Emily Maitlis is a BBC journalist and newsreader

Most significant Jewish moment?

It was, oddly, when I got married to Mark, my Catholic boy. We had a rabbi and a priest doing the service together and we have the most beautiful photo of the two of them dancing together to klezmer music. It was a very important moment to have my family there, and accepting of our choice, and for that reason it was extremely emotionally profound.

My favourite biblical character?

Anna Maxted is a novelist and journalist.

Most significant Jewish moment?

I was about to interview Dr Jonathan Sacks for the JC. I was 22. An associate of the Chief Rabbi greeted me. I went to shake hands. He seemed to back away, and I bleated: “Sorry!” realising that if he were very religious, I’d made a blunder. “No,” he said, “I’m just holding the door open for you.”

Which biblical character would you like to meet, and why?

Samson —– there’s a whiff of Hamlet about him. He’s an endearing mixture of strength and weakness.

Simon Sebag Montefiore is a historian and writer.

Most significant Jewish moment?

When my wife Santa converted to Judaism — a wonderful and romantic moment.

Which biblical character would you like to meet, and why?

King David of course — I am spending much time with him because I am now writing my history of Jerusalem. David’s decision to make Jerusalem his capital changed the history not only of the city but of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. David fascinates me, but I’d like to meet Simon Bar Kochba too, and many other Jerusalemite heroes.

Alan Dershowitz is a lawyer, renowned for his high-profile celebrity cases and Israel advocacy.

Most significant Jewish moment?

Meeting my wife at a Jewish singles event in the Boston area in 1982.

Which biblical character would you like to meet and why?

Abraham. I would like to ask him where he got the chutzpah to argue with God about the sinners of Sodom and why he walked away after getting God to agree not to destroy the city if 10 righteous people were found. Why not five? Why not one?

Favourite mitzvah?

Tovah Feldshuh is a Broadway actress, singer and playwright

Most significant Jewish moment?

Being the only batmitzvah in my eighth grade at Quaker Ridge School and one of the lone Conservative Jewish families at that time. I really had to stand on my own two feet regarding our commitment to Judaism — and I did.

Which biblical character would you like to meet, and why?

Moses, because he was so humble and yet such a superb leader. I would have much to learn from him. And if not Moses, give me Barack!

Favourite mitzvah?

Vivian Wineman is president of the Board of Deputies

Most significant Jewish moment?

Getting married.

Which biblical character would you like to meet, and why?

Elijah. Out of curiosity, as I would like to know what he was like as an individual. Was he as much of a loner as he is portrayed? Why did he acquire such a mystique for later generations?

Your favourite mitzvah?

Keeping Shabbat.

Israel for me is…

Annabel Karmel is a food writer and author

Most significant Jewish moment?

Lord Levy is a philanthropist, a Labour peer and a former aide to Tony Blair.

Most significant Jewish moment?

It was when I was travelling to and from Damascus in Syria on official trips as Prime Minister Blair’s Personal Envoy to the Middle East. I was going there with Foreign Office officials to see the late President Hafez al-Assad.

Shmuley Boteach is a rabbi and author

Most significant Jewish moment?

My most significant Jewish moment came under the wedding canopy when I felt that in a ceremony rich with spiritual meaning I was being joined to a nobler, gentler, more stable soul than my own, and in so doing I was being cleansed of much of the turmoil of my childhood.

Which biblical character would you like to meet, and why?

Alain de Botton is a Swiss writer, television presenter and entrepreneur

Most significant Jewish moment?

Deciding to base a central theme of a new book around Judaism. I realised that I knew more about Islam and Christianity than my own religious tradition, and that this was becoming shameful.

Which biblical character would you like to meet, and why?

I am drawn both to King Samuel and Saul — and for this reason, have named my children after them. I have sympathy for their strengths and weaknesses. They are essential, recurring human types.

Sir Martin Gilbert is a historian and biographer of Winston Churchill.

Most significant Jewish moment?

Sitting in the then-Soviet city of Leningrad in the winter of 1982-83 at a clandestine Hebrew class, and realising the extraordinary courage of the Jewish people, and the strength of Jewish unity.

Which biblical character would you like to meet, and why?

Moshe Rabbeinu, who, beset by doubts and weaknesses, had the perseverance to lead and cajole, punish and inspire a fractious people, and keep before them the vision of a God-inspired ethic and peoplehood.

Linda Grant is a journalist and novelist.

What is your most significant Jewish moment?

A conversation with the Israeli novelist Aharon Appelfeld in Jerusalem in 2003, which has stayed with me for his insights into antisemitism.

Which biblical character would you like to meet, and why?

Moses. I’d give him satnav.

What is your favourite mitzvah?

I think there’s one about building a parapet around a flat roof. Very wise.

Israel for me is…

Davka.

When was the last time you went to synagogue?