List of Latin American Jews

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:__NOTOC__

Argentina

Brazil

Chile

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

Cuba

* 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

Ecuador

*Carlos Alberti Ottolenghi, did pharmatically industry in Ecuador.

El Salvador

* Juan Lindo, president (1841) (Jewish father)

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

Honduras

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

Mexico

Nicaragua

* 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.

Panama

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

Paraguay

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

Peru

*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.Fact|date=February 2007
* Eliane Chantal Karp Fernenbug, former First Lady of Peru
* Meredith Monk, performance artist.Fact|date=February 2007
* 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".Fact|date=February 2007

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)

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

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

ee also

*History of the Jews in Latin America
*List of Jews
*List of Latin Americans
*List of Argentines
*List of Brazilians
*List of Chileans
*List of Cubans
*List of Ecuadorians
*List of Guatemalans
*List of Hondurans
*List of Mexicans
*List of Nicaraguans
*List of Panamanians
*List of Paraguayans
*List of Peruvians
*List of Puerto Ricans
*List of Uruguayans
*List of Venezuelans