Dominican Republic adopts IHRA antisemitism definition, joins Latin American cohort

At a conference in Santo Domingo, President Luis Abinader instructed the foreign ministry to formalize the adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism, making the Dominican Republic the 48th country worldwide to endorse it. U.S. Special Envoy Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun praised the step as historic and called on other Latin American leaders to emulate the example. Abinader framed antisemitism as a threat to democratic coexistence and affirmed that rejecting it does not equate to taking sides in any particular conflict.

He also announced a 50 million-peso allocation for a new building for the Jewish Museum of Sosúa, linking the policy to the nation’s historic refuge for Jews fleeing Nazi persecution. Once the foreign ministry finalizes the measure, the Dominican Republic will join six other Latin American states that have already adopted the IHRA definition, potentially encouraging further regional uptake.