Office to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism
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The Office of the Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism (formerly the Office to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism) is an office of the
Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights The Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights is a position within the U.S. Department of State that leads the State Department's efforts to prevent and counter threats to civilian security. The Under Secretary oversees ...
at the
United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other n ...
. The office "advances U.S. foreign policy on
antisemitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...
" by developing and implementing policies and projects to support efforts to combat antisemitism. The head of the office is the Special Envoy for Monitoring and Combating Antisemitism (SEAS), who reports to the
U.S. Secretary of State The United States secretary of state is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The office holder is one of the highest ranking members of the president's Ca ...
. In 2021, the Special Envoy was elevated to an Ambassador-at-Large nominated by the
U.S. President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...
and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. The position was previously appointed by the Secretary of State., 1284


Responsibilities

The office's responsibilities under U.S. federal law () are: * monitoring and combating acts of anti-Semitism and anti-Semitic incitement that occur in foreign countries; * providing input on antisemitism for two annual reports issued by the State Department: :*
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices Country Reports on Human Rights Practices are annual publications on the human rights conditions in countries and regions outside the United States, mandated by U.S. law to be submitted annually by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor of ...
:*
Annual Report on International Religious Freedom The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is a U.S. federal government commission created by the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA) of 1998. USCIRF Commissioners are appointed by the President and the lead ...
* consult ngwith domestic and international nongovernmental organizations and multilateral organizations and institutions, as the Special Envoy considers appropriate


History


Bush Administration

The Office was created by the Global Anti-Semitism Review Act of 2004, reporting to the
Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor The Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor is the head of the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor within the United States Department of State. The Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and ...
( DRL). The first Special Envoy was Gregg Rickman, a Congressional staffer who had served as Director of Congressional Affairs for the
Republican Jewish Coalition The Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC), formerly the National Jewish Coalition, founded in 1985, is a political group in the United States that supports Jewish Republicans. The organization has more than 47 chapters throughout the United States. ...
. Rickman was sworn in on May 22, 2006 and served until the end of the
George W. Bush administration George W. Bush's tenure as the 43rd president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2001, and ended on January 20, 2009. Bush, a Republican from Texas, took office following a narrow victory over Democratic ...
.


Obama Administration

Hannah Rosenthal Hannah Rosenthal (born 1951) in an American Democratic Party political official and Jewish non-profit executive who served as the U.S. Special Envoy for Monitoring and Combating Antisemitism from 2009 until 2012 during the Obama Administration. ...
served in the post under the
Obama administration Barack Obama's tenure as the 44th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2009, and ended on January 20, 2017. A Democrat from Illinois, Obama took office following a decisive victory over Republican ...
from November 23, 2009 to October 5, 2012. Rosenthal was praised for formalizing the office's work and criteria, and for her personal involvement against anti-Semitic acts globally; however, she also received criticism from her predecessor Rickman and from
Abraham Foxman Abraham Henry Foxman (born May 1, 1940) is an American lawyer and activist. He served as the national director of the Anti-Defamation League from 1987 to 2015, and is currently the League's national director emeritus. From 2016 to 2021 he served a ...
of the
Anti-Defamation League The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), formerly known as the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, is an international Jewish non-governmental organization based in the United States specializing in civil rights law. It was founded in late Septe ...
, for including Muslim community leaders in joint activities against religious hatred. Rosenthal was succeeded on an interim basis by career diplomat and former U.S. ambassador to Belarus
Michael Kozak Michael G. Kozak (born September 18, 1946) is an American diplomat in the United States Department of State who served as Acting Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs from 2019 to 2021. He previously served as U.S. Ambassador to Bela ...
. Kozak served in the role until
Ira Forman Ira N. Forman (born February 28, 1952) is a former executive director of the National Jewish Democratic Council from January 1996 through June 2010. From May 2013 until January 2017 he served as the United States Special Envoy for Monitoring and ...
, the former executive director of the
National Jewish Democratic Council The National Jewish Democratic Council (NJDC) was a political lobbying organization that advocated within the Democratic Party for viewpoints aligned with the American Jewish community and in support of the state of Israel, and within the polit ...
, was sworn in as Special Envoy on May 20, 2013; he served until Obama's term in office ended in January 2017.


Trump Administration

In June 2017, five months into the
Trump administration Donald Trump's tenure as the List of presidents of the United States, 45th president of the United States began with Inauguration of Donald Trump, his inauguration on January 20, 2017, and ended on January 20, 2021. Trump, a Republican Party ...
, Secretary of State
Rex Tillerson Rex Wayne Tillerson (born March 23, 1952) is an American engineer and energy executive who served as the 69th U.S. secretary of state from February 1, 2017, to March 31, 2018, under President Donald Trump. Prior to joining the Trump administ ...
cast doubt on whether the post of Special Envoy would be filled during Trump's presidency. Members of the
House A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...
and
Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
publicly expressed concern that the position was unfilled and called for Trump to make an appointment, at the same time calling on Trump to fill the vacant position of
White House Jewish Liaison The White House staff position of liaison to the American Jewish community (popularly known as the White House Jewish Liaison) is a role charged with serving as a presidential administration's voice to the community and gathering the community's co ...
. Congressional concern over the vacancy continued to grow throughout 2018 and early 2019. On February 5, 2019, Secretary of State
Mike Pompeo Michael Richard Pompeo (; born December 30, 1963) is an American politician, diplomat, and businessman who served under President Donald Trump as director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) from 2017 to 2018 and as the 70th United State ...
announced the appointment of Elan Carr, a Los Angeles County deputy district attorney who had served as an active duty officer in the
United States Army Judge Advocate General's Corps The Judge Advocate General's Corps of the United States Army, also known as the U.S. Army JAG Corps, is the legal arm of the United States Army. It is composed of Army officers who are also lawyers and who provide legal services to the Army at a ...
.


Biden Administration

In 2021, the Special Envoy was elevated to an Ambassador-at-Large nominated by the
U.S. President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...
and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. On July 30, 2021, President Joe Biden nominated scholar
Deborah Lipstadt Deborah Esther Lipstadt (born March 18, 1947) is an American historian, best known as author of the books ''Denying the Holocaust'' (1993), ''History on Trial: My Day in Court with a Holocaust Denier'' (2005), ''The Eichmann Trial'' (2011), and ' ...
for this role. Opposition from Senator
Ron Johnson Ronald Harold Johnson (born April 8, 1955) is an American accountant, businessman, and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Wisconsin, a seat he has held since 2011. A Republican, Johnson was first elected to the U.S. Se ...
, whom she had tweeted was advocating "white supremacy/nationalism", delayed her nomination for many months. Her initial nomination expired at the end of the year. After renomination, the
Senate Foreign Relations Committee The United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations is a standing committee of the U.S. Senate charged with leading foreign-policy legislation and debate in the Senate. It is generally responsible for overseeing and funding foreign aid pro ...
held hearings on her nomination on February 8, 2022. On March 29, 2022, the committee favorably reported her nomination out of committee. Her nomination was supported by all committee Democrats, as well as senators
Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American politician, businessman, and lawyer serving as the junior United States senator from Utah since January 2019, succeeding Orrin Hatch. He served as the 70th governor of Massachusetts f ...
and
Marco Rubio Marco Antonio Rubio (born May 28, 1971) is an American politician and lawyer serving as the senior United States senator from Florida, a seat he has held since 2011. A member of the Republican Party, he served as Speaker of the Florida Hous ...
. Her nomination was confirmed by voice vote on March 30, 2022, and she was sworn in on May 3, 2022.


List of Special Envoys


See also

*
White House Jewish Liaison The White House staff position of liaison to the American Jewish community (popularly known as the White House Jewish Liaison) is a role charged with serving as a presidential administration's voice to the community and gathering the community's co ...


References


External links


Office to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism

US Code, Title 22, Chapter 38, § 2731. Monitoring and combating anti-Semitism
from
Legal Information Institute The Legal Information Institute (LII) is a non-profit, public service of Cornell Law School that provides no-cost access to current American and international legal research sources online alaw.cornell.edu The organization is a pioneer in the del ...
at
Cornell University Law School Cornell Law School is the law school of Cornell University, a private Ivy League university in Ithaca, New York. One of the five Ivy League law schools, it offers four law degree programs, JD, LLM, MSLS and JSD, along with several dual-degr ...
. {{authority control Opposition to antisemitism in the United States United States Department of State agencies 2004 establishments in the United States