Ira Forman, U.S. State Department Special Envoy to Monitor & Combat Antisemitism. Photo: U.S. State Department.

Jewish-American leader Ira Forman, currently the U.S. State Department Special Envoy to Monitor & Combat Antisemitism, said that Secretary of State John Kerry “understands the connection between the Holocaust and what is happening today,” and added that every day, Kerry sees young Christians, Jews, Muslims, and atheists fighting anti-Semitism.

Forman, the Jewish Outreach Director for President Obama’s 2012 Reelection Campaign, was the Executive Director of the National Jewish Democratic Council and Director of Congressional Relations in the Office of Personnel Management, in the Clinton Administration. His remarks were made during a speech given at an event organized by MEMRI, the Middle East Media Research Institute, on Monday night.

He said the State Department pays careful attention to MEMRI’s media monitoring updates, including its annual Human Rights Report.

Forman said anti-Semitism must be dealt with by exposing the people and communities who perpetrate it. He said that Jews are now fleeing Europe because of anti-Semitism, not just from the far right, but also from Islamists and the far left.

He also said that while Iran is a great threat to peace, it is not Nazi Germany.