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Abraham Henry Foxman (born 1940) is the current National Director and chairman of the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith.

Contents 1 Early life 2 Education 3 Career 4 Awards 5 Controversies 5.1 Wannisiki Criticism 5.2 Rich Pardon 5.3 Support for Gay Rights 5.4 Criticism of Farrakhan 5.5 Israel Position 5.6 Israel Lobby Position 5.7 Armenian Genocide 6 Books 7 See also 8 References 9 External links

Born in Poland to Jewish parents, Abraham Henry Foxman is the only son of Joseph and Helen Foxman.^[1] Foxman's Polish Catholic nanny saved him from the Holocaust in 1940. She had him baptized into the Roman Catholic Church.^[2] He was raised Catholic until reunited with his parents in 1944.^[3]

Most of the members of his family were murdered in German concentration camps.^{[citation needed]} Foxman's father supported Vladimir Jabotinsky, founder of Revisionist Zionism. As a young man Foxman belonged to several Zionist youth groups including Betar, the Jabotinsky youth movement, the left-wing Habonim and the apolitical Young Judaea. ^[2]

Foxman immigrated to the United States in 1950 with his parents.^[1][2] He graduated from Yeshivah of Flatbush, in Brooklyn, New York. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from the City College of New York and graduated with honors in history. Foxman also holds a law degree from the New York University School of Law. He did graduate work in Jewish studies at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America and in international economics at New York's New School University.

Foxman has worked for the Anti-Defamation League since 1965. The ADL promoted him to National Director in 1987 after the death of long-time National Director Nathan Perlmutter. Foxman has adopted liberal policies at the ADL, supporting the ill-fated Oslo Accords. Throughout his tenure he has obtained meetings with many world leaders, including past U.S. Presidents, current President George W. Bush, many Middle Eastern leaders, Nelson Mandela, and Pope John Paul II.

Foxman has been awarded several honors from non-profit groups, religious figures and statesmen. In 1998 Foxman received the Interfaith Committee of Remembrance Lifetime Achievement Award "as a leader in the fight against anti-Semitism, bigotry and discrimination."^[4] Foxman won the Raoul Wallenberg Humanitarian Leadership Award on April 18th, 2002 from the Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies.^[5] On October 16, 2006 Foxman was presented with the Legion of Honor by Jacques Chirac, France's highest civilian honor.^[6]

Jude Wanniski, a journalist and conservative commentator who worked as associate editor of The Wall Street Journal, called for Abraham Foxman to be fired from his position as national director of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). In a memorandum to Howard P. Berkowitz, National Chair of the ADL, Wanniski states: "I think you have to offer Abe Foxman an early retirement or flat out fire him...Abe (Foxman) has become drunk with power, swinging his weight around knowing he can label anyone who challenges him an anti-Semitic bigot."^[7]

In recent years he has become a controversial figure because of his central role in winning a presidential pardon from former United States President Bill Clinton for Marc Rich, the international businessman who gave $250,000 to the ADL while Foxman worked for his pardon.^[8]

Foxman's support for gay rights in America placed him at odds with many Orthodox Jews. Concerning the former, which involved his protest in 2000-2001 of a case in which "the Supreme Court ruled that the Boy Scouts of America could exclude a gay scoutmaster because of his sexual orientation"; it was reported that "For many Jewish groups that work with the Boy Scouts -- mainly Reform temples and Jewish community centers -- the ensuing year has been marked by soul-searching, as they grappled with whether they should end their ties to the organization because of the organization's stance on gays," and that "Within the Jewish community, Orthodox groups supported the ruling, saying civic organizations should be empowered to determine their own message -- but most Jewish organizations condemned it as endorsing discrimination." According to that report published a year later, in 2001, "the Anti-Defamation League's national director, Abraham Foxman, and its national chairman, Howard Berkowitz, said in a statement at the time: "We are stunned that in the year 2000 the Supreme Court could issue such a decision.... This decision effectively states that as long as an organization avows an anti-homosexual position, it is free to discriminate against gay and lesbian Americans."^[9]

Leading up to the 2005 commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the historic Million Man March in Washington, D.C., October 14-16, 2005, Foxman sent newswires out entitled "ADL Urges Prominent African-American Leaders to Reconsider Their Support of the Millions More Movement." Hip-Hop Summit Action Network Chairman, Russell Simmons released "the following response to ADL Director, Abraham Foxman's letter urging prominent Black leaders to reconsider their support for the upcoming Millions More Movement":

For over 50 years, Minister Farrakhan has labored to resurrect the downtrodden masses of African Americans up out of poverty and self-destruction. A few days ago I personally witnessed him affirm, "A Muslim can not hate a Jew. We are all members of the family of Abraham and all of us should maintain dialogue and mutual respect." Our work, commitment, and lives are all dedicated to uplifting all people through love, goodwill, equality, peace and justice for all…Simply put, you are misguided, arrogant, and very disrespectful of African Americans and most importantly your statements will unintentionally or intentionally lead to a negative impression of Jews in the minds of millions of African Americans. Similar to how you single-handedly caused millions of persons to flock to see the "Passion of Christ" in defiance of your call for non-attendance, you are going to precipitate a tremendous negative defiance of your demands that will again severely hurt and harm relations between Jews and African Americans.^[10]

Foxman's support for Israel's unilateral disengagement plan from the Gaza Strip has also raised conflict with the Orthodox Jewish community.^{[citations needed]}

In October 2006, representing the ADL, Foxman protested former President Jimmy Carter's book Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid, saying that in the book Carter is "engaging in anti-Semitism.^[11] As quoted a month later, in interview remarks cited for an article by James Traub published in The New York Times Magazine, Foxman says that he is, nevertheless, not calling the former president an "anti-Semite".^[12]

Foxman wrote a book in response to Professor's John J. Mearsheimer and Stephen M. Walts book, The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy, entitled 'The Deadliest Lies: The Israel Lobby and the Myth of Jewish Control' where he allegedly "demolishes a number of shibboleths . . . a rebuttal of a pernicious theory about a mythically powerful Jewish lobby." ^[13] Former Secretary of State George Shultz wrote in the Forward to the book, "... the notion. U.S. policy on Israel and Middle East is the result of their influence is simply wrong." ^[14][15]

In July 2007, Foxman's opposition to a congressional resolution recognizing the Armenian Genocide drew much criticism.^[16] “I don't think congressional action will help reconcile the issue. The resolution takes a position; it comes to a judgment,” said Foxman in a statement issued to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. “The Turks and Armenians need to revisit their past. The Jewish community shouldn't be the arbiter of that history, nor should the U.S. Congress." Sharistan Melkonian, chairwoman of the Armenian National Committee of Eastern Massachusetts, accused Foxman of engaging in "genocide denial" in an interview with the Boston Globe.^[17] Various New England communities threatened to sever ties with the ADL-sponsored "No Place for Hate" program in response.^[18]

In August 2007, Foxman publicly affirmed a shift in ADL's position, "that the consequences of [the Ottoman government's] actions were indeed tantamount to genocide," an acknowledgment well-received by the offended communities.^[19][20] He went on to state, "we continue to firmly believe that a Congressional Resolution on such matters is a counterproductive diversion and will not foster reconciliation between Turks and Armenians. (However) We will not hesitate to apply the term 'genocide' in the future." Foxman additionally, sent a letter to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressing regret over the controversy. "We had no intention to put the Turkish people or its leaders in a difficult position." ^[21] Robert Spencer criticized Foxman for what he perceived as pandering to the Turkish government, due to fear of worsening relations between Israel and the republic of Turkey.^[22]

• The Deadliest Lies: The Israel Lobby and the Myth of Jewish Control ISBN 1403984921, ISBN 0230604048

• Tony Judt speech cancellation controversy

• But is it good for the Jews? - Suzanne Fields, The Washington Times - January 22, 2007
• A Tale of Two Cities: Is Abe Foxman Ruining the ADL? - Joel J. Sprayregen, former ADL National Vice-Chair Chigcago Jewish News - March 16, 2007