A bipartisan group of 62 U.S. House members wrote a letter urging U.S. President Donald Trump to nominate a special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism—the position previously occupied by the historian Deborah Lipstadt, who has returned to teach at Emory University.
Rep. Grace Meng (D-N.Y.) led the effort to convince Trump to name the special envoy, a position with ambassadorial rank that operates out of the U.S. State Department and which requires Senate confirmation.
“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,” the letter states.
“Since the first appointment of a special envoy in 2006, all have received strong, bipartisan support through both Republican and Democratic administrations,” it adds. “We urge you to nominate a qualified special envoy as soon as possible to maintain U.S. leadership in this fight.”
The letter notes the rise in Jew-hatred since Israel’s military response to Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023 massacre in southern Israel, which it calls a “tsunami of hatred.”
It also references the global ground rules for countering Jew-hatred which was a Biden-era, special envoy-led initiative that garnered support of at least 42 countries and international bodies.
As Marco Rubio, the U.S. secretary of state, “said during his confirmation hearing, antisemitism is a ‘unique danger’ that not only threatens Jewish communities but the whole of society,” the letter states. “Thanks to the Office of the Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism, the United States has a dedicated entity within the State Department uniquely positioned to counter this hate.”
“The swift nomination and confirmation of a qualified special envoy is essential to preserve and build on these significant gains,” it adds.
Meng, who co-chairs the House Bipartisan Task Force for Combating Antisemitism, was joined in the letter by her co-chairs, including Reps. Don Bacon (R-Neb.), Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), Ted Lieu (D-Calif.), Randy Weber (R-Texas) Marc Veasey (D-Texas), Haley Stevens (D-Mich.) and Dan Meuser (R-Pa.).
