Dominican Republic Adopts IHRA Definition of Antisemitism
Caribbean · POLITICS
Key Facts
- —Adoption announced on 24 August at the Sixth Latin American Forum against Antisemitism
- —Rank the Dominican Republic is the seventh Latin American country to adopt or endorse it
- —Nature the IHRA definition is legally non-binding and comes with 11 illustrative examples
- —Sosúa RD$50 million pledged for a new Jewish museum building
- —History the country admitted 645 Jewish refugees between 1938 and 1945
A non-binding tool with real political weight — plus money for the museum that keeps Sosúa’s refugee story alive.
The Dominican Republic has formally adopted the IHRA definition of antisemitism, President Luis Abinader announced at the Sixth Latin American Forum against Antisemitism in Santo Domingo. The Foreign Ministry officialized the adhesion in a statement dated 24 August, making the country the seventh in Latin America to adopt or endorse the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition, after Argentina, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Panamá and Uruguay. Abinader paired the announcement with a pledge of RD$50 million for a new building for the Jewish Museum of Sosúa, the town that preserves the legacy of Jewish refugees admitted under Rafael Trujillo after the 1938 Évian Conference.
What was announced and by whom
Abinader made the announcement on Monday 24 August, addressing hundreds of attendees at the forum’s gala dinner in Santo Domingo. The event, organized by the Combat Antisemitism Movement, ran from 23 to 26 August and gathered legislators, diplomats, academics and religious leaders from across the region. ‘Antisemitism is not a problem that concerns only the Jewish people,’ the president said. ‘It is a threat to democratic coexistence and to the rights and freedoms of us all.’ He added that no political disagreement, cause or circumstance can justify hatred or violence against a person or a community.
The president said he had instructed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Mirex) to formalize the decision, which the ministry did in a comunicado published on 24 August. According to the forum’s organizers, the Dominican Republic becomes the seventh Latin American nation to embrace the IHRA definition, following Argentina, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Panamá and Uruguay.
What the IHRA definition says
Adopted by the IHRA in 2016, the definition describes antisemitism as ‘a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews.’ It is accompanied by 11 illustrative examples, among them Holocaust denial, theories about an alleged Jewish conspiracy, holding Jews collectively responsible for the actions of individuals, and certain expressions related to Israel. The IHRA itself stresses that the definition is legally non-binding and that criticism of Israel similar to that leveled against any other country cannot, in itself, be considered antisemitic.
Abinader acknowledged that boundary explicitly, saying the Dominican Republic will apply the IHRA definition with respect for freedom of expression and the rights established in the constitution. The caution reflects an international debate: a UN special rapporteur has recognized the definition’s usefulness as an educational tool while warning that some examples could chill legitimate criticism of Israeli government policies, and in 2021 more than 200 scholars backed the Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism as an alternative, a text its promoters say now has more than 400 signatories.
The Sosúa pledge
Alongside the adoption, Abinader announced RD$50 million for the construction of a new building for the Jewish Museum of Sosúa, on the country’s northern coast in Puerto Plata province. Diario Libre notes that the amount had already been announced on 16 January by Presidency Minister José Ignacio Paliza, who delivered the first RD$25 million at the time, as part of an ‘integral intervention’ to renovate the museum’s exhibition spaces and its synagogue. It is unclear whether the president’s announcement expands or restates that project.
Sosúa preserves an unusual chapter of Holocaust-era history. At the 1938 Évian Conference, the Dominican Republic was one of the few countries prepared to accept large-scale Jewish immigration, offering to take in up to 100,000 refugees. The US Holocaust Memorial Museum records that the country admitted 645 Jews between 1938 and 1945, and that the Sosúa colony peaked at 476 residents in 1943. Today some 100 Jews live in the country, according to the World Jewish Congress, most in Santo Domingo and about 30 to 40 in Sosúa, with Jewish life organized by the Centro Israelita de la República Dominicana.
Reactions and regional context
The US Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism, Ambassador Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun, called the adoption a ‘historic moment’ and said Washington stands ready to support religious liberty efforts in the region. Israel’s Foreign Ministry welcomed the decision, calling the definition an essential tool for identifying and combating antisemitism, and expressed hope that more Latin American countries would follow.
For the Abinader government, the IHRA definition adoption fits a broader foreign-policy pattern of alignment with the United States and Israel, and it ties diplomatic signaling to a concrete investment in cultural tourism and historical memory on the north coast. Whether the non-binding text changes police, prosecutorial or educational practice will depend on how Mirex and other institutions choose to apply it — and on how the freedom-of-expression pledge is honored in practice.
The adoption also carries symbolic timing. It came at a regional gathering dedicated to fighting antisemitism, hosted in a capital whose own Jewish community is small but historically significant. For Jewish organizations across the hemisphere, each new endorsement of the IHRA definition adds institutional weight to a shared standard for identifying hatred, even as the parallel debate over its limits shows no sign of fading. Dominican officials framed the move as a commitment to Holocaust memory, to the protection of Jewish communities and to the rejection of religious intolerance in all its forms.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the IHRA definition of antisemitism?
Adopted by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance in 2016, it defines antisemitism as ‘a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews.’ It includes 11 illustrative examples and is legally non-binding; criticism of Israel similar to that of any other country is not, in itself, antisemitic.
Which Latin American countries have adopted the IHRA definition?
The Dominican Republic is the seventh, after Argentina, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Panamá and Uruguay, according to the Combat Antisemitism Movement, which organized the Santo Domingo forum where the adoption was announced.
What is the Jewish Museum of Sosúa?
The museum preserves the legacy of Jewish refugees admitted by the Dominican Republic after the 1938 Évian Conference. The country took in 645 Jews between 1938 and 1945; President Abinader has pledged RD$50 million for a new museum building in Sosúa.
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