Academia , Turkish economist and professor at
Harvard University •
Maír José Benardete (1895–1989), Ottoman-born American scholar of
Sephardic studies; professor at
Brooklyn College •
Ruth Behar (born 1956), Cuban-American anthropologist; professor at the
University of Michigan •
José Benardete (1928–2016), American philosopher; professor of philosophy at
Syracuse University •
Seth Benardete (1930–2001), American classicist; professor
New York University and
The New School •
Doron Ben-Atar (born 1957), American historian and playwright; professor of history at
Fordham University •
Seyla Benhabib (born 1950), Turkish-born American political theorist; professor at
Columbia Law School •
Edit Doron (1951–2019), Israeli linguist; professor at
Hebrew University of Jerusalem •
Lois Ellen Frank (born 1960), American food historian; professor at the
Institute of American Indian Arts •
Yomtov Garti (1915–2011), Turkish mathematician and a teacher of mathematics, physics and cosmography •
John Gerassi (1931–2012), French-American professor, journalist and political activist •
Joseph Halévy (1827–1917), French
orientalist and traveller; professor of
Ethiopic in the
École pratique des hautes études; librarian of the
Société Asiatique •
Israel Hanukoglu (born 1952), Turkish-born Israeli
biochemist; professor at
Ariel University; former science and technology adviser to the
prime minister of
Israel (1996–1999) •
Yossef H. Hatzor (born 1959), Israeli professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev •
Jaklin Kornfilt ( 1940s), Turkish
theoretical linguist and professor at
Syracuse University; known for her contributions to the fields of
Turkish language and grammar, and Turkic
language typology •
Miriam Lichtheim (1914–2004), Turkish-born American-Israeli
Egyptologist, academic, librarian and translator •
Jacob L. Moreno (1889–1974), Romanian-American
psychiatrist; the founder of
psychodrama; pioneer of
group psychotherapy •
Jonathan D. Moreno (born 1952), American philosopher and historian; professor at the
University of Pennsylvania •
Aron Rodrigue (born 1957), Turkish-born American professor in Jewish Culture and History at
Stanford University •
Dani Rodrik (born 1957), Turkish economist and professor at
Harvard University •
Nathan Salmon (born 1951), American philosopher; professor at the
University of California, Santa Barbara •
Ishak Saporta (born 1957), Israeli professor of business ethics at
Tel Aviv University •
Simon Schama (born 1945), English historian and television presenter; professor at
Columbia University Arts and entertainment , Israeli rock singer and guitarist ,
Ladino singer , composer , Turkish singer •
Maurice Abravanel (1903–1993), Ottoman-born American classical music conductor •
Anjelika Akbar (born 1969), Turkish composer, pianist and writer •
Philip Arditti (born 1979), Turkish theatre and television actor •
Adi Ashkenazi (born 1975), Israeli actress, screenwriter and stand-up comedian •
Lior Ashkenazi (born 1968), Israeli actor, voice actor, comedian and television presenter •
Mili Avital (born 1972), Israeli actress •
Aki Avni (born 1967), Israeli actor, entertainer and television host •
Jeff Baena (born 1977–), American screenwriter and film director •
Kathy Barr (1929–2008), American vocalist •
Albert Beger (born 1959), Istanbul-born Israeli saxophonist and flutist •
Bea Benaderet (1906–1968), American actress •
Ceki Benşuşe (born 1980), Turkish guitar player of the Turkish band
Sefarad •
Albert Bitran (1931–2018), French painter and sculptor •
Can Bonomo (born 1987), Turkish singer who represented
Turkey in the
Eurovision Song Contest 2012 •
Assi Cohen (born 1974), Israeli comedian and actor •
Sacha Distel (1933–2004), French musician •
Bob Dylan (born 1941), American singer and songwriter;
2016 Nobel Prize in Literature winner •
Jesse Dylan (born 1966), American film director and production executive •
Roza Eskenazi (1890 – 1980), Istanbul-born Greek dancer and singer of
rebetiko •
Savi Gabizon (born 1960), Israeli filmmaker, screenwriter and producer •
Yehoram Gaon (born 1939), Israeli singer, actor, director, comedian, producer, television and radio host •
Miki Gavrielov (born 1949), Israeli composer •
Fernando Gerassi (1899–1974), Turkish-born American artist •
Eydie Gormé (1928–2013), American singer •
Isaac Guillory (1947–2000), American
folk guitarist •
Sienna Guillory (born 1975), English actress and former model •
Emma Kingston (born 1991), British stage actress •
Lainie Kazan (born 1940), American actress and singer •
Alberto Hemsi (1898–1975), Turkish-born French composer •
Victoria Kamhi ( 1905–1997), Turkish pianist •
Tchéky Karyo (1953–2005), French actor and musician •
Victor Laredo (1910–2003), American documentary photographer •
Shaily Lipa (born 1974), Israeli cookbook author, content creator and TV
cookery show host •
Sami Levi (born 1981), Turkish soloist of the Turkish band
Sefarad •
Kohava Levy (born 1946), Israeli singer, songwriter, composer and poet in
Ladino •
Yasmin Levy (born 1975), Israeli Ladino singer and songwriter •
Yitzhak Levy (1919–1977), Israeli singer, songwriter, musicologist and composer in Ladino •
Linet (born 1975), Turkish-Israeli singer •
Art Metrano (1936–2001), American actor •
Paul Misraki (1908–1998), French composer •
Darío Moreno (1921–1968), Turkish
polyglot singer •
Eliad Nachum (born 1990), Israeli singer, songwriter and television actor •
Germaine Poliakov (1918–2020), French music teacher and Holocaust survivor •
Jacques Rémy (1911–1981), French screenwriter •
Berry Sakharof (born 1957), Israeli rock guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer •
Rudolph Schildkraut (1862–1930), Austrian film and theatre actor •
Altina Schinasi (1907–1999), American sculptor, filmmaker, actress and inventor •
Neil Sedaka (born 1939), American singer, songwriter and pianist •
Rotem Sela (born 1953), Israeli actress best known for starring in the Israeli television series
Beauty and the Baker (2013–2021) •
Shlomi Shabat (born 1954), Israeli vocalist and musician •
Cem Stamati (born 1981), bass guitar player of the Turkish band
Sefarad •
Alona Tal (born 1983), Israeli actress and singer •
Roy Gokay Wol (born 1984), Turkish-Israeli film producer and director •
Ed Wynn (1886–1966), American actor and comedian •
Keenan Wynn (1916–1986), American
character actor •
Ned Wynn (1941–2020), American actor and screenwriter
Business , Ottoman financier and philanthropist; patriarch of the
House of Camondo , founder of
Groupe Danone •
Ishak Alaton (1927–2016), Turkish businessman and co-founder of
Alarko Holding •
Leyla Alaton (born 1961), Turkish businesswoman and art collector, board member of
Alarko and
Alvimedica •
Isak Andic (1953–2024), Turkish-Spanish businessman and co-founder of clothing retailer
Mango •
Howard Behar (born 1944), American businessman; president of
Starbucks Coffee Company International •
Abraham Salomon Camondo (1781–1873), Ottoman financier and philanthropist; patriarch of the
House of Camondo •
Isaac de Camondo (1851–1911), Ottoman-born French businessman and art collector •
Moïse de Camondo (1860–1935), Ottoman-born French banker and art collector •
Isaac Carasso (1874–1939), Ottoman-born Spanish businessman; founder of
Groupe Danone; member of
Carasso family •
Giuseppe Eskenazi (born 1939), Turkish businessman and
Chinese art dealer; founder of
Eskenazi •
Üzeyir Garih (1929–2001), Turkish businessman and co-founder of
Alarko Holding •
Cem Hakko (born 1955), Turkish businessman and president of
Vakko •
Vitali Hakko (1913–2007), Turkish businessman, founder of the
Vakko •
Jeffi Medina (born 1950), Turkish businessman and co-founder of Medina Turgul
DDB; former president of Advertising Association of Turkey •
Gracia Mendes Nasi (1510–1569), Ottoman-Portuguese philanthropist, businesswoman, and member of the Mendes
Benveniste family; one of the wealthiest and most influential women of
Renaissance Europe; known for securing a long-term lease of
Tiberias in the Safed
sanjak (modern day Israel) from
Suleiman the Magnificent •
Silvio Santos (1930–2024), Brazilian media mogul and television host •
Morris Schinasi (1855–1928),
Ottoman-born American businessman in the
tobacco industry •
Izak Senbahar (born 1959), American real estate developer
Politics, military and government ,
President of Israel from 1978 to 1983 , Ottoman lawyer and member of the
Ottoman Chamber of Deputies •
Avichay Adraee (born 1982), Israeli military officer; head of the Arab media division of the
IDF Spokesperson's Unit •
Mordechai Alkahi (1925–1947),
Petah Tikva-born Turkish member of the
Irgun •
Solomon Ashkenazi ( 1520–1602), Ottoman-Venetian physician and businessman active in
Ottoman,
Venetian and
Polish–Lithuanian politics •
Ruhama Avraham (born 1964), Israeli politician who served as a member of the
Knesset •
Esther Benbassa (born 1950), French historian and politician; member of the
French Senate (2011–2023) •
Avraham Ben-Shoshan (born 1940), Israeli military officer; Commander of the
Israeli Navy (1985-1989) •
Eliezer Cohen (born 1934), Israeli politician who served as a member of the
Knesset •
Geulah Cohen (1925–2019), Israeli politician and activist •
Nechemya Cohen (1943–1967), Israeli soldier; the most decorated soldier in the history of the
IDF •
Steve Cohen (born 1949), American attorney and politician; member of the
U.S. House of Representatives •
Dalia Dorner (born 1934), Israeli-Turkish judge; justice of the
Supreme Court of Israel (1993-2004) •
Shlomo Gazit (1926–2020), Israeli military officer and academic;
major general in the
Israel Defense Forces, head of the
Military Intelligence Directorate •
Mordechai Gazit (1922–2016), Israeli diplomat; adviser to Israeli Prime Minister
Golda Meir; ambassador to
France; and Director-General of the
Israeli Foreign Ministry •
Françoise Giroud (1916–2003), French journalist, screenwriter, writer, and politician;
Minister of Culture •
Emanuel Karasu (1862–1934), Ottoman lawyer and politician; member of the
Ottoman Chamber of Deputies, member of the
Young Turks •
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (born 1952), American politician, member of the
U.S. House of Representatives •
Alejandro Mayorkas (born 1959), American attorney and government official, 7th
United States Secretary of Homeland Security •
Tamir Pardo (born 1953), Israeli intelligence officer; 11th Director of
Mossad •
Emin Pasha (1840–1892), Ottoman physician,
naturalist, and governor of the
Egyptian province of
Equatoria on the upper
Nile •
Luisa Porritt (born 1987), British politician •
Issy Smith (1890–1940), British-Australian military officer and recipient of the
Victoria Cross •
Moshe Bar Siman Tov (born 1976), Israeli economist and the Director-General of the
Ministry of Health •
David Tzur (born 1959), Israeli politician and former policeman; member of the
Knesset Religion ,
Hakham Bashi (
Chief Rabbi) of Turkey (2002-2025) , Chief Rabbi and author of
Smyrna; member of the
Pallache family •
Aaron Alfandari ( 1700–1774), Turkish
Talmudic writer •
Marc D. Angel (born 1945), American rabbi and author •
Hayyim Isaac Algazi ( 1819), Turkish Chief Rabbi of
Smyrna •
Yom Tov Algazi (1727–1782), Ottoman
Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem (1773-1782) •
Hayyim ben Jacob Alfandari (1558–1640), Turkish
Talmudic educator and writer •
Solomon Eliezer Alfandari ( 1826–1830), Ottoman rabbi,
kabbalist and
rosh yeshiva of
Istanbul •
Albert Jean Amateau (1889–1996), Turkish rabbi, lawyer and social activist •
David Asseo (1914–2002), Turkish rabbi;
Hakham Bashi (
Chief Rabbi) of the
Republic of Turkey (1961-2002) •
Asenath Barzani (1590 – 1670), Ottoman-Kurdish female rabbinical scholar and poet •
Joshua ben Israel Benveniste ( 1590 – 1668), Ottoman rabbi at
Constantinople and physician •
Elijah Capsali ( 1485–1550), Ottoman rabbi and historian •
Moses Capsali (1420–1495), Ottoman rabbi; first
Hakham Bashi (
Chief Rabbi) of the Ottoman Empire •
Abraham Danon (1857–1925), Turkish rabbi,
Hebraist, writer and poet •
Haim Moussa Douek (1905–1974), Turkish rabbi; last Chief Rabbi of
Egypt •
Menahem Egozi ( 1500s), Turkish
Talmudist •
Ishak Haleva (1940–2025), Turkish rabbi;
Hakham Bashi (
Chief Rabbi) of Turkey (2002-2025) •
Aaron ben Solomon ben Hasun ( 1500s), Turkish rabbi and
Talmudic scholar •
Barzillai ben Baruch Jabez ( 1700s), Turkish
Talmudist •
Elijah Mizrachi ( 1455–1525), Ottoman
Talmudist and
posek; authority on
Halakha and mathematician •
Chaim Nahum (1872–1960), Turkish rabbi;
Grand Rabbi of the Ottoman Empire;
jurist, and
linguist; member of the Turkish delegation for the
Lausanne Treaty •
Abraham Palacci ( 1809–1898), Turkish rabbi; Chief Rabbi and author of
Smyrna; member of the
Pallache family •
Haim Palachi ( 1788–1868), Turkish rabbi; Chief Rabbi of Smyrna and
Gaon •
Joseph Palacci (1815–1896), Turkish rabbi and author in
Ladino and Hebrew in Smyrna •
Rahamim Nissim Palacci (1813–1907), Turkish rabbi; Chief Rabbi of Smyrna and author •
Mosè Piccio ( 1576), Ottoman lexicographer; compiled
Zikhron Torat Moshe (
Hebrew: זכרון תורת משה) •
Benjamin Pontremoli (1740–1784), Turkish rabbi and poet, member of the Pontremoli dynasty •
Yitzhak Sarfati ( 1400s), French-Ottoman rabbi; Chief Rabbi of
Edirne •
Joseph Taitazak ( 1529), Ottoman
Talmudic authority and
Kabbalist; member of the
Taitazak family •
Sabbatai Zevi (1926–1676), Ottoman former
Jewish mystic and
rabbi from
Smyrna; founder of the
Sabbatean movement •
Aaron Zorogon ( 1600s), Turkish
Torah scholar
Sports , basketball player and coach •
Eli Abarbanel (born 1976), Israeli football player •
Barak Bakhar (born 1979), Israeli former
player and the current manager of
Maccabi Haifa •
Pini Balili (born 1979), Israeli former football manager and former football player •
Avram Barokas (1926–2003), Turkish basketball player and coach •
Arik Benado (born 1973), Israeli football manager and former player •
Joe Bonomo (1901–1978), American weightlifter, strongman and actor •
Rober Eryol (1930–2000), Turkish football player for
Galatasaray and manager for
Hapoel Be'er-Sheva •
Umut Güzelses (born 1987), Turkish-Israeli football player •
Alfred König (1913–1987), Turkish Olympic
sprinter and 1935
Maccabiah Games competitor •
Jack Molinas (1931–1975), American professional basketball player;
NBA All-Star (
1954) •
Adi Soffer (born 1987), Israeli footballer •
Avi Soffer (born 1986), Israeli football player •
Garrett Wittels (born 1990), American
baseball player
Literature and journalism , author,
1981 Nobel Prize in Literature winner •
Alexander Aciman (born 1990), American writer and journalist •
André Aciman (born 1951), American writer •
Stella Aciman (born 1953), Turkish novelist, columnist for
Yeni Düzen •
Beki Luiza Bahar (1926–2011), Turkish writer and playwright •
Asa Benveniste (1925–1990), American poet, typographer and publisher •
Elias Canetti (1905–1994),
German-language writer, novelist, memoirist;
1981 Nobel Prize in Literature winner •
Elia Carmona (1869–1931), Ottoman author and journalist; founder of
El Jugueton (
Hebrew: איל ג'וגיטון) •
Vitalis Danon (1897–1969), Ottoman-Tunisian writer and educator at
Alliance Israélite Universelle •
Moris Farhi (1935–2019), Turkish author, vice president of
International PEN (2001-2019) •
Erol Güney (1914–2009), Turkish-Israeli journalist, translator and author •
Albert Karasu (1885–1982), Turkish journalist •
Sami Kohen (1928–2021), Turkish journalist and columnist for
Milliyet •
Mario Levi (1957–2024), Turkish novelist, journalist and scholar with a focus on modern
Turkish literature •
Peter Levi (1931–2000), English poet, archaeologist,
Jesuit priest, travel writer, biographer, academic and critic;
Professor of Poetry at the
University of Oxford (1984–1989) •
Saadia ben Abraham Longo ( 1500s), Turkish
Hebrew poet •
Roni Margulies (1955–2023), Turkish poet, author, translator and political activist •
Leandra Medine (born 1988), American author and blogger •
Édouard Roditi (1910–1992), American poet, short-story writer, critic and translator of Turkish •
Moshe Shaul (1929–2023), Israeli journalist, writer and researcher of the culture of Sephardi Jews •
Diana Souhami (born 1940), English writer •
Benny Ziffer (born 1953), Israeli author and journalist
Miscellaneous , Ottoman corsair and second in command of
Hayreddin Barbarossa •
Tobias Cohn (1652–1729), Polish-Ottoman physician to Ottoman Sultan
Mehmed IV,
Suleiman II,
Ahmed II,
Mustafa II and
Ahmed III •
Jacque Fresco (1916–2007), American
futurist •
Bohor Hallegua ( 1926), Ottoman chess player •
Moses Hamon (1490–1554), Ottoman physician and patron Jewish learning •
Yolande Harmer (1913–1959), Israeli intelligence officer who operated in
Egypt •
Hila Klein (born 1987), Israeli-American YouTuber •
Liran Kohener (born 1988), Israeli model;
Miss Israel 2007 •
Rodrigo Lehtinen (born 1986), American
LGBTQ rights advocate •
Joseph Nasi (1524–1579), Ottoman diplomat and administrator; influential figure in the
Ottoman Empire during the rules of both
Sultan Suleiman I and
Selim II •
Joseph Niego (1863–1945), Turkish-born Jewish activist •
Lenore Skenazy (born 1959), American speaker, blogger, syndicated columnist, author, and
reality show host •
Rona Ramon (1964–2018), Israeli public activist and
STEM influencer •
Sinan Reis ( 1533–1546), Ottoman corsair; second in command of the
Ottoman admiral Hayreddin Barbarossa •
Solomon ibn Verga ( 1460–1554), historian, physician, and author of the
Shevet Yehudah (
Hebrew: שבט יהודה) == See also ==