Discover some of the most popular names emerging from Corfu’s Jewish community.
Albert Cohen
Albert Cohen is one of the most prominent names to rise from Corfu. He was born in 1895, but his family left Corfu in 1900. He only returned to the island in 1908 for his bar mitzvah. After that, he lived in France, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
He published more novels revolving around the idea of maintaining the Jewish identity in a different society, but he was also a diplomat and legal advisor for numerous international organizations. Albert Cohen supported the idea of a Jewish state and worked towards it along his good friend and former president of Israel Chaim Weizmann. He was buried in the Jewish Cemetery of Veyrier, Switzerland.
Giulio Caimi
Born close to a synagogue in 1897, Giulio Caimi was exposed to journalism from an early age. His father was known for publishing The Jewish Chronicler, a local newspaper for Jews in Corfu. Giulio was passionate about writing and painting. He became one of the most prolific Greek writers of his time.
Later in his life, he visited Mandatory Palestine, Syria and Yemen by foot and wrote impressions regarding the traditions of local Jews. His progressive deafness caused him to isolate himself from others towards the end of his life. He spent his last years in poverty, often having to pay for food with his sketches.
Lazarus Menahem Belleli
Lazarus Menahem Belleli was born in 1862. He was one of the most prolific scholars and writers from Corfu, collaborating with different newspapers to express his points of view. Throughout his life, he worked in various Jewish institutions in France and Italy. He tried to tackle the problem of antisemitism by translating Histoire des Juifs, by Théodore Reinach. The book was first published in Corfu, in 1892.
Later, he moved to the United Kingdom, only to return to Greece in 1929. However, he decided to live in Thessaloniki. Lazarus Menahem Belleli taught Jewish studies at a local university until his retirement in 1936.
Lazzaro De Mordo
Lazzaro de Mordo was born in 1774 in a family with tradition in the medical field. Both his grandfather and father were doctors. Some of his books documented the necessity of prevention over treatment, but he also wrote philosophical papers and even epigrams.
He was one of the founding members of the Corfu Medical Association, established in 1802. He run a successful campaign in the medical field, pledging for everyone in Corfu to get a vaccine against smallpox. Given his writings and points of view, he was often referred to as the Ionian Hippocrates. Throughout his life, he served as a rabbi as well.