The US State Department building in Washington, DC. Photo: File.

A group of American legislators urged Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday to appoint a new Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism — a position that has remained unfilled since January 2017.

Expressing concern about growing Jew-hatred around the world, members of Congress’ Bipartisan Taskforce for Combating Anti-Semitism wrote in a letter to the State Department chief, “Prioritizing this important role would bolster the United States’ ability to monitor and combat anti-Semitism abroad and send a strong message to the international community that the U.S. remains committed to fighting the scourge of anti-Semitism.”

“Without a Special Envoy, the United States lacks the focus of a person solely dedicated to spearheading our important diplomatic efforts in the fight against anti-Semitism,” the letter said. “Appointing this important position will make clear to foreign governments that combating anti-Semitism remains an American priority and that the U.S. maintains its traditional leadership in the fight.”

The Special Envoy position was created by the Global Anti-Semitism Review Act of 2004. The most recent person to serve in the role was Ira Forman, who left at the end of the Obama administration.

Numerous prominent US Jewish organizations have called on Pompeo — who took office last month — to fill the Special Envoy position, which his predecessor in Foggy Bottom, Rex Tillerson, kept vacant.