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Uruguay’s president meets Jewish delegation for talks on antisemitism, populism

Orsi also said Uruguay will participate in upcoming IHRA conference in Argentina.

Yamandú Orsi during his inauguration as president of Uruguay at the Legislative Palace in Montevideo, March 1, 2025. Credit: Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.
Yamandú Orsi during his inauguration as president of Uruguay at the Legislative Palace in Montevideo, March 1, 2025. Credit: Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.

Yamandú Orsi, president of Uruguay, condemned antisemitism and terrorism during meetings on Wednesday with a visiting B’nai B’rith International delegation in the South American country’s capital of Montevideo.

It was led by B’nai B’rith president Robert Spitzer and CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin, and included leaders from Latin America, the United States, Europe and Australia. They met with Orsi at the Presidential Executive Tower after talks with former Uruguayan presidents Luis Alberto Lacalle Herrera, Luis Lacalle Pou and Julio Sanguinetti.

According to B’nai B’rith, discussions focused on rising global antisemitism, especially regarding social media, and efforts to counter domestic populism.

Orsi reaffirmed his nation’s adherence to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism, noting that Uruguay will participate in next month’s IHRA conference in Argentina.

“Gloria was iconic,” Ruth Messinger, a former Manhattan borough president, told JNS. “This is a sad day for women.”
“I won’t let this happen!!!” tweeted Knesset Member Limor Son Har-Melech.
“The story was one of saving the Jewish people and standing up to one of the world’s largest antisemites, who was trying to use political machinations to destroy us,” Rabbi Steven Burg of Aish told JNS.
Joel Rubin told JNS that he “needed to speak out, because if someone like me doesn’t speak out, who will?”