Amid budget cuts, Congress boosts funding for antisemitism envoy
Deborah Lipstadt, the State Department’s special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism, during a February event in New York City. Lipstadt’s office has seen its budget increase from $500,000 to $1.75 million this year, despite broader budget cuts in the department. Photo by Getty Images
By Arno Rosenfeld April 2, 2024
Congress increased funding for the State Department’s special envoy to combat antisemitism last month amid concern over rising antisemitism.
The new federal budget, signed by President Joe Biden in late March, increased funding for Lipstadt’s office 17% from $1.5 million to $1.75 million. That’s less than the $2 million some Jewish groups had been lobbying for, but notable considering that Republican lawmakers cut $1 billion from the overall budget for the State Department and related agencies.
“We are thankful to the group of bipartisan Congressional leaders for ensuring that our government is focused on and has the necessary resources to understand, respond to, and prevent antisemitism,” Ted Deutch, chief executive of the American Jewish Committee, said in a statement.
The AJC, with the Jewish federations network and other national groups, led the charge to increase funding for the office, which is run by Ambassador Deborah Lipstadt, a prominent historian of the Holocaust.
The call for additional dollars to help the office fulfill its mandate — to combat antisemitism overseas — followed robust support from officials in the House and Senate. Thirty-three senators and 83 members of the House signed letters calling for more funding.
Total funding for the office is now almost four-times higher than at the start of the Biden administration, when it was allocated a $500,000 budget.
‘Continuity’ a major concern
An area of special concern for the elected officials who lobbied for additional funding is the ability of the envoy office to transition smoothly from one presidential administration to the next. The office, established in 2004, has had several vacancies at its top position, including a two-year gap at the start of President Donald Trump’s administration and another lasting more than one year after Biden took office.
During those periods, the office has operated with a skeletal staff — fewer than two full-time employees worked there early in Biden’s tenure — because many of the positions are political appointees who leave when the administration ends. That is in contrast to career staff, whose jobs are sheltered from political winds.
The envoy role was also elevated to an ambassador-level position three years ago, which meant increased prominence for the office but also meant it would require Senate confirmation. That is part of what led to the delay in staff the office during the Biden administration, as Republicans blocked confirmation of Lipstadt over past criticism of GOP lawmakers.
A letter organized by Reps. Grace Meng and Kathy Manning, both Democrats, called for the office to “ensure continuity of staff within the Special Envoy’s Office between Administrations and before a new Special Envoy is confirmed.”
Lipstadt’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment about how it plans to use the additional funds.
Sen. Jacky Rosen, a Nevada Democrat and former synagogue president, helped elevate the leader of the office to the rank of ambassador and has lobbied to increase funding for the envoy’s office for several years.
“As antisemitic bigotry has reached a global fever pitch, the work of the Special Envoy’s office to call out and push back against antisemitism around the world could not be more needed,” she said.
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