Abraham Foxman, a Holocaust survivor and national director of the Anti-Defamation League from 1987 until 2015, died on Sunday. He was 86 years old.
“America and the Jewish people have lost a moral voice, a passionate advocate for the Jewish people and the State of Israel, and a remarkable leader,” stated Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO and national director of the ADL. “Abe Foxman was an iconic Jewish leader who embraced the ideal of an America free from antisemitism and hate and who strongly believed that these scourges could be defeated if good people opposed it.”
“In his storied career, Abe transformed ADL while confronting antisemitism and hate—from both left and right—opposing the global rise in antisemitism, holding world leaders accountable and working to ensure that Israel was Jewish, secure and democratic,’ Greenblatt stated. “Abe’s voice was heard, and listened to, by popes, presidents and prime ministers, a voice he used wherever Jews were at risk.”
“Abe Foxman spoke on the global stage with moral authority and clarity and was relentlessly dedicated to his pursuit of a world without hate,” he added. “Abe understood the power of words. He often said that the Holocaust did not begin with bricks and mortar and gas chambers, but rather, it began with words. From this foundational principle, he made education and anti-bias training a cornerstone of ADL’s work, just as ADL would stand in opposition to hateful rhetoric and violent bigotry, whatever its source.”
William Daroff, CEO of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, told JNS that he had known Foxman for a quarter of a century.
“Throughout that time, he was extraordinarily generous as a mentor and adviser to me. He offered guidance and encouragement at many phases of my career, including during my time at the Conference of Presidents,” Daroff said. “Abe combined toughness and warmth in a way that few leaders can. He expected seriousness, spoke with moral clarity and pushed younger leaders to think bigger about our responsibility to the Jewish people.”
It stood out to Daroff that Foxman “never treated the fight against antisemitism as abstract or academic.”
“For him, it was deeply personal, rooted in his own life story as a Holocaust survivor,” he told JNS. “Yet he carried that experience not with bitterness but with purpose. Every conversation with Abe Foxman reinforced the idea that leadership requires courage, urgency and the willingness to speak out when others remain silent.”
Isaac Herzog, president of Israel, called Foxman a “legendary leader of the Jewish people, a champion of justice and equality and a longtime, dear friend of mine.”
“Coming into a world at war, the Holocaust shaped Abe’s character and defined his mission: combating antisemitism and hypocrisy, calling out racism and bias, speaking up for the Jewish people and the Jewish democratic Israel,” Herzog stated. “His story, of rising from the ashes, is our story, the story of our people.”
Foxman’s decades running the ADL “positioned him as a prominent, distinguished force in the American Jewish community and a bridge between Israel and the Diaspora,” the Israeli president said. “He was a passionate Zionist, a humanist and an outspoken, wise friend.”
Gideon Sa’ar, Israeli foreign affairs minister, stated that Foxman was a “towering voice against antisemitism,” who “devoted his life to defending the Jewish people and strengthening the bond between Israel and Jewish communities worldwide.”
“On behalf of the State of Israel, I extend my heartfelt condolences to his wife Golda, family, friends and all at the Anti-Defamation League,” the minister stated.
Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) stated that Foxman was a “friend, courageous voice of reason,” who “dedicated his life to the fight against antisemitism, wherever or whenever it reared its ugly head.” Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) stated that “Abe Foxman led the ADL for nearly 30 years and never stopped fighting antisemitism and hate.”
“Abe spent his life serving his communities, and he will be missed,” stated the office of Letitia James, attorney general of New York.
“What a profound loss,” wrote Deborah Lipstadt, former U.S. special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism and Dorot professor of modern Jewish history and Holocaust studies at Emory University. “Abe Foxman was a fighter for our people and for justice for all. He was my friend, someone to whom I could speak truth. He shall be missed greatly.”
The Jewish Federations of North America called Foxman a “towering voice against antisemitism and a lifelong champion of the Jewish people” with a “extraordinary legacy.”
“A Holocaust survivor who transformed personal tragedy into moral courage, Abe dedicated his life to defending Jewish communities, advancing human dignity and strengthening the bonds between people of all backgrounds,” the Federation said.
The American Jewish Committee called Foxman a “towering figure in the fight against antisemitism and hatred.”
“Abe brought moral clarity, courage and unwavering conviction to generations of advocacy and leadership,” the AJC said. “His voice helped shape the American Jewish experience and strengthened the global fight against bigotry in all its forms.”
David G. Greenfield, CEO of Met Council on Jewish Poverty, stated that Foxman, a former Met Council board member, was a “dear friend and mentor.”
“Abe was one of the great Jewish leaders of the past century,” he said. “He devoted his life to defending the Jewish people, fighting antisemitism, preserving the memory of the Holocaust and standing up for human dignity wherever it was threatened.”
“Throughout his life, Abe called out antisemitism wherever it appeared—on the right, on the left and everywhere in between. He did so with moral clarity, courage and an unwavering commitment to truth,” Greenfield stated. “Public leaders do not always match their public reputations in private. Abe was the rare person whose private kindness, humility and generosity were even greater than his public stature. All who knew him loved him.”
“Abe’s impact on the Jewish people and on our broader society is impossible to measure,” he added.
David Bernstein, CEO of North American Values Institute, told JNS that for decades, Foxman “embodied the spirit of the American Jewish community and helped shape its consensus.”
“Those of us in Jewish advocacy revered his sharp wit, intellectual clarity and extraordinary political acumen,” Bernstein said. “He was a towering presence in our communal life, and he will be sorely missed.”
The ADL stated that Foxman was born in 1940 and survived the Holocaust “after he was entrusted to his Polish Catholic nanny, who had him baptized as a Catholic to hide his Jewish identity.”
“He was miraculously reunited with his parents after the war,” the ADL said.
A graduate of Yeshiva of Flatbush, City College of the City University of New York and New York University School of Law, Foxman joined the ADL in 1965, right after law school, and served as assistant director of legal affairs and then “various roles” before he became national director in 1987, the group stated.
“An outspoken, passionate and tireless advocate for the Jewish people and Israel, Abe served his entire 50-year career at ADL, becoming one of the world’s foremost voices against antisemitism and hate,” it said.
Greenblatt, the ADL leader, stated that Foxman’s “work and philosophy were forged in a remarkable childhood.”
“During the Holocaust, his parents were forced to entrust him to the care of his Polish-Catholic nanny, Bronislawa Kurpi, who baptized him and raised him as a Catholic for four years,” Greenblatt said. “She sought to retain custody of Abe. Although he lost 14 members of his family in the Holocaust, his parents survived and emigrated to the United States with Abe.”
Foxman is survived by his wife, Golda; children Michelle and Ariel; son-in-law Brandon Cardet-Hernandez; and grandchildren, Cielo, Leila, Gideon and Amirit, the ADL said.
