Rethinking Jewish-Latin Americans. JEFFREY LESSER and RAANAN REIN (eds.): Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2008.

Abstract

This rich collection of essays on Jewish-Latin Americans brings new methodological and theoretical considerations to a field that has been in need of change. The editors, Jeffrey Lesser and Raanan Rein, have organized the book fantastically well. It begins with a short introduction that outlines the history of Jews in Argentina and Brazil, followed by a first chapter by the editors, and nine other contributions; it closes with an afterword by Judah Cohen. The summaries of the historical context are important for a reader unfamiliar with the history of these Jewish communities, but it is the first chapter that indeed frames the book. After a brief discussion about the current state of the field, Lesser and Rein propose a new research agenda, one that is based on important theoretical reconfigurations.