Jewish immigration to Latin America 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.
To be included in this list, the person must have a Wikipedia article showing they are Jewish from the indicated country of origin or must have references showing they are Jewish from the indicated country of origin and are notable.
The following is a list of some prominent Latin American Jews, arranged by country of origin:
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 [4]
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
José Pékerman, soccer manager
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
Eva Verbitsky Hunt, archeaologist
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
Lene Schneider-Kainer, painter
Paul Baender, chess player
Ricardo Udler, Bolivia's Jewish community leader
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 [5]
Isaac Karabtchevsky, musician and conductor
Jacques Klein, pianist [6]
Samuel Klein (businessman), entrepreneur [7]
Samuel Kicis, army commander
Ithamara Koorax, jazz singer
Miguel Krigsner, entrepreneur and environmentalist
Celso Lafer, diplomat [8]
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 [9]
Ivo Perelman, jazz saxophonist [10]
Olga Benário Prestes, German-born communist militant
Sultana Levy Rosenblatt, writer
Edmond Safra, banker [11]
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
Aryane Steinkopf, model and DJ
Mauricio Waldman, sociologist and politician
Yara Yavelberg, political activist
Mayana Zatz, geneticist
Benjamin Zymler, auditor-general
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
Sebastián Rozental, football player
Leon Schidlowsky, composer and painter
Claudio Spies, composer
Shmuel Szteinhendler, rabbi (Regional Director Masorti Olami - Latin America)
Main: Colombian Jews
Jorge Isaacs, poet, novelist
Jaime Gilinski Bacal, banker, real estate developer, philanthropist
Isaac Gilinski Sragowicz, banker, ambassador
James Martin Eder, industrialist, entrepreneur, pioneer
Ramon Gomez Portillo, journalist, writer, poet
Ruth Behar, writer
Fabio Grobart, Communist Party co-founder
Olga Guillot, singer
José Miller, leader of the Cuban Jewish community
Meyer Rosenbaum, rabbi and spiritual leader
William Levy, actor
Oscar Haza, journalist
Dominican President Francisco Henríquez y Carvajal
His son Pedro Henríquez Ureña
Salomon Isacovici, businessman and writer
Juan Lindo, president (1841) (Jewish father)
Francisco Goldman, author (Jewish father)
Alcina Lubitch Domecq, author
David Unger, author
Eduardo Halfon, author
Gert Rosenthal, diplomat
Juan Lindo, president (1847) (Jewish father)
Salvador Moncada, pharmacologist (Jewish mother)
Jaime Rosenthal, Honduran businessman and politician (Jewish father)
Herty Lewites, Nicaraguan politician
Sergio Torres, former military commander, judge and now lawyer.
Eric Arturo Delvalle, president (1987)
Ricardo Maduro, Honduran president (Panamanian-born)
Alfredo Seiferheld, writer
Carlos Schvartzman, musician
Manuel Buchwald, famous physicist, expert on Genetics.
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".
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.
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, 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.
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.
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.
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
Main: Venezuelan Jews
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, Venezuelan doctor who was the first Venezuelan woman to complete her medical degree in Venezuela
Amador Bendayán, actor, comedian
Levy Benchimol, actor, journalist
Celina Bentata, architect
Jose Beracasa, industrial, president of ODEPA
Jose Bergher, musician
Liliane Blaser, film director
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
Ilan Chester, composer, pop singer
Isaac Chocron, writer
Salomon Cohen Levy, engineer
Nicolas Curiel, theater director
Elias David Curiel, poet
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.
Sofía Imber, journalist
Jonathan Jakubowicz, film director, writer, and producer
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
Ruben Merenfeld, physician
Pakriti Maduro, actress
Nicolás Maduro, president of Venezuela (Sephardi Jewish paternal family ancestry)
Yucef Merhi, artist, poet
Moisés Naím, journalist, economist
Harry Osers, engineer
Hillo Ostfeld, economist
Isaac J Pardo, writer, poet
Jacobo Penzo, film director
Luben Petkoff, guerrilla fighter and politician
Teodoro Petkoff, guerrilla fighter and politician, journalist, economist
L. Rafael Reif, engineer, president of Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Ángel Rosenblat, philologist
Levy Rossel, writer and theater director
Susana Rotker, writer, essayst
Carlos Roubicek, brewer master of Empresas Polar
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, chess 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
List of Latin American Jews Wikipedia (Text) CC BY-SA