LATIN AMERICAN JEWS AND PROCESSES OF TRANSNATIONAL LEGITIMIZATION AND DE‐LEGITIMIZATION

Abstract

Transnational ties, depending on circumstances, can be either a source of increased pride and social capital or of shame and decreased public presence. This article addresses a major aspect of recent Jewish public presence in Latin America; namely, the axes around which Jewish identification and identities have been affected by the impact of shifting global articulations and international alliances. This work claims that the broader context operates as a major force of identity legitimization and de‐legitimization, as well as public recognition and denial of transnational ties. It indicates that transnational factors maintain a constant presence in Latin American Jewish life, yet this continuity is often matched by transformations in the ways in which Jewish communities and individuals have been affected in recent decades. Analysis suggests several ways in which the transnational dimension of legitimization and de‐legitimization evolved in these countries in the past generations, namely since the establishment of the State of Israel, the period of the Cold War and into the contemporary scene of increasing global integration and contestation.