WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. Grace Meng (D-Queens), a member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on National Security, State Department, and Other Related Programs, announced that she sent a bipartisan letter urging the President to nominate a qualified Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism.
The Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism is a Senate-confirmed State Department position dedicated to advancing US foreign policy on antisemitism. The Special Envoy’s work is critical to countering antisemitism around the world. Antisemitism has been on the rise for years. However, Jewish communities worldwide have experienced a significant increase in antisemitism following Hamas’s October 7terrorist attack against Israel. In synagogues, schools, sporting venues, and daily life, Jewish people have increasingly faced exclusion, demonization, and physical threats, including fire-bombings and even premeditated pogroms.
In the letter, the members wrote, “The United States must continue sending a strong message that antisemitism has no place in our world—and that those who engage in illegal antisemitic conduct must be held accountable. Since the first appointment of a Special Envoy in 2006, all have received strong, bipartisan support through both Republican and Democratic administrations. We urge you to nominate a qualified Special Envoy as soon as possible to maintain U.S. leadership in this fight.”
Thanks to the Office of the Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism, the United States has a dedicated entity within the State Department to counter this hate. Under the Biden Administration, the office developed initiatives like the Global Guidelines for Countering Antisemitism – a set of principles that provide a roadmap for responsiveness and accountability. 42 countries and international bodies have already signed on to the guidelines to date.
The letter was led by Rep. Meng, a co-chair of the House Bipartisan Task Force for Combating Antisemitism, with eight House Democrats and Republicans co-chairs including Don Bacon (R-NE), Dan Goldman (D-NY), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Ted Lieu (D-CA), Randy Weber (R-TX) Marc Veasey (D-TX), Haley Stevens (D-MI), and Rep. Dan Meuser (R-PA). In total, 62 members from both parties joined the letter.
It is supported by the American Jewish Committee, Anti-Defamation League, Orthodox Union, National Council of Jewish Women, Hadassah, The Women's Zionist Organization of America, Agudah Israel, B'nai B'rith International, National Council Supporting Eurasian Jewry, Union for Reform Judaism, and Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.
In January, Meng introduced a bipartisan resolution on International Holocaust Remembrance Day commemorating 80 years since the liberation of Auschwitz and recommitting to combatting all forms of antisemitism.
A copy of the letter can be viewed here.
