Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been ranked 21st among the 50 most influential Jews in the world in 2026, according to the Open4business portal, citing a ranking compiled by the Israeli newspaper *The Jerusalem Post*.
» » In its overall table, The Jerusalem Post describes Zelenskyy as “the Jewish face of the Ukrainian resistance”, whilst a separate article on the Ukrainian president is headlined: “The Jewish president who became the face of Ukraine’s resistance”.
The authors of the ranking highlight Zelenskyy’s role in leading the country during a full-scale war with Russia, in advancing Ukraine’s bid for European Union membership, and in developing new approaches to warfare, particularly unmanned technologies.
The Jerusalem Post also draws attention to the Ukrainian president’s Jewish heritage and the repeated attempts by the Russian authorities to link accusations of “Nazism” against Ukraine with the fact that its president is Jewish.
The publication recalls that Zelensky’s relatives perished during the Holocaust, and that his paternal grandfather fought against Nazi Germany during the Second World War. Zelenskyy himself has previously stated on several occasions that his Jewish heritage is part of his background, but does not define his political activities.
Zelenskyy has already featured several times in The Jerusalem Post’s annual ranking. In 2022, following the start of the full-scale Russian invasion, he took first place, and the publication named him the most influential Jew of the year. In the 2024 ranking, the President of Ukraine was in 23rd place. He has therefore risen two places in the 2026 ranking compared with the list from two years ago.
The Jerusalem Post awarded first place in its 2026 ranking to Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump. Every year, the publication includes in its list politicians, businesspeople, academics, public figures, representatives of the technology industry, the arts and religious organisations who, in the editorial team’s view, exert a significant influence on global affairs.
Source: The Jerusalem Post, ‘50 Most Influential Jews of 2026’ ranking.