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4w ago

Abe Foxman, Longtime Anti-Defamation League Leader and Holocaust Survivor, Dies at 86

His life’s work shaped how American Jewish groups confront antisemitism.

FILE - In this Oct. 16, 2006 file photo, Abe Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League, a U.S. group that fights racism and anti-Semitism, delivers a speech after he was awarded with the medal of Knight in the Legion of Honor order by French President Jacques Chirac, during a ceremony at the Elysee Palace in Paris. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
FILE - In this June 17, 2015 photo, Anti-Defamation League National Director Abe Foxman, center, greets ADL education committee co-chair Charlotte Frank, right, and Fred Malek during a reception for a dinner in Foxman's honor in New York. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson, File)
FILE - In this Feb. 25, 2004 file photo, Abe Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League, speaks to reporters at the ADL's office in New York. (AP Photo/David Karp, File)
FILE - In this June 17, 2015 photo, Jonathan Greenblatt, left, incoming national director for the Anti-Defamation League, talks with Abe Foxman, current director of the ADL, during a reception for a special dinner in Foxman's honor in New York. AP Photo/Julie Jacobson, File)

Overview

  • The Anti-Defamation League confirmed Foxman's death at 86, and Israeli President Isaac Herzog hailed him as a passionate Zionist and a wise friend.
  • He led the ADL from 1987 to 2015 after joining the group in 1965, and he was succeeded by Jonathan Greenblatt.
  • A Holocaust survivor, he spent his early years hidden by a Catholic caretaker and reunited with his parents after the war.
  • President Ronald Reagan named him to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum council in 1987, with later reappointments by Presidents George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and Joe Biden.
  • After retiring, he endorsed candidates, including Kamala Harris in 2024, and criticized media coverage of Israel and the Democratic Party’s shift on Israel.