Dominican Republic adopts contested IHRA antisemitism definition amid regional rightward shift

On August 24, President Luis Abinader declared that the Dominican Republic will adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism, a standard that equates criticism of Israel with antisemitic intent. He made the announcement at an event hosted by the U.S. Zionist group Combat Antisemitism Movement in Santo Domingo. The foreign ministry framed the policy as a continuation of a 1938 stance that allegedly offered asylum to Jewish refugees, overlooking the fact that the Trujillo regime, responsible for extortion and murder of refugees, ruled at the time.

The adoption follows recent diplomatic and defence agreements with Israel, including water-management projects and arms purchases, and mirrors a regional swing toward right-wing governments that have re-established ties with Israel in Bolivia, Chile, Honduras, Colombia and Venezuela. The IHRA definition has already been embraced by several Latin American nations and has been used in legal actions against pro-Palestinian activists in Argentina and Brazil. Critics argue the move could weaponise accusations of antisemitism to suppress solidarity with Palestine and further weaken the Dominican Republic’s already fragile democratic institutions.