mother)
- Alma Cogan, singer
- Anthony Costa, member of Blue
- Jamie Cullum, jazz pianist of Jewish/Burmese heritage
- Craig David, R&B musician (Jewish maternal grandparent)
- Victor Feldman, jazz musician
- Justine Frischmann, member of Elastica
- Graham Gouldman, Lol Crème & Kevin Godley, members of 10cc
- Mick Green, guitarist for Johnny Kidd & the Pirates
- Peter Green, member of Fleetwood Mac
- Terry Hall, member of The Specials
- Mick Hucknall, member of Simply Red (Jewish mother)
- Jason Kay, member of Jamiroquai
- David Knopfler & Mark Knopfler, members of Dire Straits (Jewish father)
- Paul Kossoff, member of Free
- Keith Levene, guitarist of Public Image Ltd.
- Ron Mael, Russell Mael, members of Sparks, (British parents)
- Jon Moss, member of Culture Club
- Manfred Mann, R&B keyboardist
- Oi Va Voi, klezmer/electronica band
- Keith Reid & Matthew Fisher, founding members of Procol Harum
- Gavin Rossdale, member of Bush (Jewish father; raised somewhat Jewish)
- Ronnie Scott, saxophonist & jazz club owner
- Helen Shapiro, singer
- Jon Shaxted, guitarist
- Shlomo, beatboxer
- Derek, Ray & Phil Shulman, members of Gentle Giant
- Nancy Spungen, U.S.-born girlfriend of Sid Vicious
- Rachel Stevens, singer & former member of S Club 7
- Sharon Tandy, singer
- Lewis Taylor, singer/songwirter
- Frankie Vaughan, singer
- John Weider, member of Eric Burdon & the New Animals
- Louise Wener, member of Sleeper
- Amy Winehouse, singer/songwriter
- Eric Woolfson, member of The Alan Parsons Project
Producers/managers
- Don Arden, music-promoter and former Black Sabbath manager
- Chris Blackwell, founder of Island Records (Jewish mother)
- Brian Epstein, manager of the Beatles
- Harvey Goldsmith, rock impressario
- Malcolm McLaren, manager of the Sex Pistols (Jewish mother; raised Jewish)
- Daniel Miller, founder of Mute Records
- Andrew Loog Oldham, manager of the Rolling Stones (Jewish mother)
- Geoff Travis, founder of Rough Trade Records
Classical musicians
- Norbert Brainin, violinist
- Harriet Cohen, pianist
- Frederic Hymen Cowen, composer
- Solomon Cutner, known as Solomon, pianist
- Jacqueline du Pré, cellist (convert)
- Gerald Finzi, composer
- Benjamin Frankel, composer
- Isidore Godfray, conductor
- George Henschel, singer & conductor
- Myra Hess, pianist
- Steven Isserlis, cellist
- Yehudi Menuhin, Lord Menuhin of Stoke d'Abernon; conductor & violinist (UK-based)
- Benno Moiseiwitsch, pianist
- Yfrah Neaman, violinist & teacher
- Siegmund Nissel, violinist
- Michael Nyman, composer
- Murray Perahia, pianist (UK-based)
- Landon Ronald, conductor & composer
- Peter Schidlof, violist
- Sir Georg Solti, conductor
- Lionel Tertis, violist
- Benjamin Zander, music director
Songwriters
- Lionel Bart, musicals writer
- Don Black, lyricist
- Eric Maschwitz, lyricist, writer & broadcaster
- David Rose, songwriter & composer
- Jule Styne, songwriter (UK-born)
Writers
Authors
- Grace Aguilar, novelist & poet
- Lisa Appignanesi, novelist
- Alain de Botton, writer
- Anita Brookner, novelist
- Ian Buruma, Dutch-born journalist and writer
- Elias Canetti, novelist, Nobel Prize (1981) (Bulgarian-born)
- Jackie Collins, romantic novelist (Jewish father)
- Eleanor Farjeon, children's writer (Jewish father)
- Leonard Feather, jazz writer
- Antonia Forest, children's writer (Jewish father)
- Neil Gaiman, fantasy writer
- Linda Grant, novelist
- Basil Henriques
- Zoë Heller, author (Jewish father)
- Howard Jacobson, writer & broadcaster
- Aaron Judah, children's writer
- Judith Kerr, children's writer
- Matthew Kneale, writer (Jewish mother)
- Arthur Koestler, novelist & critic
- George Mikes, humorous writer
- Claudia Roden, food writer
- Bernice Rubens, novelist
- Will Self, novelist (Jewish mother)
- Muriel Spark, novelist (Jewish father)
- Leonard Woolf, writer & activist
- Helen Zahavi, novelist
Poets
- Danny Abse, poet
- Al Alvarez, poet
- Ivor Cutler, poet, humorist, musician
- Philip Hobsbaum, poet
- Jenny Joseph, poet
- Laurence Lerner, South African born British poet
- Denise Levertov, poet (Jewish father)
- Peter Levi, poet (born Jewish)
- Amy Levy, poet & novelist
- Mina Loy, poet (Jewish father)
- Isaac Rosenberg, war poet
- Siegfried Sassoon, war poet (Jewish father)
- Jon Silkin, poet
- Stephen Spender, poet & essayist (Jewish mother)
Playwrights
- Peter Barnes, playwright
- Ronald Harwood, playwright & screenwriter
- Patrick Marber, playwright & comedian
- Harold Pinter, playwright
- Jack Rosenthal, TV playwright
- Peter & Anthony Shaffer, playwrights
- Tom Stoppard, playwright
- Alfred Sutro, playwright
- Arnold Wesker, playwright
Journalists
- David Aaronovitch, journalist (Jewish father)
- Ian Buruma, Dutch-born author and journalist (Jewish mother)
- Nick Cohen, journalist
- John Diamond, journalist
- Jonathan Freedland, journalist
- Fay Maschler, restaurant critic
- Nigella Lawson, journalist, cookery writer & broadcaster
- Bernard Levin, journalist & broadcaster
- Melanie Phillips, journalist
- Marjorie Proops, agony aunt
- Kimberly Quinn, publisher (UK-based)
- Claire Rayner, agony aunt
Artists
Fine arts
- Frank Auerbach, painter
- David Bomberg, painter
- Sir Anthony Caro, sculptor
- Sir Jacob Epstein, sculptor (UK-based)
- Hannah Frank, artist & sculptor
- Lucian Freud, painter
- Mark Gertler, painter
- Sir Ernst Gombrich, art historian
- Anish Kapoor, sculptor (Jewish mother)
- R.B. Kitaj, painter (UK-based)
- Leon Kossoff, painter
- David Sylvester, art critic
Designers and Architects
- Misha Black, industrial designer
- Elizabeth Emanuel, fashion designer
- Nicole Farhi, fashion designer
- John Frieda, hair-stylist; father of actor Jordan Frieda
- Abram Games, poster designer
- Stella McCartney, fashion designer (Jewish mother)
- Janet Reger, lingerie designer
- Vidal Sassoon, hair stylist
- Hans Schleger, graphics designer
- Richard Seifert, architect
Business and the Professions
Food
- Jack Cohen, founder of Tesco
- Jacob "the Jew", founder of the first European coffeehouse (Oxford, 1650)
- Adam & Sam Kaye, founders of Ask Pizza
- Phillip Kaye, founder of Garfunkel's
- Nigella Lawson, celebrity chef
- Joseph Lyons et al, founders of J. Lyons and Co.
- Lance Forman, President and a fourth-generation of leading London smokehouse of H. Forman & Son, founded in 1905
Retail
- Marilyn & Yoram Anselm, founders of Hobbs
- Sir Charles Clore, founder of Sears Group, philanthropist
- Ralph and David Gold, founders of Ann Summers
- Philip Green, owner of Bhs, Arcadia Group
- Sir Stanley Kalms, Lord Kalms, founder of Dixons
- Michael Marks, co-founder of Marks & Spencer
- Moses Moss, founder of Moss Bros, and his sons George and Alfred, the brothers of its name
- Joseph Nathan, founder of Glaxo
- Marcus Samuel, founder of the "Shell" Transport and Trading Company
- Peter Simon, founder of Monsoon & Accessorize
- Sir Alan Sugar, founder of Amstrad
- Isaac Wolfson, founder of GUS plc & philanthropist
- Leonard Wolfson, chairman of GUS plc & philanthropist
- Selim Zilkha, founder of Mothercare (while UK-based)
Law
- His Honour Gerald Butler, QC, judge
- Alex Carlile, Baron Carlile of Berriew, Lord Carlile, Baron Carlile of Berriew, Liberal Democrats
- Brian Green, QC
- Dame Rose Heilbron, Britain's first female QC, judge
- Sir George Jessel, Solicitor General, later Master of the Rolls
- Baron Lloyd of Hampstead, QC and professor of law
- Sir David Napley, solicitor and president of the Law Society
- Leonard Sainer, solicitor and retailer
- Cyril Salmon, Baron Salmon of Sandwich, QC, law lord
- Daniel Serota, Circuit Judge
- Simon Serota, High Court Taxing Master
- Linda Joy Stern, Circuit Judge and ex-Crown Prosecutor
- Peter Taylor, Baron Taylor of Gosforth, QC, former Lord Chief Justice
- Harry Woolf, Baron Woolf, Lord Chief Justice, QC, former Master of the Rolls
Media
- Jacob Rothschild, (Lord) Non-Executive Deputy Chairman of the Board, British SKY Broadcasting Group PLC
- Conrad Black, media magnate
- Michael Grade, Chairman of the BBC
- Sidney Bernstein, founder of Granada Television
- Graham Creelman, Managing Director of Anglia Television, Chairman of Anglia Multimedia
- Benjamin Cohen, former teenage dot.com millionaire
- Richard Desmond, publisher
- Lew Grade, founder of ATV
- Michael Green, founder of Carlton Television
- Joseph Moses Levy, founder of the Daily Telegraph
- Harry Marks, founder of the Financial Times
- Tom Maschler, literary publisher, Booker Prize founder
- Robert Maxwell, publisher
- Louis Theroux (Jewish father)
- Paul Reuter, founder of Reuters
- Maurice & Charles Saatchi, founders of Saatchi and Saatchi
- Martin Sorrell, founder of the WPP Group
Finance
- Michael Levy, Important fundraiser for the Labour Party and runs a private investment company called Wireart
- Aaron of Lincoln, 12th century financier
- Lloyd Dorfman, founder of Travelex
- David Goldman, founder of The Sage Group
- Moses Haim Montefiore, financier & philanthropist
- Michael Moritz, venture capitalist
- Nathan Mayer Rothschild, financier & banker
- Baron Montagu of Swaythling family, banker
- Samuel Montagu, 1st Baron Swaythling
Sports
Boxing
- Barney Aaron, 19th century boxer (IBHOF)
- Jackie Kid Berg, Junior Welterweight Champion (IBHOF)
- Dutch Sam Elias, 19th century boxer, inventor of the uppercut (IBHOF)
- Ted Kid Lewis, World Welterweight Champion (IBHOF)
- Daniel Mendoza, 18th century Heavyweight Champion (IBHOF)
- Harry Mizler, 1934 British Lightweight Champion
- Al Phillips, 1947 European Featherweight Champion
- Jack Solomons, boxing promoter (IBHOF)
Cricket
- David Collier, chief executive of The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB)
Chess
- Gerald Abrahams, British chess player
- Harry Golombek, British chess player
- Isidor Gunsberg, Hungarian/British chess player
- William Hartston, British chess player
- Bernhard Horwitz, German/British chess player
Other
- Harold Abrahams, sprinter
- David Beckham, football player (Jewish maternal grandfather; raised more Jewish than anything else)
- Angela Buxton, tennis player
- George Cohen, World Cup winning footballer, uncle of Ben Cohen (Jewish paternal grandfather; Ben Cohen is 1/8th Jewish)
- Ludwig Guttmann, founder of the Paralympics
- Ben Helfgott, weightlifter
- Edward Lawrence Levy, first weightlifting World Champion
- Ivor Goldsmid Montagu, co-founder and president of the ITTF
- Sir Stirling Moss, racing driver (Jewish father, original family name Moses)
- Albert Rosenfeld, rugby league player (RFL Hall of Fame)
Miscellaneous
- Arthur Louis Aaron, WWII RAF Victoria Cross recipient
- Frank Alexander de Pass, WWI British Indian Army Victoria Cross recipient
- Dame Vivien Duffield, philanthropist
- Harry Errington, WWII Auxiliary Fire Service George Cross recipient.
- Robert Gee, WWI British Army Victoria Cross recipient
- Thomas William Gould. WWII Royal Navy Victoria Cross recipient
- John Patrick Kenneally, WWII British Army Victoria Cross recipient (Jewish father)
- Simon Latutin, WWII British Army (seconded to Somalia Gendarmerie) George Cross recipient
- Raymmond Mayhew Lewin, WWII Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve George Cross recipient
- Harold Reginald Newgass, WWII Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve George Cross recipient
- Issy Smith, WWI British Army Victoria Cross recipient
- Jack White, WWI British Army Victoria Cross recipient