Additional commentary may be found below from the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.
NEW YORK (Press Release) – More than 1,100 religious leaders across the United States have joined with the American Jewish Committee (AJC) in calling for Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to appoint a new State Department Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism. The congressionally mandated position has remained unfilled for sixteen months.
“We are gratified that our friends from Christian, Muslim and other faith communities have joined this appeal to Secretary Pompeo and that they too recognize both the threat of anti-Semitism and the need for U.S. leadership in mobilizing concrete actions to combat this cancer,” said Daniel Elbaum, AJC Chief Advocacy Officer. “It is our hope that the collective moral voice of religious leaders impels Secretary Pompeo to fill this critically important State Department position.”
The religious leaders’ letter, coordinated by AJC, follows on repeated calls by the global advocacy organization to fill the State Department position that was established by Congress in 2004.
“We are a diverse group of religious leaders from across America who have joined together to call upon you to swiftly appoint a new State Department Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism,” states the religious leaders’ letter to Pompeo. “Anti-Semitism starts with Jews but doesn’t end there. When any minority is threatened, everyone is less safe.”
The State Department Office to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism has kept the U.S. at the forefront of international efforts to raise consciousness about the rising menace of anti-Semitism and press governments and multilateral institutions to safeguard vulnerable Jewish communities.
“From AJC offices in Berlin, Brussels, Paris, Rome and Warsaw, and from our international partners in other capitals throughout Europe, we hear almost daily reports of anti-Semitic incidents,” Elbaum said. “Appointing the special envoy will make clear that mobilizing governments to take on anti-Semitism is indeed a U.S. priority.”
Among the signatories are rabbis, several hundred Christian leaders, and faith representatives of the Baha’i, Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim, and Sikh communities.
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Preceding provided by the American Jewish Committee
The Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations is a staunch advocate for maintaining and strengthening the role of the State Department Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism and supports adoption of HR 1911, the Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism Act of 2017, introduced in the House of Representatives by Rep. Christopher H. Smith (R-NJ), with broad bipartisan support from 74 cosponsors.
Stephen M. Greenberg, Chairman and Malcolm Hoenlein, Executive Vice Chairman/CEO of the Conference of Presidents said, “Since the position was created by Congress in 2004, the Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism has been a critical part of the U.S. commitment to making the fight against anti-Semitism an important element of our country’s foreign policy, playing an important role in promoting the strong U.S. policy against manifestations of anti-Semitism at home and around the globe.
We have been concerned that the position of Special Envoy has been vacant for nearly 18 months and have urged the Trump administration to fill the position.
Especially at this time, with anti-Semitism on the rise once again around the world and at home, it is essential for foreign government officials to continue to see the strong U.S. commitment to confronting the ages old pernicious bias of anti-Semitism that is an ever present threat to Jews everywhere and to the whole of society.
We strongly support the bipartisan legislation introduced by Rep. Smith that will elevate role of the Special Envoy within the Department of State. We urge quick passage of HR 1911 in the House and the Senate to adopt a similar bill as soon as possible to send to President Trump to sign into law.”