From the Arab Expansion until the 1960s, Jews were a significant part of the population of Arab countries. Before 1948, an estimated 900,000 Jews lived in what are now Arab states. Here is a list of some prominent Jews from the Arab World, arranged by country of birth. Al-Andalus Dunash ben Labrat, commentator, poet, and grammarian Mūsā ibn Maymūn, medieval philosopher and Torah scholar Abu Harun Musa bin Ya'acub ibn Ezra, philosopher and linguist Hasdai ibn Shaprut, scholar, physician, and diplomat Algeria Isaac Alfasi, Talmudist and posek; best known for his work of halakha Jacques Attali, economist, writer Cheb i Sabbah, famous club DJ Lili Boniche, musician Patrick Bruel, singer, actor Alain Chabat, actor Hélène Cixous, feminist writer Claude Cohen-Tannoudji, physicist, Nobel prize (1997) Jacques Derrida, deconstructionist philosopher Alphonse Halimi, boxer; World Bantamweight champion Roger Hanin, film actor and director Bernard-Henri Lévy, French philosopher Enrico Macias (Gaston Ghrenassia), French singer Line Monty (Eliane Sarfati), Algerian singer Reinette l'Oranaise, famous Algerian singer from Oran. Known as one of Oran's respected artists. Best known for Nhabek Nhabek and Mazal Haï MazalBahrain Menasheh Idafar, of Iraqi descent, former Bahraini/British racing driver with dual citizenship Nancy Khedouri, of Iraqi descent , current member of parliament, of Iraqi originMichael Slackman, In a Landscape of Tension, Bahrain Embraces Its Jews. All 36 of Them., Nytimes.com, 5 April 2009 Ebrahim Daoud Nonoo, of Iraqi descent , former member of parliament Houda Ezra Nonoo, of Iraqi descent, former member of parliament and former Ambassador of Bahrain to the US Misha Nonoo, of British-Iraqi descent, US-based British-Bahraini fashion designer Egypt André Aciman, writer and academic Guy Béart, French singer Eli Cohen, celebrated Israeli spy Sir Ronald Cohen, Egyptian-born businessman Jacques Hassoun, psychoanalyst, writer Aura Herzog, widow of Chaim Herzog, sixth President of the State of Israel Eric Hobsbawm, historian (Jewish-Polish and -German parents living in Cairo) Isaac Israeli ben Solomon, physician and philosopher living in the Arab world Edmond Jabès, poet Paula Jacques, writer, journalist, radio show producer Jacqueline Kahanoff, writer Ranan Lurie, political cartoonist Moshe Marzouk, doctor Roland Moreno, engineer, inventor of the Smart Card Layla Murad, singer Haim Saban, TV producer Saadia ben Yosef, rabbi Sylvain Sylvain (Sylvain Mizrahi), guitarist for New York Dolls Bat Ye'or, historian Avraham Yosef, rabbi Yaakov Yosef, rabbi Ahmed Zayat, entrepreneur and owner of Zayat Stables LLC Iraq Many Tannaim and Amoraim, including: Abba Arika, "Rabh", amora Shmuel Yarchina'ah, "Mar Samuel", or