Patterns and Structure of Social Identification: Uruguayan Jewish Migrants to Israel and Other Countries, 1948–2010

The present study focuses on patterns of identification amongst Jews born in Uruguay, who emigrated to a variety of destination countries: Israel, other Latin American countries, the United States and other countries between the years 1948 and 2010. The sample also includes non-migrants and emigrants that returned to Uruguay. The original Uruguayan Jewish community is relatively small, institutionally well organized, with a high prevalence of migration – mainly immigration from the second half of the nineteenth century, and emigration since the 1960s. Due to migration flows, a significant diaspora of Jews originally from Uruguay currently lives in other countries, including the State of Israel. This case study provides a comparative foundation to the discussion of patterns and trends of particularistic affinities versus universalist ones. This core issue has not yet been systematically examined in Jewish population research literature.