List of Karaite Jews

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This list of Karaite Jews consists of notable individuals who are associated with Karaite Judaism. It includes not only those individuals who were explicitly a part of a Karaite community, but also those Jews who held Karaite or proto-Karaite views. The association of each individual with Karaite Judaism must be explained in that individual's entry.

Proto-Karaite period (before 700 CE)

Early Karaite period — 8th–9th centuries (700–899 CE)

• ‘Anan ben David, founder of the Annanites which would later be absorbed into Kara'ism
• Benjamin al-Nahawandi, regarded by some as the proper originator of Kara'ism as it has come down through the ages
• Abu 'Imran Musa al-Za'farani al-Tiflisi, a 9th-century founder of Karaite sect of the Tiflisites

Golden Age — 10th–12th centuries (900–1199 CE)

• Aharon ben Mosheh ben Asher (died c.960 CE), refiner of the Tiberian writing system, regarded as having produced the most accurate version of the Masoretic Text
• Daniel al-Qumisi, Kara'ite scholar, polemicist, proto-Zionist, and compiler of the legal code Sefer ha-Mitzvot
• Hasun ben Mashiach, scholar who flourished in Egypt (or Babylonia) in the first half of the tenth century
• Ya'akov Qirqisani aka al-Kirkisani, dogmatist, author, and exegete of the early 10th century
• Yehudah Hadasi, 12th century scholar, philosopher, and grammarian from Constantinople
• Solomon ben Jeroham, exegete and controversialist
• Yefet ben Ali, Babylonian commentator on the Bible

Middle period — 13th–17th century (1200–1699 CE)

• Aaron ben Elijah of Nicomedia (1328/9–1369), perhaps the most prominent Kara'ite theologian, considered the Kara'ite equivalent of his rabbinic contemporary, Maimonides
• Elijah Bashyazi (1420–1490), Hakham who codified Karaite laws
• Caleb Afendopolo (1430–1499), Hakham and polyhistor.
• Moses ben Elijah Bashyazi (1537–1555), wrote many Karaite books
• Yiṣḥaq b. Avraham of Troki, 16th century Lithuanian Kara'ite philosopher and writer who wrote the important apology or defense of Judaism vis-a-vis Christianity entitled Ḥizzuq Emunah (Fortification of Faith)

Early-modern era — 18th–19th centuries (1700–1947 CE)

• Mordecai Sultansky (1772–1862), prominent scholar who wrote about angelology and the origin of Karaite Jews
• Abram Samoilovitch Besicovitch (1891–1970), Russian-English mathematician
• Adolph Joffe (1883–1927), Russian communist revolutionary, Bolshevik politician, Soviet diplomat
• Avraham Firkovich, famous leader of the Crimean Karaites, a very important collector of manuscripts, who was an amateur archeologist
• Shlomo ben Afeda Ha-Kohen (1826–1893), considered the last sage of the Constantinopolitan Karaites
• Solomon Krym (1864–1936), deputy in the Russian Duma
• Samuel Maykapar (1867–1938), Soviet composer
• Seraya Shapshal (1873–1961), ḥakham of the Lithuanian Karaite community
• Sima Babovich (1790–1855), ḥakham of the Crimean Karaites

Current-modern era — 20th–21st centuries (1948 CE–present)

• Mordecai Alfandari (1929–1999), Ḥakham, known as the restorer of Karaism; in the years 1956-1958 published a Karaite bulletin in Hebrew called "Ha'Or" ("The Light"); he is also the author of studies on the Light of Israel website.
• Melech ben Ya'aqov, Ḥakham of the World Alliance of Qara'im and maintains the website Karaite Insights
• Moshe ben Yosef Firrouz, former Chief Ḥakham and Vice-Chancellor of Karaite Jewish University, maintains the website Universal Karaite Judaism
• Avraham Kefeli, Ḥazzan in Ashdod, Israel
• Moshe Marzouk (1926–1955), Egyptian Karaite Jew, hanged by Egypt for his participation in Israel's Operation Suzannah, also called the Lavon Affair
• Joe Pessah, Congregation leader of congregation B'nai Y'Israel in Daly City, California
• Avraham Qanaï (1946–2021), Ḥakham of the Karaite congregation “Oraḥ Ṣaddiqim” in Albany, New York
• Meir Rekhavi, Ḥakham and co-founder of the World Karaite Movement, holds the position of Chancellor for the Karaite Jewish University

This page was last edited on 14 October 2023, at 00:16