NewsWhore
04-14-2008, 01:30 PM
A delegation of 40 Dominican and Jewish leaders from the US is visiting the Dominican Republic this week. The American Jewish Committee (AJC) and the Dominican American National Roundtable (DANR) host the delegation. The group arrived in Sosua yesterday for a three-day visit, which will include meetings with Jewish leaders and Dominican government officials, with the mission of educating and raising awareness of Jewish migration in the DR.
In 1938, 100,000 Jewish refugees were offered the opportunity to settle in the Dominican Republic to escape persecution in Nazi Europe. Just under 1,000 came and settled in Sosua.
The 40-member delegation includes well known Dominican leaders including Victor Capellan, (president of the DANR), Cid Wilson (former president of the DANR), Moises Perez (president of Alianza Dominicana), Rhode Island Senator Juan Pichardo, Julio Guridy (Allentown, PA Councilman), Alejandra Castillo (DANR) and Lilliam Perez (Office of Sen. Eric Schneiderman). The members of the American Jewish Committee are led by Dina Siegel Vann, National Director of the AJC's Latino and Latin American Institute in Washington, DC and Diane Steinman, Executive Director of the New York chapter of the AJC. The delegation will meet with Jewish leaders in Sosua before traveling to Santo Domingo where they will be received by US and Israeli diplomats, and high-ranking Dominican officials. The visit is considered historic because of the level of support from key national organizations as well as government and civic leaders in the US and the Dominican Republic. This year has seen a renewed interest in preserving the history of Jewish people in the DR. Last February the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York City held "The Sosua Exhibit" with the help of NY State Senator Eric Schneiderman, who is Jewish and represents the Washington Heights section of Manhattan, a predominantly Dominican neighborhood. Additionally, several books and news magazines documenting Jewish history in Sosua were published this year.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#4)
In 1938, 100,000 Jewish refugees were offered the opportunity to settle in the Dominican Republic to escape persecution in Nazi Europe. Just under 1,000 came and settled in Sosua.
The 40-member delegation includes well known Dominican leaders including Victor Capellan, (president of the DANR), Cid Wilson (former president of the DANR), Moises Perez (president of Alianza Dominicana), Rhode Island Senator Juan Pichardo, Julio Guridy (Allentown, PA Councilman), Alejandra Castillo (DANR) and Lilliam Perez (Office of Sen. Eric Schneiderman). The members of the American Jewish Committee are led by Dina Siegel Vann, National Director of the AJC's Latino and Latin American Institute in Washington, DC and Diane Steinman, Executive Director of the New York chapter of the AJC. The delegation will meet with Jewish leaders in Sosua before traveling to Santo Domingo where they will be received by US and Israeli diplomats, and high-ranking Dominican officials. The visit is considered historic because of the level of support from key national organizations as well as government and civic leaders in the US and the Dominican Republic. This year has seen a renewed interest in preserving the history of Jewish people in the DR. Last February the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York City held "The Sosua Exhibit" with the help of NY State Senator Eric Schneiderman, who is Jewish and represents the Washington Heights section of Manhattan, a predominantly Dominican neighborhood. Additionally, several books and news magazines documenting Jewish history in Sosua were published this year.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#4)