ABSTRACT
In addition to the Moroccan emigration, a second Sephardic migration developed from the Ottoman Empire toward the end of the nineteenth century. The financial debacle of the Empire left a strong imprint on the population as a whole, Jews included, as a result of the impoverishment of communities with little mineral wealth and no industrial development that were constantly threatened with overpopulation. Although the distance between Ashkenazic and Sephardic immigrants in Buenos Aires is easily explained by their differing backgrounds, languages, traditions, and attitudes, the factors that caused the various Sephardic groups to remain apart from one another are more subtle. The Sephardic societies bear some resemblance to the landsman-schaften founded by Ashkenazim on the basis of common origin in the same town or area. Sephardim in Argentina before the Nazi era did not participate in certain controversies. Their concerns centered on earning a living and abiding as much as possible within traditional religious and cultural values.
