The murders of Moisés Ville, the rise and fall of the Jerusalem of South America, Javier Sinay ; translated by Robert Croll
Type
Label
The murders of Moisés Ville, the rise and fall of the Jerusalem of South America, Javier Sinay ; translated by Robert Croll
Language
eng
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references (pages [241]-258)
Index
no index present
Literary Form
non fiction
Main title
The murders of Moisés Ville
Nature of contents
bibliography
Oclc number
1295103711
Responsibility statement
Javier Sinay ; translated by Robert Croll
Sub title
the rise and fall of the Jerusalem of South America
Summary
<p><b>Award-winning journalist Javier Sinay investigates a series of murders from the nineteenth century, unearthing the complex history and legacy of Moisés Ville, the zJerusalem of South America,y and his personal connection to a defining period of Jewish history in Argentina. </b>When Argentine journalist Javier Sinay discovers an article from 1947 by his great-grandfather detailing twenty-two murders that had occurred in Moisés Ville at the end of the nineteenth century, he launches into his own investigation that soon turns into something deeper: an exploration of the history of Moisés Ville, one of the first Jewish agricultural communities in Argentina, and Sinay's own connection to this historically thriving Jewish epicenter. <br><br> Seeking refuge from the pogroms of Czarist Russia, a group of Jewish immigrants founded Moisés Ville in the late 1880s. Like their town's prophetic namesake, these immigrants fled one form of persecution only to encounter a different set of hardships: exploitative land prices, starvation, illness, language barriers, and a series of murders perpetrated by roving gauchos who preyed upon their vulnerability. Sinay, though a descendant of these immigrants, is unfamiliar with this turbulent history, and his research into the spate of violence plunges him into his family's past and their link to Moisés Ville. He combs through libraries and archives in search of documents about the murders and hires a book detective to track down issues of <i>Der Viderkol</i>, the first Yiddish newspaper in Argentina started by his great-grandfather. He even enrolls in Yiddish classes so he can read the newspaper and other contemporaneous records for himself. Through interviews with his family members, current residents of Moisés Ville, historians, and archivists, Sinay compiles moving portraits of the victims of these heinous murders and reveals the fascinating and complex history of the town once known as the zJerusalem of South America. y</p><p>zSinay acknowledges the impossibility of fully separating legends from facts... but his diligence has produced as definitive an account as possible of what actually happened during this bloody period. This nuanced search for truth should have broad appeal. y<br><b>—</b><i><b>Publishers Weekly</b></i><b>, starred review</b></p><p>"I greatly admire Javier Sinay's enlightening and humane account of his sleuthing—the disinterment of a violent episode of buried history—now no longer forgotten. Its implications resonate far beyond the borders of Argentina. "<br><b>—Paul Theroux, author of </b><i><b>The Mosquito Coast</b></i><b> and </b><i><b>Under the Wave at Waimea</b></i></p><p>"Part detective story, part family history, <i>The Murders of Moisés Ville: The Rise and Fall of the Jerusalem of South America </i>— by Buenos Aires journalist Javier Sinay— offers a compelling path to learn more. "</p><p><b>—</b><b>Howard Freedman, <i>Jewish News of Northern California</i></b></p><p></p>