Dominican Republic

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC - THE JEWISH COMMUNITY

 

Centro Israelita de la Republica Dominicana,

PO Box 2189

(Avenida Saraaota),

Santo Domingo.

Tel. 809 535 6042,

Fax 809 542 1908.

 

Select the Dominican Republic Link at http://www.worldjewishcongress.org/comm_north.html: Jews from Curacao, who settled in Hispaniola in the 19th century, did not form a community. The majority of Jews in the Dominican Republic, most of Central European origin, live in Santo Domingo. A small community exists in Sosua. The Dominican Republic was one of the very few countries to accept mass Jewish immigration in the 1930's. At the Evian Conference, it offered to accept up to 100,000 Jewish refugees. In 1943, the number of Jews in the republic peaked at 1,000 that declines due to emigration and assimilation.

"Jewish life is organized by the Parroquia Israelita de la Republica Dominicana. There are two synagogues, one in Santo Domingo and the other in Sosua. A rabbi divides his time between the two communities... The community publishes Shalom, a bimonthly magazine. In Sosua, there is a small Jewish museum."