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History of the Jews in Latin America and the Caribbean began with seven sailors arriving in Christopher Columbus' crew. Since then, the Jewish population of Latin America has risen to more than 500,000 — more than half of whom live in Argentina, with large communities also present in Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Uruguay and Venezuela.
Projects
- The Latin American Jewish Odyssey
- Jews of Brazil
- Jewish Argentina
- Jews of Cuba: Comunidad Hebrea de Cuba
- Jewish Immigrants to the Caribbean
Links
- Jews of Argentina
- Jews of Bolivia
- Jews of Brazil
- Jews of Chile
- Jews of Colombia
- Jews of Costa Rica
- Jews of Cuba
- Jews of Curaçao
- Jews of Dominican Republic
- Jews of Ecuador
- Jews of El Salvador
- Jews of French Guiana
- Jews of Guatemala
- Jews of Haiti
- Jews of Honduras
- Jews of Jamaica
- Jews of Mexico
- Jews of Nicaragua
- Jews of Panama
- Jews of Paraguay
- Jews of Peru
- Jews of Puerto Rico
- Jews of Suriname
- Jews of Trinidad & Tobago
- Jews of Uruguay
- Jews of Venezuela
Notable Latin American Jews
The following is a list of some prominent Latin American Jews, arranged by country of origin. Public Geni Profiles appear in "Bold". while Wikipedia links are not bold.
Argentina
- Ernesto Acher, Taringa musician-humorist, former member of the group Les Luthiers *
- Marcos Aguinis, journalist / writer
- José Alperovich, governor of the Tucumán Province *
- Héctor Babenco, film director (Argentinian-born)
- Daniel Barenboim, conductor and pianist
- Tania Bíder revolutionary fighter
- Esteban Benzecry, composer
- Marcelo Birmajer, writer
- Laszlo Biro, inventor of the ballpoint pen
- Jácobo Bolbochán, chess player
- Julio Bolbochán, chess player
- Mauricio Borensztein (better known as Tato Bores), comedian
- Daniel Burman (1973 – ) filmmaker
- Israel Adrián Caetano, film director
- Andres Cantor, Sports Commentator
- Sergio Chejfec, writer *
- • Mario Davidovsky, composer
- Alicia Dujovne Ortiz, writer *
- • Giora Feidman, klezmer musician
- • Movsas Feigins, chess player
- • Rubén Felgaer, chess player
- • Daniel Filmus Ex-Argentine Education Minister
- • Paulino Frydman, chess player
- • Juan Gelman, poet
- • Alberto Gerchunoff, writer
- • Max Glücksmann, pioneer of Argentine music and film industries
- • Osvaldo Golijov, classical composer
- • Guillermo Israilevich, soccer player of Israeli National Team (Jewish Father)
- • Martín Jaite, former tennis player
- • Guido Kaczka, actor, show host
- • Mauricio Kagel, classical composer
- • Daniel Katz, mayor of Mar del Plata
- • León Klimovsky, film director
- • Alejandro Lerner, singer/composer
- • Miguel Lifschitz, mayor of Rosario (Jewish Father)
- • César Milstein, immunologist, Nobel prize
- • Marcos Mundstock, musician-humorist of the group Les Luthiers
- • Miguel Najdorf, chess player
- • Gastón Needleman, chess player
- • Carlos Núñez Cortés, musician-humorist of the group Les Luthiers
- • Alicia Partnoy, writer
- • Raquel Partnoy, painter
- • Jiří Pelikán, chess player
- • Melina Petriella, actress
- • Alejandra Pizarnik, poet
- • Isaias Pleci, chess player
- • Julio Popper, engineer and colonizer of Tierra del Fuego, from Romania.
- • Daniel Rabinovich, musician-humorist of the group Les Luthiers
- • Ariel Rot, musician
- • Cecilia Roth, actress
- • Jaime José Rotman, soccer player
- • Lalo Schifrin, composer
- • Aaron Schwartzman, chess player
- • Samuel Schweber, chess player
- • Ana María Shua, writer
- • Gerardo Sofovich, actor / producer
- • Hugo Sofovich, director / producer
- • Ariel Sorin, chess player
- • Juan Pablo Sorín, soccer player
- • Coti Sorokin, songwriter / musician / composer
- • Ana Maria Stekelman, Tango choreographer
- • Adrián Suar, actor / TV producer,
- • Jorge Telerman, Ex mayor of Buenos Aires
- • Jacobo Timmerman, journalist
- • Bernardo Verbitsky, novelist
- • Horacio Verbitsky, journalist
- • Bernardo Wexler, chess player
- • Bernardo Kliksberg, coordinator of the Inter-American Development Bank Initiative on Social Capital, Ethics, and Development; decorated by Guatemala for "eminent services to the country and to the continent"
- • Oscar Strasnoy, classical composer
- • IMMI, Songwriter/Artist
Bolivia
- • Lene Schneider-Kainer, painter
- • Paul Baender, chess player
Brazil
- • Clara Ant, political activist and presidential adviser
- • Jom Tob Azulay, film director
- Hector Babenco, film director
- Eduardo Saverin, Co-founder and CFO of Facebook.
- Leoncio Basbaum, physician and political activist
- Moysés Baumstein, holographer, film/video producer, painter, writer
- • Adriana Behar, beach volleyball player
- Samuel Benchimol, entrepreneur and Amazon pioneer
- Abraham Bentes, army commander
- • Daniel Benzali, TV actor
- • Marcelo Samuel Berman, physicist and writer
- • Claudio Besserman Vianna, comedian
- • Joel Birman, writer
- • Eva Altman Blay, sociologist and politician
- • Debora Bloch, actress
- • Jonas Bloch, actor
- Waldemar Levy Cardoso, field marshal
- • Boris Casoy, journalist
- • Otto Maria Carpeaux, literary critic
- • Moyses Chahon, army commander
- • Juca Chaves (Jurandyr Czaczkes), comedian, composer and singer
- • Victor Civita, journalist
- • Deborah Colker, dancer and choreographer
- • Arnaldo Cohen, pianist
- • Gilberto Dimenstein, journalist
- • Alberto Dines, journalist
- • Tufi Duek, fashion designer
- • Dina Dublon, director
- • German Efromovich, entrepreneur
- • Benny Feilhaber professional soccer player
- • Fortuna, singer and composer
- • Vilém Flusser, philosopher
- • Marcelo Gleiser, physicist and writer
- • José Goldemberg, educator, physicist and minister
- • Mario Haberfeld, racing driver
- • Alexandre Herchcovitch, fashion designer
- • Wladimir Herzog, journalist
- • Luciano Huck, TV show host
- • Roberto Justus, advertiser and TV host
- • Isaac Karabtchevsky, musician and conductor
- • Jacques Klein, pianist
- • Samuel Klein (businessman), entrepreneur
- • Samuel Kicis, army commander
- • Ithamara Koorax, jazz singer
- • Miguel Krigsner, entrepreneur and environmentalist
- • Celso Lafer, diplomat
- • Cesar Lattes, physicist
- • Jaime Lerner, politician (governor Paraná state), urban planner
- • Alexandre Levy, musician
- • José Lewgoy, actor and director
- • Clarice Lispector, writer´
- • Gerson Levi-Lazzaris, ethnoarchaeologist
- • Carlos Maltz, drummer of rock band Engenheiros do Hawaii
- • Noel Nutels, public health physician and human rights activist
- • Carlos Nuzman, sportsman and president of Olympic Committee
- • Ivo Perelman, jazz saxophonist
- • Olga Benário Prestes, German-born communist militant
- • Sultana Levy Rosenblatt, writer
- Edmond Safra, banker
- • Jacob Safra, banker
- Joseph Safra, banker
- Moise Safra, banker
- • Silvio Santos (Senor Abravanel), TV show host
- • Mario Schenberg, physicist
- • Moacyr Scliar, writer
- • Lasar Segall, artist
- • Ricardo Semler, entrepreneur
- • Amir Slama, fashion designer
- • Henry Sobel, Rabbi, community leader
- • Mauricio Waldman, sociologist and politician
- • Yara Yavelberg, political activist
- • Mayana Zatz, geneticist
- • Benjamin Zymler, auditor-general
Chile
- • Volodia Teitelboim, lawyer, politician and author.
- • Baruch Arensburg, professor of Anatomy
- • Claudio Bunster, scientist (Jewish mother)
- • Roberto Dueñas, modeling agent
- • Daniel Emilfork, actor
- • Leonardo Farkas, businessman
- • Don Francisco (Mario Luis Kreutzberger Blumenfeld), Television Host
- • Tomás Hirsch, politician, businessman
- • Alejandro Jodorowsky, film director (Chilean-born)
- • Miguel Kiwi, physicist (Chilean-born)
- • Nicolás Massú, tennis player (Jewish mother)
- • Israel Polack, businessman
- • Snooki - Nicole Elizabeth Polizzi - American reality television personality
- • Denise Rosenthal, actress, singer and model[citation needed]
- • Sebastián Rozental, football player
- • Leon Schidlowsky, composer and painter
- • Claudio Spies, composer
- • Shmuel Szteinhendler, rabbi (Regional Director Masorti Latin America)
Colombia
- • Jorge Isaacs, Poet and novelist
- • Jaime Gilinski Bacal, Banker, Real Estate Developer, and Philanthropist
- • Isaac Gilinski Sragowicz, Banker, Ambassador
- • James Martin Eder, Industrialist, entrepreneur, pioneer
- • Ramon Gomez Portillo, Journalist, Writer, Poet
Cuba
- • Ruth Behar, writer
- • Fabio Grobart, Communist Party co-founder
- • Olga Guillot, singer
- • José Miller, leader of the Cuban Jewish community
- • Corso de Palenzuela, Sephardic Orthodox Karaite spiritual leader
- • Meyer Rosenbaum, Rabbi and spiritual leader
- • William Levy, Actor
Dominican Republic
- • Oscar Haza, journalist
- • Dominican President Francisco Henríquez y Carvajal
- • His son Pedro Henríquez Ureña
Ecuador
- • Salomon Isacovici, businessman and writer
El Salvador
- • Juan Lindo, president (1841) (Jewish father)
Guatemala
- • Francisco Goldman, author (Jewish father)
- • Alcina Lubitch Domecq, author
- • David Unger, author
- • Eduardo Halfon, author
- • Gert Rosenthal, diplomat
Honduras
- • Juan Lindo, president (1847) (Jewish father)
- • Ricardo Maduro, president (2002)
- • Salvador Moncada, pharmacologist (Jewish mother)
- • Jaime Rosenthal, Honduran businessman and politician (Jewish father)
Mexico
- • Julio Frenk, president of the University of Miami, former Secretary of Health and dean of the Harvard School of Public Health[
- • Enrique Krauze, public intellectual, historian, essayist, critic, producer, and publisher
- • Helen Kleinbort Krauze, historian, mother of Enrique Krauze
- • Arturo Warman, anthropologist, cabinet member of Salinas and Zedillo
- • Sara Topelson de Grinberg, architect
- • Abraham Zabludovsky, architect
- • Alejandro Zohn, architect, Holocaust survivor
- • Daniel Catán, composer
- • Henryk Szeryng, violinist
- • Senya Fleshin, photographer and anarchist
- • Mariana Yampolsky, photographer
- • Maurice Ascalon, sculptor
- • Arnold Belkin, painter, born in Canada
- • Olga Costa- painter
- • Fanny Rabel, painter, born in Poland and member of Los Fridos artistic group.
- • Pedro Friedeberg, painter
- • Mathias Goeritz, painter, sculptor, born in Germany
- • Vlady Kibalchich Russakov, painter
- • Leonardo Nierman, painter, sculptor
- • Wolfgang Paalen, painter, sculptor and art philosopher
- • Diego Rivera, painter, muralist (Atheist)
- • Carlos Alazraki, advertising executive
- • Franz Mayer, financier, photographer, collector, and the founder of the Franz Mayer Museum
- • Moisés Saba, businessman; board member of various companies
- • Sergio Zyman, marketing executive
- • Susana Alexander, actress
- • Louis C.K., comedian, actor
- • Erick Elias, actor
- • Irán Eory, actress, model
- • Mauricio Kleiff, screenwriter
- • María Eugenia Llamas, actress
- • Mariana Levy, actress
- • Emmanuel Lubezki, cinematographer, winner of three Ariel Awards for Best Cinematography (1992, 1993, 1994) and nominated for 4 Oscars in the category (1996, 2000, 2006, 2007)
- • Miroslava, actress
- • Norma Mora, actress
- • David Ostrosky, actor
- • Alfredo Ripstein, film producer
- • Arturo Ripstein, filmmaker, screenwriter, producer
- • Claudia Salinas, model, actress
- • Alexander Salkind, producer.
- • Ilya Salkind, producer.
- • Diego Schoening, singer, actor and television host
- • Alan Tacher, television host
- • Ari Telch, actor
- • Gregorio Walerstein, film producer and screenwriter
- • Alix Bauer, singer, founding member of Timbiriche
- • Ari Borovoy, songwriter, founding member of the Latin pop group OV7.
- • Cristian Castro, singer.
- • Adan Jodorowsky, musician, singer, and actor.
- • Mark Tacher, musician, vocalist, guitarist, and television host.
- • Shanik Berman, journalist
- • David Faitelson, sports journalist
- • Giselle Fernández, television journalist
- • Adela Micha, TV and Radio journalist
- • Jacobo Zabludovsky Kraveski, TV journalist
- • Chloe Aridjis, novelist
- • Anita Brenner, writer, historian
- • Mariana Frenk-Westheim, prose writer, Hispanist, translator
- • Margo Glantz, writer & critic a prose writer who was author of the New York Times bestseller The Empress.
- • Myriam Moscona, author, journalist, poet and Ladino translator
- • Moises Salinas author and psychologist
- • Sara Sefchovich, writer
- • Esther Seligson, writer, poet, translator, and historian
- • Ilan Stavans, literary critic
- • Jerzy Rzedowski, botanist, plant geographer, researcher, Holocaust survivor
- • George Rosenkranz, pioneering scientist in the field of steroid chemistry; Contract bridge Grand Life Master
- • Pablo Rudomín Zevnovaty, neuroscientist
- • Nora Volkow, psychiatrist; current director of the United States' National Institute on Drug Abuse
- • Jacob Bekenstein, physicist
- • Marcos Moshinsky, awarded physicist, UNAM cathedratic, Ukrainian-born
- • Gabriela Brimmer, writer and activist for persons with disabilities
- • Luis de Carabajal y Cueva, adventurer, slave-trader, Governor of Nuevo León
- • Francisca Nuñez de Carabajal, Marrana, sister of Luis de Carabajal, executed along with family members for practicing Judaism
- • Luis de Carabajal the younger, Governor of Nuevo León, author
- • Francisco de Carvajal, founder of the New Kingdom of León.
- • David Goldbaum, surveyor and politician of Baja California
- • Jorge Castañeda Gutman, politician and academic who served as Secretary of Foreign Affairs; also known for losing a Supreme Court ruling that would have allowed him to run as an Independent in the 2006 Presidential race
- • Vicente Lombardo Toledano, labor leader
- • Diego de Montemayor, founder of Monterrey
- • Yeidckol Polevnsky Gurwitz, Senator, entrepreneur
- • Eliezer Ronen, Israeli politician
- • Binyamin Temkin, Israeli politician
- • José Woldenberg, political scientist and sociologist
- • Jacob Avigdor, Chief Rabbi of the Ashkenazi Jewish community, author, Holocaust survivor
- • Yosef Dayan, Rabbi and the author of several books in Hebrew, Spanish and Italian
- • Moisés Kaiman, Rabbi from Monterrey
- • Ilana Berger, tennis player
- • Wolf Ruvinskis, wrestler
Nicaragua
- • Herty Lewites, Nicaraguan politician
- • Sergio Torres, former military commander, judge and now lawyer.
- • Luis "Lou" Ramirez, Celebrity Chef
Panama
- • Eric Arturo Delvalle, president (1987)
- • Ricardo Maduro, Honduran president (Panamanian-born)
Paraguay
- • Alfredo Seiferheld, writer
- • Carlos Schvartzman, musician
Peru
- • Manuel Buchwald, famous physicist, expert on Genetics.[citation needed]
- • Eliane Karp, former First Lady of Peru
- • Salomón Libman, football (soccer) player
- • Meredith Monk, performance artist.
- • David Waisman Rjavinsthi, Former Second Vice President of Peru. Member of the congress for Alianza Parlamentaria party.
- • Barton Zwiebach, Physics Professor at the MIT. Expert in String Theory. Author of the book "A First Course in String Theory".
Puerto Rico
- • Alegría Hudes, Quiara – author, playwright. Wrote the book for Broadway's musical In the Heights. Her play, Elliot, a Soldier's Fugue, was a Pulitzer Prize finalist in 2007.[27]
- • Sandy Alomar, Sr. father was Jewish but an agnostic who allowed his children to be brought up as a Catholic
- • Anderson, Axel – actor/director, Anderson made his debut in Puerto Rican television with a sitcom named Qué Pareja a local version of I Love Lucy.
- • Blaine, David – magician, Blaine is also an endurance artist and Guinness Book of Records world record-holder.
- • Brugman, Mathias – was a leader in Puerto Rico's independence revolution against Spain known as El Grito de Lares (Lares' Cry).
- • Kaplan, Julio – Puerto Rican chess player and former world junior champion.
- • Katz Montiel, Marco – composer for Zoey's Zoo and trombonist with Charlie Palmieri and Mon Rivera.
- • Leavitt, Raphy – composer, director and founder of "La Selecta"
- • Lehman, Manny – DJ and producer.
- • Levy, Hila – U.S. Air Force, in 2007 she became the first Puerto Rican Rhodes Scholar.
- • Meyers, Ari – actress, Best known for her role as Emma Jane McArdle in the Kate & Allie (1984) TV series.
- • Ostow, Micol – author of "Emily Goldberg Learns to Salsa" and "Mind Your Manners, Dick and Jane".
- • Phoenix, Joaquin – actor, was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, Gladiator in 2000 and in 2005, he was nominated for the Best Actor Oscar, and won a Golden Globe in the same category in 2006 for his role as Johnny Cash in Walk the Line.
- • Prinze, Freddie – actor, was best known as the star of Chico and the Man.
- • Prinze Jr., Freddie – actor, Prinze starred in several Hollywood films which included Delgo, I Know What You Did Last Summer and its sequel, as well as She's All That, and Scooby-Doo.
- • Rivera, Geraldo – journalist
- • Sally Jessy Raphael - syndicated talk show host
- • Seijo, Jorge – Puerto Rican radio and television personality
- • Starr, Brenda K. – salsa singer, her seventh album, Atrevete a Olvidarme, titled, "Tu Eres" earned her a nomination by the Billboard Latin Music Awards in 2006.
- • Snyder, Aaron Cecil – Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico
- • Tassler, Nina – President of CBS Entertainment.[28]
- • Ticotin, Rachel – actress, starred in Critical Condition, Where the Day Takes You Falling Down Total Recall and in Con Air, where she earned an ALMA Award for her role as prison guard Sally Bishop.
- • Ticotin, Sahaj – vocalist/guitarist from the Rock band Ra.[29]
Uruguay
- • Monsieur Chouchani, mysterious scholar
- • Gisele Ben-Dor, conductor
- • Jorge Drexler, singer/songwriter (Jewish father)
- • Ricardo Ehrlich, mayor of Montevideo
- • Gabe Saporta, singer/songwriter/bassist of Cobra Starship and Midtown
- • Carlos Sherman, writer (Jewish father, Uruguay-born)
- • Freddy Nieuchowicz, aka Orlando Petinatti, radio host
Venezuela
- • Harry Abend, sculptor
- • Huascar Barradas, flutist, composer
- • Ruth Behrens, PDVSA economist
- • Baruj Benacerraf, immunologist, Nobel Prize of Medicine,1980
- • Margot Benacerraf, film director
- • Sara Bendahan, a Venezuelan doctor who was the first Venezuelan woman to complete her medical degree in Venezuela
- • Amador Bendayán, actor, comedian
- • Levy Benchimol, actor, journalist
- • Alberto Benshimol, gastroenterologist surgeon, president of the National Academy of Medicine of Venezuela
- • Jose Beracasa, industrial, president of ODEPA
- • Jose Bergher, musician
- • David Brillembourg, banker
- • Manuel Blum, computer scientist,
- • Jacques Braunstein, economist, publicist, disc jockey
- • Carlos Brandt, writer, philosopher
- • Pynchas Brener, Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Caracas
- • Vytas Brenner,composer, musician
- • David Brillembourg, banker
- • Gerardo Budowski, chess master
- • Miguel Ángel Capriles Ayala, journalist
- • Henrique Capriles Radonski, governor of Miranda state[Note 1]
- • Ilan Chester, composer, pop singer
- • Isaac Chocron, writer
- • Salomon Cohen Levy, engineer
- • Nicolas Curiel, director of teather
- • Elias David Curiel, poet
- • Isaac Chocron, writer
- • Susana Duijm, Miss World 1955, model, actress
- • Silvia Eisenstein, composer
- • Daniel Elbittar,actor, model and entertainer
- • Paulina Gamus, politician
- • Gertrude Goldschmidt, sculptor
- • Eva Golinger, journalist, politician
- • Alicia Freilich, writer, novelist, journalist
- • Reynaldo Hahn, composer (Jewish father)
- • Ezra Heynmann, philosopher
- • Ricardo Hausmann, politician, professor, academic
- • Lya Imber (Odessa, Russia, 1914 - Caracas, 1981), the first woman in Venezuela to obtain the degree of Doctor of Medicine (Paediatrics & Child Care Specialist) and the first female member of the board of the Medical School of the Federal District.[30]
- • Sofía Imber, journalist
- • Jonathan Jakubowicz, film director, writer, and producer[31]
- • Karina, pop singer
- • Ruth Krivoy, economist
- • Moisés Kaufman, screenwriter, director
- • Betty Kaplan, film director
- • Ruth de Krivoy, former president of the Central Bank of Venezuela
- • Andres Levin, musician
- • David Lobo Senior, rector of Universidad Central de Venezuela
- • Paúl Lustgarten, engineer
- • Ruben Merenfeld, physician
- • Pakriti Maduro, actress
- • Nicolás Maduro, president of Venezuela (Jewish paternal family ancestry)
- • Yucef Merhi,artist, poet
- • Moisés Naím, journalist, economist
- • Harry Osers, engineer
- • Hillo Ostfeld, economist
- • Isaac J Pardo, writer, poet
- • Luben Petkoff, guerrilla fighter and politician
- • Teodoro Petkoff, Guerrilla fighter and politician, journalist, economist
- • Elizabeth Popper, table tennis player
- • L. Rafael Reif, engineer, president of Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- • Ángel Rosenblat, philologist
- • Levy Rossel, writer and director of teather
- • Susana Rotker, writer, essayst
- • Carlos Roubicek, brewer master of Empresas Polar
- • Isaac Rozenbaum, writer
- • Maurice Ruah, tennis player
- • Jaime Segal, neurologist
- • Benjamin Sharifker, scientist, rector of Universidad Metropolitana
- • Eduardo Schlageter, painter
- • Veronica Schneider, actress
- • Elizabeth Schön, writer, poet
- • David Smolansky, politician, Voluntad Popular, mayor of El Hatillo, Miranda State.
- • Henrique Salas Römer, politician, former Carabobo State governor
- • Leon Schorr, chest player
- • David Abraham Senior, founder of Coro Synagogue and Casa Senior
- • Rosalinda Serfaty, actress
- • Joel Valencia Parpacen, physician
- • Shirley Varnagy, journalist, Globovision TV host
- • Ernesto Villegas Poljak, journalist, politician
- • Vladimir Villegas Poljak, journalist, politician
- • Geula Zylberman, abstract painter