Dominican Republic adopts IHRA antisemitism definition, announces Jewish heritage museum
The Dominican Republic will adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's working definition of antisemitism, becoming the 7th Latin American nation to do so
Dominican Republic announced it is adopting the IHRA's working definition of antisemitism on Monday night. The move makes the Dominican Republic the seventh Latin American country to adopt the definition, joining Argentina, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Panama and Uruguay. Argentina remains the only Latin American state with full IHRA membership.
The announcement was made by President Luis Abinader at a conference in Santo Domingo organized by the Combat Antisemitism Movement, attended by more than 70 leaders from 19 countries, including nearly 50 lawmakers from across the continent. Abinader also announced the establishment of the country's first museum dedicated to Jewish heritage.
Among the participants was Ambassador Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun, the US Secretary of State's special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism. A source who spoke to i24NEWS' Mike Wagenheim said the Dominican Republic's adoption of IHRA is due to the efforts of the Combat Antisemitism Movement, along with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Kaploun.
The source says the United States is coordinating closely with Argentina to bring more Latin American countries into the IHRA framework, with further announcements expected soon.
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The IHRA definition offers guidance for identifying when criticism of Israel or Jews crosses into antisemitism, including through double standards, denial of Jewish self-determination or the use of classic antisemitic tropes. The Dominican Republic holds a distinct place in Jewish history, having been the only country in the 1940s to offer asylum to a large number of Jewish refugees, pledging to accept up to 100,000, though most never arrived.
The town of Sosúa was built in part by Jewish refugees and kibbutzniks from British Mandatory Palestine, and the country's largest dairy producer was founded by Holocaust survivors. Estimates of the current Jewish population range from 100 to 3,000.