Joseph Niégo (1863–1945) was an important Jewish figure toward the end of the Ottoman Empire and in the early decades of the Turkish Republic. During the course of his variegated career, he worked as an agronomist in Palestine, was an inspector of agricultural settlements, founded the Istanbul B’nai B’rith lodge, managed a loan fund, and was a communal leader and teacher.

Born in Edirne to Ezra Niégo and the sister of Rabbi Raphael Bekemoharar (1837–1899), the city’s religious leader, Joseph Niégo was orphaned at an early age. His uncle, the last member of the famed Bekemoharar rabbinical…