Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM) Director of Hispanic Outreach Shay Salamon met this past week with Panamanian Minister of Education Maruja Gorday de Villalobos to discuss a range of important issues related to the fight against Jew-hatred.
Salamon expressed gratitude to the minister for the Republic of Panama’s longstanding allyship with the Jewish people, manifested most recently by its adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Working Definition of Antisemitism, the most authoritative and comprehensive tool to delineate and take action to counter all contemporary forms of this age-old societal scourge.
With Panama’s move, a total of 42 nations have now adopted the IHRA definition.
Thanking the Panamanian government and President Laurentino Cortizo, Salamon said, “This is an important step toward eradicating antisemitism and promoting peaceful coexistence and mutual respect in Latin America and around the world. We hope that more countries will follow suit.”
Last year, Panama hosted the Central America-Israel Forum II. The event was organized by CAM and held at the Latin American Parliament, or Parlatino, in Panama City, the nation’s capital.
Starting next week, on August 8, the Museum of Old Panama in Panama City will be the venue for a week-long public display of the “No Discriminarás” (“Thou Shall Not Discriminate”) traveling exhibit, created by Argentine artist Adrián Franco, known as “Pati,” and sponsored by CAM.
The exhibit — which features a set of sketched vignettes portraying different types of modern-day antisemitism based on the IHRA definition’s 11 examples — was previously shown in Quito, Ecuador, in April.
CAM looks forward to continued collaboration with Panama to promote the values of interfaith tolerance, equality, and diversity in the country and throughout the region.
