Joseph Nehama was a charismatic person. Born in 1881 in Thessaloniki, he left to study in Paris. Upon his return, he worked as a teacher and school inspector in schools of the Alliance Israélite Universelle. As a banker, he was the director of Union Bank. He was also one of the most important local historians with a rich writing activity. The seven-volume book "Histoire des Israélites de Salonique" stands out. In 1913 he published in Paris, where he was living, under the pseudonym Risal his book entitled La Ville convoitee, Salonique in which he describes the history of the city from its founding to its integration into the Greek state, while presenting the perspective of the Jewish community and his thoughts on the future of the city. The Dictionnaire du judéo-espagnol, which he wrote with other collaborators, was irreplaceable for the study of the Hebrew-Spanish language.