List of Latin American Jews

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List of Jews by
country

Europe

Eastern Europe | North Europe

South-East Europe

West Europe

Americas

Latin America | Caribbean

Canada | United States

Rest of World

Oceania | Sub-Saharan Africa

Arab World | Asia | Israel*

(*most are Jewish)

Jewish immigration to Latin America began with seven sailors arriving on 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 and Mexico. The following is a list of some prominent Latin American Jews, arranged by country of origin:

[edit] Argentina

Main articles: List of Argentine Jews and History of the Jews in Argentina

[edit] Brazil

Main articles: List of Brazilian Jews and History of the Jews in Brazil

[edit] Chile

Main article: List of Chilean Jews

[edit] Colombia

Jorge Isaacs, Poet and novelist
Ernesto Cortisoz, Founder of the commercial aviation.
Moisés Wasserman Lerner, (Dr.), Chemist, rector at National University of Colombia
Simon Brainsky (Dr.), Former president of the Colombian Psychiatrical Society
Isaac Nessim, news anchor
Marco Schwartz, writer
Azriel Bibliowicz, writer
Antonio Ungar, writer
Daniel Coronell, journalista
Miguel Felipe Berg, Cinematographer, Video Producer
Ramon Gomez Portillo, Journalist, Writer, Poet
Feliza Bursztyn, plastic artist
Leo Katz, entrepreneur, restaurateur.
Harry Sasson, Restaurateur
Isaac Wasserman Milhen, famous dentist
Nattan Nisimblat, famous lawyer

[edit] Cuba

Main article: Jewish Cuban

Ruth Behar, writer
Fabio Grobart, Communist Party co-founder
Olga Guillot, singer
José Miller, leader of the Cuban Jewish community
Brett Ratner, film director, Cuban by citizenship (Cuban mother)
Jamie-Lynn Sigler, actress, Cuban by citizenship (Cuban mother)
Levi Marrero, the greatest Cuban historian

[edit] Ecuador

Carlos Alberti Ottolenghi, did pharmatically industry in Ecuador.

[edit] El Salvador

Juan Lindo, president (1841) (Jewish father)

[edit] Guatemala

Francisco Goldman, author (Jewish father)
Alcina Lubitch Domecq, author
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"
Igal Permuth, photographer
Jaime Permuth, documentary photographer
Victor Perera, author
David Unger, author
Roberto Stein, former Governor of Guatemala

[edit] Honduras

Juan Lindo, president (1847) (Jewish father)
Ricardo Maduro, president (2002)
Salvador Moncada, pharmacologist (Jewish mother)
Jaime Rosenthal Oliva, Honduran businessman and politician

[edit] Mexico

Main articles: List of Mexican Jews and History of the Jews in Mexico

[edit] Nicaragua

See also: Jewish Nicaraguan

William Abdalah, Medical doctor and politician.
Keith Gould, Honorary Consul of Israel and Physician.
Herty Lewites, Nicaraguan politician
Israel Lewites, Sandinista leader
Michèle Najlis, poet
Laszlo Pataky, writer
Sergio Torres, former military commander, judge and now lawyer.

[edit] Panama

Eric Arturo Delvalle, president (1987)
Ricardo Maduro, Honduran president (Panamanian-born)

[edit] Paraguay

Arditi, formed the first Jewish community in Paraguay. Along with Cohenca, Levi, Mendelzon.

[edit] Peru

Main articles: List of Peruvian Jews and Inca Jews

Jack Maurice Falkon Benbassat, General Manager of Corporación de Industrias Plásticas S.A. (CIPSA); President of the Board of Directors of Quality Products S.A.; Co-President of the Asociación Judía del Perú; and President of the Sociedad de Beneficencia Sefardí of Lima.
Manuel Buchwald, famous physicist, expert on Genetics.^{[citation needed]}
Federico Kauffmann Doig, archeologist^{[citation needed]}
Eliane Chantal Karp Fernenbug, former First Lady of Peru
Meredith Monk, performance artist.^{[citation needed]}
David Waisman Rjavinsthi, Former Second Vice President of Peru. Member of the congress for Alianza Parlamentaria party.
Edward Allan Wagner Tizón, Minister of Defense^{[citation needed]}
Barton Zwiebach, Physics Professor at the MIT. Expert in String Theory. Author of the book "A First Course in String Theory".^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Puerto Rico

David Blaine, magician (Jewish mother)
Sammy Davis, Jr., actor & singer, (convert)
Julio Kaplan, chess player
Ari Meyers, actress (both parents)
Craig Rivera, journalist, (Jewish mother)
Geraldo Rivera, journalist, (Jewish mother)
Brenda K. Starr, singer,(Jewish father)
Rachel Ticotin, actress (Jewish father)
Sahaj Ticotin, singer (Jewish father)

[edit] Uruguay

Monsieur Chouchani, mysterious scholar
Gisele Ben-Dor, conductor
Daniel Drexler, singer/songwriter (Jewish father)
Jorge Drexler, singer/songwriter (Jewish father)
Ricardo Ehrlich, mayor of Montevideo
Jose Gurvich, painter
Teresa Porzecanski, writer
Mauricio Rosencof, writer
Gabe Saporta, singer/songwriter/bassist of Cobra Starship and Midtown
Carlos Sherman, writer (Jewish father, Uruguay-born)
Robert Yabeck, photographer

[edit] Venezuela

Main articles: List of Venezuelan Jews and History of the Jews in Venezuela

Moisés Naím, magazine editor
Ricardo Hausmann, professor, academic
Amador Bendayán, actor, comedian
Ilan Chester, composer
Karina, pop singer
Manuel Blum, computer scientist, Turing Award (1995)
Andres Levin, keyboardist in Yerba Buena
Moisés Kaufman, screenwriter, director, founder of NY's Tectonic Theater Project
Reynaldo Hahn, composer (Jewish father)
Baruj Benacerraf, immunologist, Nobel prize (1980)
Teodoro Petkoff, ex-guerrilla, journalist and economist (Jewish mother)
Ivan Lansberg Henriquez, noted businessman (insurance), university professor and humanist.
Isaac Chocron, playwright.
Gonzalo Benaím Pinto, physician.

Jacqueline Goldberg, poet and editor