Abraham Foxman, the former national director of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) who helped transform the organization into a powerful force against antisemitism and discrimination, died Sunday at the age of 86.
Born in Poland (now Belarus) in 1940, Foxman survived the Holocaust as a young child thanks to his Polish Catholic nanny who baptized and hid him. Foxman reunited with his parents in 1944 and the family immigrated to the U.S. in 1950. His story reportedly inspired the Abie Rotenberg song “The Man From Vilna.”
Foxman joined the ADL in 1965 as an assistant director of legal affairs. He rose through the ranks to become national director in 1987, a position he held until 2015. Under his leadership, the ADL expanded its reach with anti-bias educational programs, global antisemitism monitoring, and advocacy for anti-discrimination legislation. Some jokingly called Foxman “the Jewish pope” for his role as an arbiter of what constituted antisemitism.
Known for his willingness to call out hate from both the left and right, Foxman was credited with helping build a more tolerant America. ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt mourned him as an “iconic Jewish leader” whose “voice was heard by popes, presidents and prime ministers.” Israeli President Isaac Herzog hailed Foxman as “a legendary leader of the Jewish people, a champion of justice and equality.”
Foxman stepped down in 2015 at a time when antisemitism in the U.S. was at an all-time low by many measures. He expressed appreciation for the chance to help shape a world so different from the one he was born into, relentlessly pursuing his vision of “a world without hate.”
(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
