Simon Wiesenthal Center Urges Bi-Partisan Congressional Action to Ensure Fully-Funded Special Envoy on Anti-Semitism

February 28, 2017

Senior officials of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, a leading Jewish Human Rights NGO, are urging a bi-partisan push in both the US Senate and House of Representatives to ensure full funding for the State Department’s Special Envoy on Anti-Semitism.

“Against the backdrop of resurgent anti-Semitism in Europe and around the world, our elected officials must act swiftly to not only mandate but fully fund the State Department’s Special Envoy on Antisemitism,” declared Rabbis Marvin Hier and Abraham Cooper, Dean and Founder and Associate Dean of the leading Jewish Human Rights NGO, in a statement released from Dubai during a Wiesenthal Center mission to Middle East nations

The Center officials added, “Ever since its creation under President George W. Bush, the Special Envoy on Antisemitism has made clear America’s unflinching commitment to fight history’s oldest hate. Given the reality of the multiplicity of anti-Semitic threats, our nation’s leadership should redouble our America’s commitment to combat this scourge.”

“In fact, we urge US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to elevate the envoy to ambassador status,” Hier and Cooper concluded.

The Center's Director of Government Affairs, Mark Weitzman is speaking at tomorrow's OSCE Conference on Capitol Hill, “Turning Words Into Action: Addressing Anti-Semitism and Intolerance in the OSCE Region”.

For more information, please contact the Center's Public Relations Department, 310-553-9036. Join the Center on Facebook, www.facebook.com/simonwiesenthalcenter, or follow @simonwiesenthal for news updates sent direct to your Twitter feed.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center is one of the largest international Jewish human rights organizations with over 400,000 member families in the United States. It is an NGO at international agencies including the United Nations, UNESCO, the OSCE, the OAS, the Council of Europe and the Latin American Parliament (Parlatino).