Samuel Saadi Halevy (Sam Lévy), born in Salonica in 1870, was known to most educated Sephardim in his time as the editor-in-chief of La Epoka (1875–1911) and Le Journal de Salonique (1895–1911), both founded by his father Bezalel Saadi Halevy. A passionate advocate of Ladino as the legitimate language of Eastern Sephardim, Lévy took pride in contributing to its development by publishing La Epoka. He was opposed to Zionism and encouraged Sephardim to become useful members of the societies in which they lived.

Lévy was educated in Salonica at the Alliance Israélite Universelle school and…