“This recognition has huge importance for me,” said Rein, a historian of 20th-century Latin America and Spain, and the Elias Sourasky Professor of Latin American and Spanish History at Tel Aviv University (TAU).

“It comes from the most important university in Argentina, one of the most important universities in Latin America. I’ve always made a point of publishing not only in English, but in Spanish, so I could be part of the academic and public intellectual conversations there.”

Few non-Argentine scholars have had as visible a presence in Argentine public discourse as Rein. Over the past three decades, he has (co)authored and edited more than 50 books and 150 articles and book chapters, publishing in Spanish, English and Hebrew. He is a member of Argentina’s National Academy of History, former president of the Latin American Jewish Studies Association, and a recipient of national honors from both the Argentine and Spanish governments.

Rein’s Scholarly Axes: Peronism, Ethnic Studies and the Jewish-Argentine Experience

Rein’s work is rooted in three major axes, all of which continue to shape scholarly and political debates in Argentina today. The first, and perhaps most visible, is his scholarship on the Peronist movement; founded by Argentine leader Juan Domingo Perón in the 1940s, the movement is a populist political tradition that blends nationalism, social welfare and strong labor support. “Any study of Peronism in the 1940s and 50s provokes interest far beyond academic circles,” said Rein, who has been interviewed on the subject widely by Argentine media.

“My position as both an insider—someone who has spent years studying it—and as an outsider, a non-Argentine, allowed me to examine Peronism without being suspected of political bias.”

In his books—such as Populism and Ethnicity: Peronism and the Jews of Argentina and Peronismo, populismo y política—and beyond, Rein has illuminated the movement’s enduring legacy, especially outside Buenos Aires, where it continues to shape the political landscape. “The Peronist movement is still very active,” he said.

“For example, anything to do with the entry of Nazi war criminals to Argentina at the end of World War II—whether the Peronist government encouraged it, whether it offered a generous reception to these Nazi war criminals—becomes a public debate issue to discuss.”

The second axis of his research has been the introduction of ethnic studies into Argentine historiography in books such as Peronism as a Big Tent: The Political Inclusion of Arab Immigrants in Argentina or Los Muchachos Peronistas Judíos. While race and indigeneity had long been discussed, Rein helped bring sustained scholarly attention to the experiences of immigrants—Jews, Arabs, Japanese—whose stories provide nuance to Argentina’s national story. “I was the first to introduce discussion of the integration of various immigrant groups into Argentine society within an ethnic framework,” he said.

“Much of my work has been devoted to the strategies of social integration, and the various stereotypes that Argentine society held about non-Catholic, non-Latin immigrants.”

His third area of focus—Jewish life in Latin America—led to his groundbreaking argument that Jewish integration in Argentina was not only rapid, but in some ways more comprehensive than in the U.S. “In the 1930s and 40s, it was easier for a Jewish immigrant to become a professor at the University of Buenos Aires than at most elite universities in the US,” he said. “It’s an incredible story of success.”

A Career in Transnational Scholarship and Community

Yet Rein’s work is not only about national narratives—it’s fundamentally transnational. In his book Fútbol, Jews and the Making of Argentina, for instance, he traces the interplay between ethnic identity and mass culture, using Jewish football clubs as a lens to explore integration and community. But he also brings in comparisons from Chile, Brazil and beyond.

“There’s always been a diasporic element to my work. It’s never just about the nation.”

That commitment to international perspective has also extended into his leadership roles. From 2012 to 2020, Rein served as TAU’s first vice president for global academic engagement—the first such position at any Israeli university. “I always thought it was essential for scholars and students alike to look at different phenomena from multiple perspectives; the only way to do that is by having experiences in other places, within different intellectual climates,” he said.  Under his leadership, TAU launched joint research initiatives, workshops and exchange programs with dozens of institutions—including the University of Buenos Aires.

Raanan Rein attending the football club of Atlanta in Buenos Aires. (Source: Federico Imas)

For Rein, scholarly progress is inseparable from collaboration. “In most cases, scientific and scholarly breakthroughs are not the product of a sole researcher,” he said. “They come from collaborations, dialogue, interactions of all sorts.” His pride in this community ethos is perhaps most visible in his mentorship: dozens of his students have gone on to academic careers in Israel, Europe and the Americas. “I have one bookshelf with my own books,” he said. “And another shelf with the books published by my former students. I’m just as proud of that.”

As Rein reflects on this latest honor from Buenos Aires, he sees it not as a culmination, but as a continuation—of a career built on openness, dialogue and scholarly curiosity.

“If I helped even a few people look at certain topics in unfamiliar ways, then I’ve done something worthwhile.”