Nissim Russo was born in Salonica in the late nineteenth century. He was one of the few Turkish Jews to participate in politics around the beginning of the twentieth century, serving as an undersecretary in the Ministry of Finance and as a member of the Ottoman parliament.

Throughout his political career, Russo lobbied the Turkish government to support Zionism. In addition, he was a member of the Committee of Union and Progress and one of the early leaders (possibly even a co-founder) of the Young Turk movement. Russo was an active participant in the Young Turk Revolution of 1908. In add…