There have been “dramatic increases in acts, attitudes and expressions of anti-Semitism in the last six months,” said Hannah Rosenthal, the special envoy to the Office to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism in the United States.
Rosenthal, who was appointed to the post in November, formally accepted her role at a ceremony attended by U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton early last week.
In an emotional speech, Rosenthal identified six trends in anti-Semitism: the age-old accusations of blood libel and plotting to take over the world; Holocaust denial; Holocaust relativism; Holocaust glorification (where calls are issued to “finish the job"); anti-Israel sentiments crossing over into anti-Semitism; and universal discrimination against people of all faiths.
“Hate is hate,” Rosenthal said. “And we have to work together to confront it, to combat it, to eradicate it. That’s lofty.”
Some of her critics however, say that Rosenthal is too concerned with the overall human rights scene—women’s empowerment, healthcare, religious discrimination—and are calling for her replacement.
Her predecessor, Gregg Rickman, thinks Rosenthal is “confused” and lambasts her public interests in combating Islamophobia.
“Our Special Envoy seems to be interested in fighting intolerance of many sorts, which is admirable if her job was to do that,” Rickman writes in the Cutting Edge blog. “Yet as her responsibilities are by her title limited to anti-Semitism, it is curious that she cannot find enough anti-Semitism to fight around the world so she has to migrate to other issues.”
Rosenthal however, remains adamant that there is a need for a united front on racism between Jews and Muslims to truly abolish the problem. At a conference on intolerance in Kazakhstan, Rosenthal delivered a speech on anti-Muslim bias, while Farah Anwar Pandith, the special representative to Muslim communities, discussed rising anti-Semitism in Europe.
“Why is it that whenever there is activity in the Middle East, we know to expect increases in anti-Semitism? Why is that normal?” Rosenthal said.
While Rosenthal spoke heavily about world-mending, she admitted that evaluating her achievements would be challenging.
“Success for me will be measured by how many other people condemn anti-Semitism,” she said. “It is not a Jewish problem; it is a problem for all of humanity… We will get this done.”
View Hannah Rosenthal’s speech to the Jewish community here: http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid1705667530?bctid=111956934001
