Best regards, Andrew Stewart
Begin forwarded message: > From: H-Net Staff via H-REVIEW <[email protected]> > Date: July 12, 2021 at 10:29:01 AM EDT > To: [email protected] > Cc: H-Net Staff <[email protected]> > Subject: H-Net Review [H-LatAm]: Goldfine on Rein, 'Populism and Ethnicity: > Peronism and the Jews of Argentina' > Reply-To: [email protected] > > Raanan Rein. Populism and Ethnicity: Peronism and the Jews of > Argentina. McGill-Queen's Iberian and Latin American Cultures > Series. Montreal McGill-Queen's University Press, 2020. 296 pp. > $39.95 (cloth), ISBN 978-0-228-00166-9. > > Reviewed by Daniela Goldfine (University of Wisconsin-River Falls) > Published on H-LatAm (July, 2021) > Commissioned by Casey M. Lurtz > > Raanan Rein's book (translated from the 2015 Spanish version, _Los > muchachos peronistas judíos: Los argentinos judíos y el apoyo al > Justicialismo_) is a comprehensive history lesson, not only of one of > the most massive and defining political movements in Argentina, > namely Peronism, but also of the migration, arrival, settlement, and > melting of the Jewish community into the fabric of the country. (The > latest estimates put the number of Jews in Argentina at 200,000--it > had peaked in the 1960s at 310,000.) With _Populism and Ethnicity_, > Rein debunks the long-held belief that President Juan Domingo Perón > and his wife, Eva Duarte de Perón, promoted antisemitism in > Argentina. Instead, through reports, stories, and documents in > different fields including journalism, television, and politics, > among others, Rein demonstrates Perón's support of the Jewish > community in Argentina and how that support facilitated this > community's inclusion in mainstream society. > > Rein is one of the leading voices in Jewish Latin American studies > and an expert regarding Peronism vis-à-vis Jews in Argentina. In > this book the author digs deeper "to recover the silenced voices of > those Argentines of Jewish origin who supported early Peronism" (p. > 12). (A clarification should be made: throughout the text Rein mainly > refers to Perón's first presidency, 1946-52. Perón was also > president from 1952 to 1955 and 1973 to 1974. He lived in exile from > 1955 to 1973, returned to Argentina, and passed away in 1974.) Rein > has two additional goals: one is to assess the reach of the Peronist > government through the relations between the president and the Jewish > Argentine community. His second goal is more intricate and > intriguing: to demonstrate that Peronism, through its socialist > component, helped move various ethnic groups from the margins to the > center of the Argentine nation. Among those groups, Jews started to > become part of the multicultural Argentina as it exists today. > > Rein is extremely thorough and starts his book by explaining the > processes of immigration and settlement, the specific characteristics > of the Jewish community, and the Jewish presence among the working > and lower classes during the first half of the twentieth century. As > much as Rein focuses on the Jewish community, he also explains in > detail how the immigration processes worked in Argentina in the late > nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It is a rich history, one > that both overlaps with and diverges from immigration history in the > United States. A few key additions to Argentina's early immigration > history are the ties to the old colonial power, Spain, and the > elite's enthusiasm for France. Argentina's strong Catholic foundation > also played an important role in the nation's immigration history. > Rein discusses the idea of Argentina as the "the Other Promised Land" > while he explains the geographical journey of Jews in Argentina from > the short-lived agricultural colonies in provinces like Entre Ríos > to the capital city (Buenos Aires), followed by its iconic Once > neighborhood. > > After this detailed historical background, _Populism and Ethnicity_ > moves to the well-known facts of Argentina's role during WWII. The > neutral stance that the country took and the revelation that Nazi war > criminals were living in the country gave Argentina a reputation as a > safe haven for these criminals and, therefore, cast it in a clear > antisemitic light. Rein dismisses this reputation in his book. He > starts his argument by discussing the OIA (Organización Israelita > Argentina), the Jewish section of the Peronist Party, and the > relationship between Peronism and the new Jewish state, describing > the "administration's excellent ties with the state of Israel and > Perón's numerous gestures towards this community" (p. 74). (It must > be remarked that the first Latin American country to open an embassy > in Israel was Argentina.) The author strengthens his claim by > providing ample documentation of the OIA and its role during > Peronism, as well as detailed historical facts of Argentina's (and > Perón's) journey to recognize the establishment of Israel. Rein > successfully shows the ongoing cordiality of their relationship > during Perón's government. This is supported by the chapter that > thoroughly documents support for Perón among Jewish intellectuals > and media in Argentina. The same goes for Jewish unionists and > businessmen: the author painstakingly covers all aspects of the > Jewish Argentine community during the years of the Peronist > government to leave no doubt that many Jews supported Perón from > 1946 to 1955. By dismantling the notion of the opposite, Rein's > historical, political, and sociological analysis emphasizes the idea > that the Jewish community underwent many positive changes because of > Perón's presidencies. > > Rein concludes his book with a discussion of Israel's portrayal of > Peronism, based on an analysis of seven Israeli daily newspapers. He > focuses on how the newspapers referred to Peronism, covering events > like bilateral relations with Argentina and the development of > Peronism. The author also considers Perón's forced exile, his return > to Argentina, and the events in the early 1970s: the Ezeiza massacre, > Perón's election to the presidency, and his death. At this point > Rein mentions Perón's wife at the time, Isabel Martínez de Perón, > and a close aide (albeit with dubious reputation), José López Rega > (even though their inclusion in the last chapter is brief, it is > imperative given the influence they would have in the country's > future). Rein also includes some well-founded fears of antisemitism > during these years and concludes his project by connecting the past > with the present and expressing his thoughts about politics and the > Jewish community in the 2000s. He reiterates his effort to look at > the dynamics and changes that ensued during the presidencies of > Perón. Peronism, Rein successfully argues, was a populist movement > with an inclusive approach, and Jewish Argentines benefited from this > outlook, as it protected minorities and marginal groups. > > Citation: Daniela Goldfine. Review of Rein, Raanan, _Populism and > Ethnicity: Peronism and the Jews of Argentina_. H-LatAm, H-Net > Reviews. July, 2021. > URL: https://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=55710 > > This work is licensed under a Creative Commons > Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States > License. > > -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group. 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