Wayne State University Press Kugel and Frijoles: Latino Jews in the United States

Review Kugel and Frijoles does an admirable job linking this study to previous scholarship on Latinos in the United States, and marking, at the same time, an important milestone by opening a venue to discuss an often invisible group. The author of this intellectually sophisticated monograph of an important and timely subject cleverly intertwines theoretical points and ethnographic observations; the voices of the 86 Latin American Jewish immigrants she interviewed during her fieldwork (48 women and 38 men)-mostly from Argentina, Mexico, and Venezuela-contribute immensely to strengthen the complex tapestry presented by Limonic.--Milton Ricardo Antonio Machuca-Gálvez "Hispania" (12/1/2021 12:00:00 AM)This is a pioneering study that opens the door to a Latinx Jewish identity that is still evolving and defining itself. Future researchers will build upon the foundation that Limonic has laid to address many other nuances of intersecting Jewish and Latinx identities in the United States, including such important topics as Ashkenazi and Sephardic differences, the role of gender and women's position, the literary expression of identity, or even the meaning of food within this diversely Jewish and diversely Latinx community, which is hinted at by her book's alluring title, Kugel and Frijoles. To readers seeking to understand the peculiar Jewish hybridity that emerged from the diaspora to the other America and that has now rerouted to the United States, Limonic's book offers a superb guide.-- "Studies in Contemporary Jewry" (6/1/2021 12:00:00 AM)Kugel and Frijoles adds a fresh and vibrant perspective to the growing body of scholarship on race, ethnicity, and contemporary American Jewish life. Limonic's work raises important questions regarding the intersection of race, ethnicity, religion, and class during a time of rapid growth among a widely diverse Latino immigrant population to the U.S.--Helen K. Kim "professor of sociology, Whitman College" (11/30/2018 12:00:00 AM)Kugel and Frijoles is replete with charts and statistical tables illuminating multiple aspects of the Latino experiences in their process of immigration and assimilation into America. This book is clearly NOT a cookbook as this reader mistakenly expected from its title. But there was no disappointment.--Marion Stein "Association of Jewish Libraries News and Reviews" (9/1/2019 12:00:00 AM)Full of rich and absorbing ethnographic material, Kugel and Frijoles provides important insights into the experiences of a fascinating immigrant group. Written in a highly readable style, the book enriches our understanding of how immigrants construct ethnic and racial identities in the U.S. today.--Nancy Foner "co-author of Strangers No More: Immigration and the Challenges of Integration in North America and Western Europe" (11/30/2018 12:00:00 AM)I am grateful that Limonic wrote this book.--Howard Freedman "J. The Jewish News of Northern California" (6/25/2019 12:00:00 AM)Laura Limonic has written an eye-opening study of Latin American Jewish immigrants to the United States that in graceful prose comprehensively explores the complexities of ethnic and religious identity of this hybrid group that has made a virtue of its multiple attachments and cultural roots. Drawing from a rich ethnographic field study as well as her own Jewish Latina background, Limonic has given us a pathbreaking introduction to a fascinating population.--Samuel Heilman "Distinguished Professor of Sociology and Holder of the Proshansky Chair of Jewish Studies, CUNY" (11/30/2018 12:00:00 AM)Limonic's framework and findings contribute to our knowledge of Latin/Latino Jews in the United States--Yael Siman "AJS Review" (4/1/2021 12:00:00 AM)Limonic's research describes Latino Jews' interactions within the larger U.S. Jewish and Latino populations, their countries of origin, and Israel. In addition to richly documenting these communities, Kugel and Frijoles offers a suggestive model for interpreting the emergent socia