This article was recently published in the Fall 2024 issue of Humanistic Judaism Magazine. It is written by Rabbi Dr. Andy Faur, a sociologist, educator and lecturer. Rabbi Faur was ordained as a secular humanist Rabbi at IISHJ -Tmura Israel in 2013.
Since almost a century ago, when Rabbi Mordechai Kaplan made public and known the term Peoplehood, the concept began to be used by scholars and researchers of Judaism, as a basis and platform of analysis to define the socio-historical particularity of the Jewish people. This term has the flexibility to adapt to the different contexts in which it is used and not only the U.S. American one for which it was originally conceived.
Focusing on our specific theme, to define more precisely the “Latin American Peoplehood,” I will use the term I heard my teacher and colleague, Dr. Daniel Fainstein translates it as “Pueblitud,” that is, the particular way in which the Jews of Latin America manifest their ethnic, cultural, national, and religious identity differently than do other Jews in other regions of the world, as well as their connection to the broader feeling of belonging, continuity and commitment of Jewish individuals with fellow Jews wherever they are.
In a very generalized way and putting all Latin American Jews “in the same bag” (schematically and saving many important differences) we can say that unlike other Jewish communities in the diaspora, the distinctive feature of those of Latin America is their identity profile as an ethnic group in a primordial way, that is, a profile in which culture, language, customs, community, organizations and institutions, and Zionism (a strong identification with the State of Israel), are much more relevant and significant factors than religious or synagogal traits.
Historically, the religious component (whether ritual or ceremonial) was not a relevant factor in the life of the Latin American Jews. This characteristic can be glimpsed with relative ease, when observing in a constant and sustained way (at least until the end of the twentieth century), the affiliation, both of Jewish individuals and Jewish families, to communities, socio-sports clubs, cultural associations and Zionist organizations and movements, to a much greater extent than their affiliation to synagogues or other religious institutions.
The clear sociological-anthropological typology of the Jewish communities of Latin America, is oriented around the axis of ethnicity, community, culture and people.
The way in which this Pueblitud manifests itself in the different regions and communities of the world responds on the one hand, to its origins and roots and on the other to the social, political, economic, religious and cultural context in which it now exists and has continued to develop.
If we generalize and consider the Pueblitud cases in other parts of the Jewish world, we see that in North America, the primary component of identification is religious, in Europe it is social-cultural and in Israel it is, of course, national. In Latin America, we find a sociological mixture that includes all of the above.
Latin American Jewish Pueblitud reflects and adopts social and cultural characteristics of the surrounding majority societies, while also maintaining and adapting customs and behaviors brought from the countries from which their ancestors immigrated (most often Eastern Europe and the countries of the Middle East), while at the same time adding a third factor, which we could call “Pan-Latin American Judaism,” which includes local particularities, but at the same time shares certain patterns and common concerns with the rest of Latin American Jews, such as: the problem of anti-Semitism, the phenomenon of assimilation and exogamous marriages, Zionism and strong identification with Israel. These communities also share the challenges of migration and relocation of many of its members, the lack of commitment and interest of young people towards the community and their low institutional affiliation.
These historical patterns of community organization, ideological affiliation and identity belonging, show significant changes beginning in the 70s to 80s of the 20th Century with the rise and diffusion of the Conservative Movement in different countries of Latin America (especially in those of the Southern Cone and Brazil) with a renewed and relatively high institutional affiliation to it (with the exception that most of its target audience would be identified as secular or traditionalist), as well as the growth of ultra-Orthodox movements and communities in countries such as Argentina, Brazil or Mexico from the late twentieth century.
Since the idea of Peoplehood from the sociological jargon has been popularized, the Jewish people have gone through tremendous and profound trauma and experiences, including the Shoah, the creation of the State of Israel, the massive departure of Jews from the former USSR, among others. This has led to extreme and unpredictable results, giving the concept a different historical stamp, with many arguing that these communities are in the process of passing from current ideas of Pueblitud to new patterns of identity expression, still unknown and in formation, which could be defined as “post-Judaism.”
Like other global Jewish communities, those of Latin America are going through processes of profound changes and transformations at such speeds that it is very difficult to predict the processes or forms that they will take in the future. It will be interesting to analyze in a few years or decades, whether the concept of Peoplehood will remain a relevant sociological category, or we will have to create a new one to define Jews in the future.
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