Many of the Jews expelled from the Iberian Peninsula during the Spanish Inquisition settled in the Ottoman Empire, leaving behind, at the wake of Empire, large Sephardic communities in South-East Europe: mainly in Bulgaria, Turkey, Greece, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia.
Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Kalmi Baruh, writer and philosopher
- Emerik Blum, businessman, founder of Energoinvest, former Mayor of Sarajevo
- Ivan Ceresnjes, architect-researcher, former president of the Jewish community in Bosnia and Herzegovina and vice-chairman of the Yugoslav Federation of Jewish Communities, 1992–1996
- Oskar Danon, composer and conductor
- David Elazar, Israeli general and Chief of Staff of Israel Defense Forces
- Jakob Finci, politician, ambassador of Bosnia and Herzegovina to Switzerland
- Daniel Kabiljo, painter
- Daniel Ozmo, painter
- Isaac Pardo, rabbi of Sarajevo
- Robert Rothbart, basketball player
- Isak Samokovlija, writer
Bulgaria
- Albert Aftalion, Bulgarian-born French economist
- Binyamin Arditi
- Aron Aronov, tenor
- Mira Aroyo, member of the band Ladytron
- Gabi Ashkenazi
- Michael Bar-Zohar
- Maxim Behar, president of M3 Communications Group
- Haim Bejarano, Torah scholar and chief rabbi
- Shimon Bejarano
- Alexander Bozhkov, vice-premier (Jewish mother)
- Elias Canetti, author and Nobel Prize winner
- Sabetay Djaen, rabbi and teacher
- Carl Djerassi
- Itzhak Fintzi, dramatist
- Pini Gershon
- Moshe Gueron
- Shlomo Kalo
- Nikolay Kaufman, musicologist and composer
- Yehezkel Lazarov
- Moshe Leon
- Milcho Leviev, jazz composer (Jewish father)
- Raphael Mechoulam
- Moni Moshonov
- Ya'akov Nehushtan
- Ya'akov Nitzani
- Jules Pascin, artist (Jewish father)
- Isaac Passy, philosopher
- Solomon Passy, foreign minister, son of Isaac Passy
- Valeri Petrov
- Georgi Pirinski, Jr.
- David Primo
- Sarah-Theodora
- Victor Shem-Tov
- Maxim Staviski
- Angel Wagenstein, author & screenwriter
- Alexis Weissenberg, pianist
- Jaime Yankelevich
- Emanuel Zisman
Croatia
- Viktor Axmann, architect
- Slavko Brill, sculptor and ceramics artist
- Julio Deutsch, architect
- Hugo Ehrlich, architect
- Ignjat Fischer, architect
- Josip Frank, Croatian politician
- Stjepan GomboÃ
¡, architect
- Branko Grünbaum, mathematician
- Leo Hönigsberg, architect
- Rikard Lang, prominent Croatian university professor, lawyer and economist, UN's expert
- Slobodan Lang, physician, politician, humanitarian
- Slavko Löwy, architect
- Rudolf Lubinski, architect
- Branko Lustig, film producer and winner of two Academy Awards
- Blessed Ivan Merz, beatified in 2003
- Oscar Nemon, sculptor
- Vladimir Ã
 terk, architect
- Ivo Stern, founder of the "Zagreb Radiostation"
- Karlo Weissmann, physician and founder of the first sanatorium in Osijek
- Dragutin Wolf, industrialist, founder of the food company Koestlin in Bjelovar
Cyprus
Greece
- Albert Bourla, Pfizer CEO
- Hank Azaria, actor and producer
- Sid Ganis, film producer
- Anna Rezan, actress and singer
- Moses Elisaf, physician and academic
- Alberto Israel Errera, officer
- Leon Cohen, Holocaust survivor
- Marcel Nadjari, Holocaust survivor
- Salamo Arouch, boxer and Holocaust survivor
- Avraam Benaroya, socialist
- Ioanna Tsatsou, writer
Montenegro
North Macedonia
Serbia
- David Albahari, writer
- David Albala, military officer, physician, diplomat, and Jewish community leader
- Oskar Danon, composer
- Oskar DaviÃÂo, poet
- Filip David, playwright and columnist
- Predrag Ejdus, actor
- Vanja Ejdus, actress
- Rahela Ferari, actress
- Ivan Ivanji, writer
- Enriko Josif, composer
- Danilo KiÃ
¡, writer
- Marko Kon, pop singer
- Shaul Ladany, Holocaust survivor, racewalker and two-time Olympian
- Tommy Lapid, former Israeli politician of Hungarian descent, born in Novi Sad
- Paulina Lebl-Albala, feminist, translator, literary critic, literature theoretician, and professor of literature in Belgrade
- Sonja Licht, political activist
- Izidor Papo, cardiac surgeon, general-colonel of the Yugoslav Army medical unit
- MoÃ
¡a Pijade, politician, painter, art critic and publicist
- Eva Ras, actress
- Seka SabliÃÂ, actress
- Erich Ã
 lomoviÃÂ, art collector
- Aleksandar TiÃ
¡ma, writer
Slovenia
Turkey
Academia
- MaÃÂr José Benardete (1895âÂÂ1989), 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 (1928âÂÂ2016), American philosopher; professor of philosophy at Syracuse University
- Seth Benardete (1930âÂÂ2001), 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 (1951âÂÂ2019), 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 (1915âÂÂ2011), Turkish mathematician and a teacher of mathematics, physics and cosmography
- John Gerassi (1931âÂÂ2012), French-American professor, journalist and political activist
- Joseph Halévy (1827âÂÂ1917), French orientalist and traveller; professor of Ethiopic in the ÃÂcole 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 (1996âÂÂ1999)
- Yossef H. Hatzor (born 1959), Israeli professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
- Jaklin Kornfilt (<abbr></abbr> 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 (1914âÂÂ2004), Turkish-born American-Israeli Egyptologist, academic, librarian and translator
- Jacob L. Moreno (1889âÂÂ1974), 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 (1903âÂÂ1993), 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 1977âÂÂ), American screenwriter and film director
- Kathy Barr (1929âÂÂ2008), American vocalist
- Albert Beger (born 1959), Istanbul-born Israeli saxophonist and flutist
- Bea Benaderet (1906âÂÂ1968), American actress
- Ceki BenÃ
ÂuÃ
Âe (born 1980), Turkish guitar player of the Turkish band Sefarad
- Albert Bitran (1931âÂÂ2018), 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 (1933âÂÂ2004), 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 â 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 (1899âÂÂ1974), Turkish-born American artist
- Eydie Gormé (1928âÂÂ2013), American singer
- Isaac Guillory (1947âÂÂ2000), 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 (1898âÂÂ1975), Turkish-born French composer
- Victoria Kamhi (<abbr></abbr> 1905âÂÂ1997), Turkish pianist
- Tchéky Karyo (1953âÂÂ2005), French actor and musician
- Victor Laredo (1910âÂÂ2003), 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 (1919âÂÂ1977), Israeli singer, songwriter, musicologist and composer in Ladino
- Linet (born 1975), Turkish-Israeli singer
- Art Metrano (1936âÂÂ2001), American actor
- Paul Misraki (1908âÂÂ1998), French composer
- DarÃÂo Moreno (1921âÂÂ1968), Turkish polyglot singer
- Eliad Nachum (born 1990), Israeli singer, songwriter and television actor
- Germaine Poliakov (1918âÂÂ2020), French music teacher and Holocaust survivor
- Jacques Rémy (1911âÂÂ1981), French screenwriter
- Berry Sakharof (born 1957), Israeli rock guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer
- Rudolph Schildkraut (1862âÂÂ1930), Austrian film and theatre actor
- Altina Schinasi (1907âÂÂ1999), 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 (2013âÂÂ2021)
- 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 (1886âÂÂ1966), American actor and comedian
- Keenan Wynn (1916âÂÂ1986), American character actor
- Ned Wynn (1941âÂÂ2020), American actor and screenwriter
Business
- Ishak Alaton (1927âÂÂ2016), 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 (1953âÂÂ2024), 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 (1781âÂÂ1873), Ottoman financier and philanthropist; patriarch of the House of Camondo
- Isaac de Camondo (1851âÂÂ1911), Ottoman-born French businessman and art collector
- Moïse de Camondo (1860âÂÂ1935), Ottoman-born French banker and art collector
- Isaac Carasso (1874âÂÂ1939), 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
- ÃÂzeyir Garih (1929âÂÂ2001), Turkish businessman and co-founder of Alarko Holding
- Cem Hakko (born 1955), Turkish businessman and president of Vakko
- Vitali Hakko (1913âÂÂ2007), 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 (1510âÂÂ1569), 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 (1930âÂÂ2024), Brazilian media mogul and television host
- Morris Schinasi (1855âÂÂ1928), 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 (1925âÂÂ1947), Petah Tikva-born Turkish member of the Irgun
- Albert Antébi (1873âÂÂ1919), Ottoman public activist and community leader born in Ottoman Syria, who worked for the old and new Jewish settlement in Palestine
- Solomon Ashkenazi (<abbr></abbr> 1520âÂÂ1602), Ottoman-Venetian physician and businessman active in Ottoman, Venetian and PolishâÂÂLithuanian 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 (2011âÂÂ2023)
- 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 (1925âÂÂ2019), Israeli politician and activist
- Nechemya Cohen (1943âÂÂ1967), 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 (1926âÂÂ2020), Israeli military officer and academic; major general in the Israel Defense Forces, head of the Military Intelligence Directorate
- Mordechai Gazit (1922âÂÂ2016), Israeli diplomat; adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir; ambassador to France; and Director-General of the Israeli Foreign Ministry
- Françoise Giroud (1916âÂÂ2003), French journalist, screenwriter, writer, and politician; Minister of Culture
- Emanuel Karasu (1862âÂÂ1934), 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 (1921âÂÂ2015), 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 (1840âÂÂ1892), Ottoman physician, naturalist, and governor of the Egyptian province of Equatoria on the upper Nile
- Luisa Porritt (born 1987), British politician
- Issy Smith (1890âÂÂ1940), 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
- Solomon Eliezer Alfandari (<abbr></abbr> 1826âÂÂ1830), Ottoman rabbi, kabbalist and rosh yeshiva of Istanbul
- Albert Jean Amateau (1889âÂÂ1996), Turkish rabbi, lawyer and social activist
- David Asseo (1914âÂÂ2002), Turkish rabbi; Hakham Bashi (Chief Rabbi) of the Republic of Turkey (1961-2002)
- Asenath Barzani (1590 â 1670), Ottoman-Kurdish female rabbinical scholar and poet
- Joshua ben Israel Benveniste (<abbr></abbr> 1590 â 1668), Ottoman rabbi at Constantinople and physician
- Elijah Capsali (<abbr></abbr> 1485âÂÂ1550), Ottoman rabbi and historian
- Moses Capsali (1420âÂÂ1495), Ottoman rabbi; first Hakham Bashi (Chief Rabbi) of the Ottoman Empire
- Abraham Danon (1857âÂÂ1925), Turkish rabbi, Hebraist, writer and poet
- Haim Moussa Douek (1905âÂÂ1974), Turkish rabbi; last Chief Rabbi of Egypt
- Menahem Egozi (<abbr></abbr> 1500s), Turkish Talmudist
- Ishak Haleva (1940âÂÂ2025), Turkish rabbi; Hakham Bashi (Chief Rabbi) of Turkey (2002-2025)
- Aaron ben Solomon ben Hasun (<abbr></abbr> 1500s), Turkish rabbi and Talmudic scholar
- Barzillai ben Baruch Jabez (<abbr></abbr> 1700s), Turkish Talmudist
- Elijah Mizrachi (<abbr></abbr> 1455âÂÂ1525), Ottoman Talmudist and posek; authority on Halakha and mathematician
- Chaim Nahum (1872âÂÂ1960), Turkish rabbi; Grand Rabbi of the Ottoman Empire; jurist, and linguist; member of the Turkish delegation for the Lausanne Treaty
- Abraham Palacci (<abbr></abbr> 1809âÂÂ1898), Turkish rabbi; Chief Rabbi and author of Smyrna; member of the Pallache family
- Haim Palachi (<abbr></abbr> 1788âÂÂ1868), Turkish rabbi; Chief Rabbi of Smyrna and Gaon
- Joseph Palacci (1815âÂÂ1896), Turkish rabbi and author in Ladino and Hebrew in Smyrna
- Rahamim Nissim Palacci (1813âÂÂ1907), Turkish rabbi; Chief Rabbi of Smyrna and author
- Mosè Piccio (<abbr></abbr> 1576), Ottoman lexicographer; compiled Zikhron Torat Moshe (Hebrew: ÃÂÃÂèÃÂàêÃÂèê ÃÂéÃÂ)
- Benjamin Pontremoli (1740âÂÂ1784), Turkish rabbi and poet, member of the Pontremoli dynasty
- Yitzhak Sarfati (<abbr></abbr> 1400s), French-Ottoman rabbi; Chief Rabbi of Edirne
- Joseph Taitazak (<abbr></abbr> 1529), Ottoman Talmudic authority and Kabbalist; member of the Taitazak family
- Sabbatai Zevi (1926âÂÂ1676), Ottoman former Jewish mystic and rabbi from Smyrna; founder of the Sabbatean movement
- Aaron Zorogon (<abbr></abbr> 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 (1926âÂÂ2003), Turkish basketball player and coach
- Arik Benado (born 1973), Israeli football manager and former player
- Joe Bonomo (1901âÂÂ1978), American weightlifter, strongman and actor
- Rober Eryol (1930âÂÂ2000), Turkish football player for Galatasaray and manager for Hapoel Be'er-Sheva
- Umut Güzelses (born 1987), Turkish-Israeli football player
- Alfred König (1913âÂÂ1987), Turkish Olympic sprinter and 1935 Maccabiah Games competitor
- Jack Molinas (1931âÂÂ1975), 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
- Elias Canetti (1905âÂÂ1994), German-language writer, novelist, memoirist; 1981 Nobel Prize in Literature winner
- Elia Carmona (1869âÂÂ1931), Ottoman author and journalist; founder of El Jugueton (Hebrew: ÃÂÃÂàÃÂ'ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂ)
- Vitalis Danon (1897âÂÂ1969), Ottoman-Tunisian writer and educator at Alliance Israélite Universelle
- Moris Farhi (1935âÂÂ2019), Turkish author, vice president of International PEN (2001-2019)
- Erol Güney (1914âÂÂ2009), Turkish-Israeli journalist, translator and author
- Albert Karasu (1885âÂÂ1982), Turkish journalist
- Sami Kohen (1928âÂÂ2021), Turkish journalist and columnist for Milliyet
- Mario Levi (1957âÂÂ2024), Turkish novelist, journalist and scholar with a focus on modern Turkish literature
- Peter Levi (1931âÂÂ2000), English poet, archaeologist, Jesuit priest, travel writer, biographer, academic and critic; Professor of Poetry at the University of Oxford (1984âÂÂ1989)
- Saadia ben Abraham Longo (<abbr></abbr> 1500s), Turkish Hebrew poet
- Roni Margulies (1955âÂÂ2023), Turkish poet, author, translator and political activist
- Leandra Medine (born 1988), American author and blogger
- ÃÂdouard Roditi (1910âÂÂ1992), American poet, short-story writer, critic and translator of Turkish
- Moshe Shaul (1929âÂÂ2023), 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 (1652âÂÂ1729), Polish-Ottoman physician to Ottoman Sultan Mehmed IV, Suleiman II, Ahmed II, Mustafa II and Ahmed III
- Jacque Fresco (1916âÂÂ2007), American futurist
- Bohor Hallegua (<abbr></abbr> 1926), Ottoman chess player
- Moses Hamon (1490âÂÂ1554), Ottoman physician and patron Jewish learning
- Yolande Harmer (1913âÂÂ1959), 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 (1524âÂÂ1579), Ottoman diplomat and administrator; influential figure in the Ottoman Empire during the rules of both Sultan Suleiman I and Selim II
- Joseph Niego (1863âÂÂ1945), Turkish-born Jewish activist
- Lenore Skenazy (born 1959), American speaker, blogger, syndicated columnist, author, and reality show host
- Rona Ramon (1964âÂÂ2018), Israeli public activist and STEM influencer
- Sinan Reis (<abbr></abbr> 1533âÂÂ1546), Ottoman corsair; second in command of the Ottoman admiral Hayreddin Barbarossa
- Solomon ibn Verga (<abbr></abbr> 1460âÂÂ1554), historian, physician, and author of the Shevet Yehudah (Hebrew: éÃÂàÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂ)
See also
References