Populism and Ethnicity: Peronism and the Jews of Argentina by Raanan Rein

Abstract

Reviewed by: Populism and Ethnicity: Peronism and the Jews of Argentina by Raanan Rein Mollie Lewis Nouwen Raanan Rein. Populism and Ethnicity: Peronism and the Jews of Argentina. Translated by Isis Sadek. Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2020. 296 pp. Raanan Rein’s excellent book combines his deep knowledge of Peronism along with his expertise in both the history of Jews in Argentina and Argentine foreign policy, particularly with Israel. The introduction sets up the premise of the book: whether or not Juan Domingo Perón (president of Argentina from [End Page 227] 1946–1955, 1973–1974) and his administration were antisemitic, and what his government meant for Jews in Argentina. Though the questions might sound simple, or even simplistic, Rein’s ten-point initial response to the questions demonstrates to readers that the answers were complex, nuanced, and led in a myriad of directions. From the beginning, Rein asserts definitively that Perón (contrary to some popular myth-making) was neither a Nazi nor a Fascist, and that he and his administration rejected antisemitism. Perón was a populist, and pulled from a variety of influences to create his pragmatic governing strategy. Trying to neatly fit Perón into an ideological framework obscures the realities and idiosyncrasies of the political movement he created. There were elements of Peronism that were authoritarian, yet others that were profoundly egalitarian. The mistake of many, which Rein points out carefully when analyzing news coverage from around the world, was to impose non-Argentine models to explain Perón’s political movement. The Israeli press, which Rein delves into at length, did a better job of apprehending what was actually occurring in Argentina, though each periodical with its own ideological flavor. Using a wide array of historical documentation, the author explores the heterogeneous nature of Perón’s political philosophy Justicialismo, the Peronist coalition, the response of different Jewish individuals and groups to the Peronist movement and government, and finally the relationship between Argentina and the new State of Israel. Each chapter approaches the book’s central questions from a different perspective. One myth that has persisted for decades is that “all Jews were opposed to Perón [and] that all prestigious or influential intellectuals kept a distance from Peronism” (154). This book clearly demonstrates the fallacy of the myth. Rein spends most of the book exploring the many Jews who were supporters of Perón, including the members of the Organización Israelita Argentina (Argentine Jewish Organization), the Jewish wing of the Peronist Party. The party had a corporatist structure, which sought to formally bring in different groups within society, from labor unions to ethnic groups. Rein argues that in this manner, Perón was opening the door to a multicultural Argentina, with many voices and viewpoints, a model that had not existed in the country before. Rein also explores Jewish intellectuals, media figures, union leaders, and businessmen who were supporters of Peronism, often to the detriment of their relationships with other Jews. What the book makes clear is that each of these men had specific and clear ideological and personal reasons for their support of Peronism. For some, it was the attention to social justice or an independent foreign policy, while others believed in the totality of the Peronist vision for Argentina. Peronism, particularly the first Peronist administration of 1946–1955, promised a new and exciting path forward for Argentina that appealed to many, and it followed through on many of its promises. In addition to the rich material on the Jewish supporters of Peronism, Rein offers an excellent perspective on the relationship between Argentina and Israel at its founding, and the ways that Jews in both countries perceived Peronism. One of the sections of the book that will be of most interest to those less familiar with the story of Argentina in the 1940s and 1950s is the section on Nazis in Argentina, and the role that the Peronist government may or may not have played. Rein ably dissects the many myths and claims about the presence of Nazis, [End Page 228] while demonstrating the complicated nature of the dispersal of former Nazis following World War II. He points out...