Between Two Homelands: Jewish-Argentine Return Migration from Israel, 1960-2005.

My research target Jewish-Argentines who emigrated to Israel between 1960 and 2005 and subsequently returned to Argentina. This periodization begins and ends with the two peaks of Argentine emigration to Israel: the first took place in a context of an anti-Semitic campaign triggered by the kidnapping of the Nazi war criminal, Adolf Eichmann from Argentina by the Mossad. The second was rooted in Argentina’s social, economic and political collapse of 2001. This time period allows the inclusion of key historical events. The Argentine dictatorships of 1966-73 and 1976-83, the major economic crises of 1975 and 1989 together with eruptions of social unrest and political violence were either the migrants’ initial circumstances or that of their return. In Israel, the economic recession at the beginning of the 1960’s, the wars of 1967, 1973, 1982 and the transformation of the economy shaped immigrants` experiences.

Studies on emigration from Argentina and on return migration from Israel are both incipient expanding fields. This study, specifically devoted to the Argentine return migration from Israel, will contribute to the Israeli and Argentine histories of migrations. It is expected to contribute to the histories of Argentines in Israel and a particular group of Jews in Argentina, allowing silent aspects of history in both countries to be heard. The work covers a period of half a century, therefore understanding the changing historical circumstances in the two countries and how their combination and timing affected migrant streams, people’s lives and their decisions will be essential.