President Joe Biden nominated Dorot Professor of Modern Jewish History and Holocaust Studies Deborah Lipstadt as the U.S. State Department’s special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism with rank of ambassador on July 30. The nomination was part of a slew of religious affairs appointments that day.
Established under the Global Anti-Semitic Review Act of 2004, the special envoy cultivates and executes policies and projects combatting antisemitism on a global scale. The position entails ensuring that foreign public officials condemn antisemitic rhetoric, bolstering the foreign judicial systems’ prosecution of antisemitic events and enhancing the security of at-risk Jewish populations.
The Biden administration faced increased pressure from U.S. Senators and Jewish groups to appoint someone to the position following recent violence between Israel and Hamas which ended with a ceasefire on May 21. The conflict also escalated antisemitic attacks in the U.S., with the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) recording 251 incidents within that period, a 115% increase from the previous year.
The White House considered ADL Vice President Sharon Nazarian, Government Affairs Director at the Simon Wiesenthal Center Mark Weitzman and Chief of the National Coalition Supporting Euarasion Jewry Mark Levin before nominating Lipstadt.
“She has the experience to lead at a time when antisemitism has been on the rise in the U.S. and around the world,” University President Gregory L. Fenves wrote in a statement about the nomination. “Dr. Lipstadt’s nomination is a sign that our country is committed to addressing acts of bigotry and hatred aimed at the Jewish people.”
Lipstadt has been asked by the White House to not do any interviews at this time.
Lipstadt rose to fame after British writer and Holocaust denier David Irving sued Lipstadt for libel in 1996, claiming that her 1993 book “Denying the Holocaust: The Growing Assault on Truth and Memory”defamed him. In the book, Lipstadt labeled Irving as a Holocaust denier and wrote that he falsified and distorted evidence, allegedly hurting his reputation as a historian.
In 2000, the court sided with Lipstadt and disqualified Irving's libel claims, ruling that Irving purposefully falsified and misinterpreted evidence, therefore labeling him an antisemite and racist.
Lipstadt has been connected to the White House in the past, serving twice as a Presidential Appointee to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum’s Council. She was invited by former President George W. Bush to represent the White House at the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, the White House’s press release states. Previously, she served on the U.S. Department of State’s Advisory Committee on Religious Persecution Abroad.
Since joining the University in 1993, Lipstadt has served as founding director of the Tam Institute for Jewish Studies from 1998 to 2008 and has been honored as a distinguished educator, winning Emory’s Cuttino Award for Excellence in Mentoring in 2019 and the Exemplary Teacher Award in 2020.
“I am heartened to see the nomination of Dr. Lipstadt as an expert and teacher who can help lead our nation forward on this vital issue,” Fenves wrote. “And I am proud that, pending Senate confirmation, she will be representing Emory—through her public service—at the very highest level.”
Lipstadt will need to be confirmed by the Senate because the role was promoted to ambassador-level status last year.
