The recent hostage crisis at Congregation Beth Israel in suburban Fort Worth, Texas, is a reminder that antisemitism is a growing and global scourge, one that has forced synagogues across the U.S. and Europe to post armed guards and bar their doors. The idea that members of Congress would block any efforts to combat it is shameful.
Yet that’s arguably what Senate Republicans are doing. Among the hundreds of administration nominees awaiting a confirmation vote is Deborah Lipstadt, a renowned Holocaust scholar and President Joe Biden’s pick to helm the State Department’s office for combating antisemitism. Republicans on the foreign-relations committee appear piqued by a tweet Lipstadt wrote in March, criticizing Republican Senator Ron Johnson for saying he would’ve been more afraid of the Jan. 6 rioters if they had been Black Lives Matter supporters. According to the New York Times, Republicans are considering demanding a public apology before advancing Lipstadt’s nomination.
The position of antisemitism envoy, established under President George W. Bush, has stood empty for a year now; Lipstadt’s nomination has languished for nearly half that time. Meanwhile, antisemitic incidents in the U.S. stand near record highs by some measures. At home and abroad, the Covid-19 pandemic has fueled a host of new anti-Jewish conspiracy theories, while the May 2021 fighting in Gaza led to a spate of ugly incidents in the U.S. and Europe.
