Many scholars and the wider public within and outside Argentina have associated Juan Perón and Peronism with fascism and antisemitism and assumed that Jews in this country did not support him. Raanan Rein offers the definitive rejoinder. In this clear and convincing study, a translation of a book originally published in Argentina, he demonstrates that Perón's participation in the military dictatorship of 1943–45 and his administration of 1946–55 did not reveal fascist or anti-Jewish traits. Furthermore, Perón had more Jewish followers than some have thought.No one is better suited than Rein to make this case. Drawing on years of archival work in Argentina, Israel, the United States, and Spain, he has researched Peronism and Jewish Argentines thoroughly and refuted faulty analyses of both. Regarding Jews, he has pointed out the inadequacy of studying only those affiliated with communal institutions. This stance has particular relevance for this book, since the affiliated Jews, along with those who were strong liberal and leftist partisans, tended to oppose Peronism, whereas Perón's followers generally were from the unaffiliated majority.Admittedly, the repressive military government of 1943–45 had far-right Nationalist, pro-clerical, and antisemitic components. Its decree imposing catechism classes in public schools seemingly excluded Jews from the nation. Nationalists inside and outside the regime supported the Axis, but the regime essentially inherited World War II neutrality from its predecessors, a policy consistent with Argentina's long-standing ties with Britain and opposition to US hegemony. Moreover, most Argentines favored this policy. Ironically, Perón, a rising presence in the dictatorship, advocated rapprochement with the United States, but Washington's obtuseness torpedoed it. While 180 Nazis and 50 war criminals entered Argentina during Perón's presidency, this was not a coherent or coordinated government initiative. Nevertheless, like the United States, the administration recruited German scientists and engineers, and Nazis were among them.Perón's relations with Nationalists and the church changed over time. His 1945–46 campaign attracted Nationalist supporters, but he distanced himself from their attacks on Jews. To cement church backing, Perón converted the Catholic education decree into law, although he eventually softened these practices. As his relations with the church deteriorated, the law was abrogated. Rein's new interpretation of this conflict suggests that it marked Perón's shift toward identifying Argentina as a multicultural society rather than as a Catholic nation and melting pot. This notion also alienated Nationalists.Juan and Eva Perón denounced antisemitism and treated Jews better than previous administrations. Unprecedented numbers attained posts, including influential ones unrelated to Jewish matters. The Organización Israelita Argentina (OIA) negotiated the community's concerns with the president. Perón legalized the status of thousands of Jewish (and other) immigrants who entered illegally during the Nazi era. However, few arrived during his presidency, and it would have been good for Rein to explain carefully why. A clause incorporated into the 1949 constitution declared the equality of all, irrespective of race or creed.Peronist policies toward Israel revealed pro-Jewish sentiments. That the Arab Argentine population was larger than the Jewish and more pro-Peronist could have convinced the administration to oppose the partition of Palestine, but instead it abstained from voting. It recognized Israel and established aid and trade agreements that benefited the new state. Juan and Eva Perón facilitated Jewish Argentine shipments of goods to Israel; Zionism, for them, did not contradict Jewish loyalty to Argentina. One of Perón's principal motives was to win favor among Jewish Americans, whom he mistakenly thought exercised much influence over US policy. Nevertheless, he supported Jews and Israel in significant ways during 1946–55. It is noteworthy that Israeli newspapers held more reasoned views of Perón in these years than did the largely negative US press.Another contribution to the literature is Rein's account of prominent Jewish Peronists. They included labor leaders and intellectuals who applauded Perón's pro-worker measures, entrepreneurs who endorsed his stimulus of industry and consumerism, and OIA personnel who believed that his program would advance the country. All had good reason to favor Peronism—and some suffered for it after 1955. Still, while most Jews opposed Perón, the Revolución Libertadora identified them with the leader that it ousted. Partly out of fear, Jewish organizations post-1955 excluded Peronist coreligionists.Rein weaves together these and other important points, many previously unstudied, in a readable volume that specialists, students, and the general public alike will find rewarding. He shows that Perón helped forge a new, more inclusive conception of the nation, incorporating not only workers and women, as was known, but Jews and other ethnicities. This characteristic sets Argentine and Latin American populisms apart from post-1945 manifestations in Europe and the United States.
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Jul 23, 2024
Amelie Tihlarik 
Open Access
