The Murders of Moises Ville: The Rise and Fall of the Jerusalem of South America

Description

Award-winning journalist Javier Sinay investigates a series of murders from the nineteenth century, unearthing the complex history and legacy of Moises Ville, the "Jerusalem of South America," and his personal connection to a defining period of Jewish history in Argentina.When Argentine journalist Javier Sinay discovers an article from 1947 by his great-grandfather detailing twenty-two murders that had occurred in Moises 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 Moises Ville, one of the first Jewish agricultural communities in Argentina, and Sinay's own connection to this historically thriving Jewish epicenter. Seeking refuge from the pogroms of Czarist Russia, a group of Jewish immigrants founded Moises 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 Moises Ville. He combs through libraries and archives in search of documents about the murders and hires a book detective to track down issues of Der Viderkol, 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 Moises 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 "Jerusalem of South America." "Sinay 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." -Publishers Weekly, starred review "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." -Paul Theroux, author of The Mosquito Coast and Under the Wave at Waimea "Part detective story, part family history, The Murders of Moises Ville: The Rise and Fall of the Jerusalem of South America - by Buenos Aires journalist Javier Sinay- offers a compelling path to learn more." -Howard Freedman, Jewish News of Northern California "In the pursuit to understand his own past, while unraveling the mysteries surrounding Moises Ville, Javier Sinay has created an unflinching portrait of the first Jewish community in Argentina, who, despite enormous challenges, life-threatening privations, and demeaning persecution, endured to pave the way for others seeking a new life in Argentina...Sinay has demonstrated once again, that history must be preserved no matter the cost - for ourselves, as well as for future generations." -Stephen Newton, Litro Magazine " What begins as an exercise in historical sleuthing evolves into a more ambitious exploration of Argentine Jewish history and identity...Sinay doesn't need to create a direct connection to this tragic present. It is more than enough that he refuses to flatten the Moises Ville murders to fit a totalizing narrative of antisemitic violence in Argentina. In so doing, he not only rejects facile conceptions of Jewish victimhood, but also defies the Zionist idea that, by virtue of having suffered in one country, Jews are automatically entitled to land in another." -Lily Meyer, Jewish Currents

Javier Sinay is a writer and journalist. His books include Camino al Este, Cuba Stone (in collaboration), Los crimes de Moises Ville (forthcoming from Restless Books as The Murders of Moises Ville, 2022), and Sangre joven, which won the Premio Rodolfo Walsh de la Semana Negra de Gijon, Espana. In 2015 he won the Premio de la Fundacion Gabo/FNPI for his chronicle "Fast. Furious. Dead.," published in Rolling Stone. His work has appeared in the newspapers La Nacion and Clarin, in Buenos Aires, and on the website RED/ACCION. He was also a South America correspondent for El Universal (Mexico) and the editor of Rolling Stone (Argentina). He has collaborated with Gatopardo (Mexico), Label Negra (Peru), Letras Libres (Mexico) and Reportagen (Switzerland). He lives in Buenos Aires. Robert Croll is a writer, translator, musician, and artist originally from Asheville, North Carolina. He first came to translation during his undergraduate studies at Amherst College, where he focused particularly on the short fiction of Julio Cortazar.

Praise for The Murders of Moises Ville: "Sinay 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." -Publishers Weekly, Starred Review "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." -Paul Theroux, author of The Mosquito Coast and Under the Wave at Waimea "A fascinating, dark journey of the hardships faced by Jews fleeing Eastern Europe seeking to establish themselves in a foreign country." -Yedidya Levin, Ami Magazine "With the help of a Yiddish translator, Sinay unearthed not only imprecise information in Mijl's accounts, but also silences on key issues. ... Intelligent and well-researched ... A worthy, unique entry in Jewish history." -Kirkus Reviews "Javier Sinay is a cronista of whom we are all proud." -Jon Lee Anderson, author of Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life and The Fall of Baghdad "[T]his work of historical reportage helps to keep the victims' memories alive. The Murders of Moises Ville sheds light on an undercovered portion of Jewish history." -Jeff Fleischer, Foreword Reviews "Javier Sinay...is one of the most recent and interesting links between narrative journalism, American non-fiction, and the rich tradition of Argentinian detective literature." -Rodrigo Marquez Tizano, VICE