List of South-East European Jews

Academia

• 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^[17]
• 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 (c. 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

• 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 (c. 1905–1997), Turkish pianist^[18]
• 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^[19]
• 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

• 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

• 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
• Albert Antébi (1873–1919), Ottoman public activist and community leader born in Ottoman Syria, who worked for the old and new Jewish settlement in Palestine
• Solomon Ashkenazi (c. 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
• Yitzhak Navon (1921–2015), Israeli politician, diplomat, playwright, and author; 5th President of Israel; first Israeli president born in Jerusalem and the first Sephardi Jew to serve in that office
• 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

• Aaron Alfandari (c. 1700–1774), Turkish Talmudic writer
• Marc D. Angel (born 1945), American rabbi and author
• Hayyim Isaac Algazi (d. c. 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 (c. 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 (c. 1590 – 1668), Ottoman rabbi at Constantinople and physician
• Elijah Capsali (c. 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 (c. 1500s), Turkish Talmudist
• Ishak Haleva (1940–2025), Turkish rabbi; Hakham Bashi (Chief Rabbi) of Turkey (2002-2025)
• Aaron ben Solomon ben Hasun (c. 1500s), Turkish rabbi and Talmudic scholar
• Barzillai ben Baruch Jabez (c. 1700s), Turkish Talmudist
• Elijah Mizrachi (c. 1455–1525), Ottoman Talmudist and posek; authority on Halakha and mathematician^[20]
• Chaim Nahum (1872–1960), Turkish rabbi; Grand Rabbi of the Ottoman Empire; jurist, and linguist; member of the Turkish delegation for the Lausanne Treaty^[20]
• Abraham Palacci (c. 1809–1898), Turkish rabbi; Chief Rabbi and author of Smyrna; member of the Pallache family
• Haim Palachi (c. 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 (d. c. 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 (d. c. 1400s), French-Ottoman rabbi; Chief Rabbi of Edirne
• Joseph Taitazak (d. c. 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 (d. c. 1600s), Turkish Torah scholar

Sports

• 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

• 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 (d. c. 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

• 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 (d. c. 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 (c. 1533–1546), Ottoman corsair; second in command of the Ottoman admiral Hayreddin Barbarossa
• Solomon ibn Verga (c. 1460–1554), historian, physician, and author of the Shevet Yehudah (Hebrew: שבט יהודה)