Raanan Rein (; 17 June 1960) is the Elías Sourasky Professor of Latin American and Spanish History and former Vice President of Tel Aviv University. Since 2005 Rein is the Head of the S. Daniel Abraham Center for International and Regional Studies. He is a member of Argentina's National Academy of History, and former President of the Latin American Jewish Studies Association (LAJSA). The Argentine government awarded him the title of Commander in the Order of the Liberator San Martín for his contribution to Argentine culture. The Spanish government awarded him the title of Commander in the Order of Civil Merit. His current research deals with Jewish Argentines and Peronism, sports and politics in Argentina, Jewish Self-Defense organizations, and Jewish volunteers in the Spanish Civil War.
Early life
Rein was born in Givataim (Israel) where he grew up and attended "Shimom Ben Tzvi" High School. He is married to Dr. Mónica Esti Rein and father of two children. During the 1980s he held several positions in the Israeli press and media, among them: Foreign News Editor of the I.D.F. Radio Station, Commentator on foreign affairs in Al Hamishmar, Member of the founding group of Hadashot daily newspaper and its first Foreign News Editor. During this period he published hundreds of articles and reportages in a number of Israeli newspapers and magazines.
Academic life
While working as a journalist, Rein completed his academic studies at Tel Aviv University. He graduated from Tel Aviv University in 1986 with a B.A degree in Political Science and History. His doctoral dissertation, supervised by Profs. Shlomo Ben-Ami and Tzvi Medin, dealt with the Franco-Perón Alliance and Spanish-Argentine relations after World War II. In 1992, after receiving a Ph.D in history, he joined the Department of History as Lecturer and in 2001 he was promoted to the rank of Full Professor in this Department. Several years later he became the Elías Sourasky Professor of Latin American and Spanish History.
In addition to his extensive academic work, Rein has also held administrative positions at the university. He was a Member of the Board of Directors of Tel Aviv University; served as the Director of the Sverdlin Institute for Latin American History and Culture; Chairperson of the Faculty of Humanities Teaching Committee (2003 to 2005); Founding director of the S. Daniel Abraham Center for International and Regional Studies beginning in 2004; and Vice Rector of the University (2005-2009). He was also a Member of the International Committee, appointed by the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture, and Sport, to evaluate centers of excellence in Spanish Universities. Between the years 2012-2021, Rein served as Tel Aviv University’s Vice President for Global Engagement.
Rein is also the co-editor of the journal Estudios Interdisciplinarios de América Latina y el Caribe, editor of the book series in Spanish Nuevas miradas a la Argentina del siglo XX published by Lumière in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and editor of Brill's book series Jewish Latin America: Issues and Methods. Rein is on the editorial board of seven academic journals and was the guest editor of several special issues in various journals, including History & Memory, Z'manin, Mediterranean Historical Review, and Jewish History. Rein was a visiting professor at the University of Maryland, College Park, Emory University, Atlanta, and UADE in Buenos Aires.