Dominican Republic Weighs Embassy Return to Jerusalem

Israeli officials have warmly greeted an announcement by the Dominican Republic that it is considering the return of its embassy to Jerusalem. Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi expressed gratitude to his Dominican counterpart, Roberto Alvarez Gil, writing on Twitter: “I thanked him during our phone call for this important decision and for the many years of friendship between our two countries.” The new administration in Santo Domingo, just two months in power, is led by the grandson of Lebanese immigrants. It considers its diplomatic and trade ties with Washington “very special,” which could be one of the reasons it made the announcement on Friday, just prior to the US presidential election. The Dominican Republic maintained an embassy in Jerusalem until 1980, when Israel enacted the so-called Jerusalem Law, declaring the city its “united” and “eternal” capital. The United Nations Security Council responded with a resolution of censure, calling on all countries with embassies in the city to remove them. The US moved its own embassy to Jerusalem in 2018.