ADL National Director Abraham Foxman. Photo: Justin Hoch.

JNS.org – Anti-Defamation League (ADL) National Director Abraham H. Foxman announced plans to step down in July, 2015. Foxman is a Holocaust survivor who after immigrating to America became National Director in 1987.

“Abe Foxman is a unique leader in American Jewish life. No one brings the combination of passion, experience, insight and courage to the Jewish community like Abe,” Barry Curtiss-Lusher, ADL National Chair, wrote in a letter to ADL’s National Commission. “His experience as a hidden child and the son of Holocaust survivors imprinted on his consciousness a deep pride in his Jewishness and the need to stand up for Jews wherever and whenever they were treated badly.”

“From its beginnings, ADL combatted anti-Semitism. Under Abe the added dimension has been the self-confidence about being Jewish, which manifests itself in a willingness to take courageous stands on behalf of the Jewish people. … In a word, it’s all about inspiration. Abe has inspired us all and we are so much the better for that, as individuals, as an organization, as a community,” Curtiss-Lusher also wrote.

After July 20, 2015 Foxman will become ADL Director Emeritus.