July 28, 2010 – San Salvador – AJC President Bob Elman met yesterday with El Salvador Foreign Minister Hugo Martinez. The meeting concluded a two-day visit to the Central American nation that is a close ally of the United States and Israel, and a good friend of AJC.

“Our discussions focused on countering Iran’s threat in Latin America, El Salvador’s longstanding strong relationship with Israel, and its important ties to the U.S.,” said Elman. “AJC advocacy for immigration and our work with the Salvadoran community in the U.S. also were discussed.”

Dina Siegel Vann, director of AJC’s Latino and Latin American Institute, accompanied Elman on the trip. AJC is the lead American Jewish organization working across Latin America with governments and Jewish communities. In the U.S. AJC maintains outreach to Latino immigrant communities, notably the Salvadorans, which is the third largest Latino community in the U.S.

The AJC delegation also attended the ceremony in which Israel honored posthumously Salvadoran diplomat Col. Jose Arturo Catellanos as one of the Righteous Among the Nations. During the Holocaust Catellanos provided 40,000 visas to Jewish refugees, saving them from the Nazis by issuing Salvadoran birth certificates.