Bipartisan Senate Push Aims To Boost Anti-Semitism Monitor
Image by Getty Images
WASHINGTON (JTA) — A Republican and a Democrat in the U.S. Senate introduced legislation that would enhance the role of the State Department’s anti-Semitism envoy.
Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., and Marco Rubio, R-Fla., on Monday introduced the “Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism Act of 2017,” a companion bill to one introduced earlier this year in the House by U.S. Representatives Reps. Chris Smith, R-N.J., and Eliot Engel, D-N.Y.
The Senate bill would elevate the existing position to ambassador-level and ban “double-hatting,” or giving the position to someone who already has another assignment.
The Trump administration has yet to name someone to the position. Earlier this year, administration officials denied reports that they planned to do away with the position.
“At a time of growing anti-Semitism across the globe and here at home, it is vital that we prioritize the fight against this scourge,” Gillibrand said in a statement.
“The United States must remain committed to combating anti-Semitism in all its forms, wherever it appears,” Rubio said.
Why I became the Forward’s editor-in-chief
You are surely a friend of the Forward if you’re reading this. And so it’s with excitement and awe — of all that the Forward is, was, and will be — that I introduce myself to you as the Forward’s newest editor-in-chief.
And what a time to step into the leadership of this storied Jewish institution! For 129 years, the Forward has shaped and told the American Jewish story. I’m stepping in at an intense time for Jews the world over. We urgently need the Forward’s courageous, unflinching journalism — not only as a source of reliable information, but to provide inspiration, healing and hope.
, editor-in-chiefSupport our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
