Last week, the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America (Orthodox Union), the nation’s largest Orthodox Jewish umbrella organization, applauded President Biden’s anticipated nomination of Holocaust historian and author Deborah Lipstadt to the State Department’s position of special envoy to monitor and combat anti-Semitism.
Lipstadt, a professor at Emory University, is a renowned scholar of Holocaust studies, author of many books, and successfully defeated a libel suit brought against her by Holocaust denier David Irving.
The Orthodox Union, through its nonpartisan Advocacy Center, has urgently called for the special envoy position to be filled, and included that request in a recent letter to President Biden, co-authored with other leading Jewish groups.
Said Nathan Diament, the Orthodox Union’s Executive Director for Public Policy: “We extend our sincere congratulations to Deborah Lipstadt upon her expected nomination to this critical State Department post that comes at a time we are witnessing a terrible surge in attacks and threats committed against the global Jewish community. These range from assaults on individuals to legal assaults on fundamental Jewish rites, including Kashrus and Bris Milah. While it’s unfortunate that we need to have such a position at the State Department, Prof. Lipstadt is certainly the best person to fill this job.”