8 Ethnicity and Transnationalism: Latino Jews in Miami

Abstract

The city of Aventura, in the northeastern part of Dade County has become a microcosm of Latin American Jewry. In 1960s, when thousands of Jewish refugees from Cuba settled in Miami Beach, their presence was practically ignored by local Since the 1970s, Jews from Central and South America had turned to Miami at periods of economic crises and political upheavals. The circumstances that motivated their emigration were totally different from those of Cuban exodus. Their migration was bi- or multi-directional, creating a new transnational diaspora in constant transition, that author calls Jews. The historical and social background of Latino Jews was similar to that of Cubans. This chapter analyzes the consolidation of the Jewban and Latino Jewish transnational diasporas, and their interaction with Anglo Jews in a comparative dimension. It focuses on the experience of ethnic and gender problems, and on changing attitudes towards religion, Zionism, and Israel. Keywords: Anglo Jews; Cuban exodus; ethnicity; Jewish refugees; Latino Jews; Miami; transnational diaspora; Zionism