Senate confirms Biden’s special envoy to combat antisemitism

The Senate on Wednesday confirmed Holocaust historian Deborah Lipstadt as a special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism. 

The unanimous voice vote came six months after President Biden nominated her for the role.

During the confirmation hearing, Lipstadt said the rise in antisemitism in the country is is “especially alarming” as it occurs “less than eight decades after one out of three Jews on Earth were murdered.”

“Often, in their long history, Jews have felt abandoned. But then is not now, certainly not in the United States,” she added.

Her nomination was delayed after her tweets criticizing Republican politicians surfaced.

Lipstadt in 2021 tweeted that comments made by Republican Sen. Ron Johnson (Wis.) about the Capitol riot were “white supremacy/nationalism. Pure and simple.”

Lipstadt will be in charge of how the U.S. handles antisemitism on the global stage and tracking antisemitism across the world. 

She is currently a professor of modern Jewish history and Holocaust studies at Emory University.