Biden names historian Deborah Lipstadt as envoy to combat anti-Semitic sentiment

Lipstadt, Professor of Modern Jewish History and Holocaust Studies at Emory University, was the founding director of the Institute for Jewish Studies.

He is currently on the board of the Jewish Forward Advisory Committee and the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, in addition to serving as a judge for the Rohr Prize in Jewish Literature. During the administration of former President Bill Clinton, he served in several roles at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.

The appointment comes after several Jewish leaders called in recent weeks from the Biden administration to fill a position that had been vacant since taking office due to rising anti-Semitism around the world.

Lipstead is the author of eight books, including The Eichmann Trial, Holocaust: An American Understanding, Antisemitism: Here and Now and Beyond Belief: The American Press and the Coming of the Holocaust, 1933–1945.

British author and Holocaust denier David Irving sued him for defamation in London in 2000. The trial resulted in a victory for Lipstad, who in 2005 wrote his memoir: History on Trial: My Day in Court with a Holocaust Denier.

Lipstad was previously a member of the State Department’s Advisory Committee on Religious Persecution Abroad and a board member of Hillel International, Defiant Requiem and the Covenant Foundation. Lipstadt received his BA and MA and Ph.D degrees from the City College of New York. from Brandeis University.

Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said in a statement that Lipstad is “remarkably qualified as an eminent scholar who understands the arc of history and knows that those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it.” are.”

“At a time of rising extremism from all sides, this awareness is essential and makes them a better choice for this important role,” he said.

Greenblatt continued, “Professor Lipstadt is a woman of courage who has fought anti-Semitism in the courts, faced it on campus and spoke the truth in the face of power.” “He is a champion of facts who would call hatred against the Jewish people regardless of source – but a man who aptly noted that anti-Semitism may begin with Jews, but it never ends with Jews. This insight is important, and Professor Lipstadt understands the relationship between anti-Semitic hatred and bigotry and other forms of intolerance.”

She added that “she will bring to this role extensive experience and a deep understanding of historical and modern day anti-Semitism. Especially in the midst of the years-long rise in global antisemitism, Deborah is the leader we need to call upon governments to take this deadly threat seriously.” needs to be pursued.”

Rep. Brad Schneider (D-Illinois) said in a statement that he “first met Deborah Lipstadt in 1990, when she was a resident scholar on a trip to Poland and Israel. For decades, she has dealt with the harshness of anti-Semitism in our world.” Has acted as both academic and activist, inspiring policy makers to face the realities and fight for justice.”

He said that “I cannot imagine a better, more qualified person to lead the United States’ efforts to combat anti-Semitism. Amid the recent rising anti-Semitic sentiment in the United States and around the world, , Deborah Lipstadt will lead with an emphatic moral clarity.”

Ambassador Gilead Arden to the United States and the United Nations congratulated Lipstad in a statement. He wrote, “As an accomplished writer and historian, Dr. Lipstadt has dedicated his life to fighting anti-Semitism and preserving the memory of the Holocaust.” “Semitism is the oldest and most widespread form of hatred and the recent wave of anti-Semitic attacks against Jews around the world and in America serves as a reminder that no place is safe from anti-Semitic hatred.”