Antisemitism and Philosemitism in Latin America, 1891–1991

Antisemitism and Philosemitism in Latin America, 1891–1991 examines the evolution of attitudes toward Jews across the region over the course of a century. Drawing on the extensive scholarly literature on Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Cuba, and other countries, it argues that Latin American perceptions of Jews were shaped by the interaction of Catholic anti-Judaism, modern European antisemitism, Cold War politics, and changing attitudes toward the State of Israel. During the early twentieth century, Jews were often portrayed as undesirable immigrants—religiously alien, economically suspect, and politically subversive. Yet the region remained comparatively open to Jewish settlement, allowing Jewish communities to flourish. During the Hitler years, the “Jewish question” became a political litmus test, with leftists generally expressing solidarity with persecuted Jews while many right-wing actors ranged from indifference to hostility. After World War II, however, the Holocaust and the establishment of Israel fostered a broad philosemitic consensus that transformed attitudes across the political spectrum and accelerated Jewish integration. By the 1970s and 1980s, Cold War dynamics reshaped these alignments, as sectors of the Left adopted anti-Zionist positions while many right-wing regimes developed pragmatic and ideological forms of philosemitism. Combining the history of antisemitism with the often-overlooked history of philosemitism, this book offers a new framework for understanding the Jewish experience in Latin America and the place of the region within global antisemitism studies.