Abraham Foxman
Abraham Henry Foxman (born May 1, 1940 in Baranavichy ) is an American lawyer and association official of Polish origin. From 1987 to 2015 he was chairman of the Anti-Defamation League and was involved in this role against discrimination and defamation of Jews.
Life
Foxman was born into a Jewish-Polish family in 1940 after the Soviet occupation of eastern Poland . During the time of National Socialism he grew up with a Polish nanny in Vilnius , who had him baptized Catholic . A large part of his family fell victim to the Shoah ; his parents survived the Vilnius ghetto .
After the Second World War , he emigrated with his parents from American- occupied post-war Austria to the USA in 1950 . He attended the modern Jewish Orthodox private school Yeshivah of Flatbush in Brooklyn and then studied political science (Bachelor) at the City College of New York and law (Master, JD ) at the Law School of New York University and economics at The New School and Jewish Studies at the Jewish Theological Seminary .
In 1965 he became a member of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), a Jewish organization devoted to the fight against anti-Semitism. In 1987 he was elected its chairman. He was internationally active on behalf of the ADL, including in the Middle East. The Pope granted him a total of six audiences.
Awards
He has received several awards for his social commitment, including the Raoul Wallenberg Humanitarian Leadership Award in 2002 , the Jan Karski Eagle Award in 2008 and the Begin Prize in 2013 . The French state honored him as a Knight of the Legion of Honor , Austria presented him with the Great Gold Medal of Honor for Services to the Republic of Austria and Italy awarded the Commander and the Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic . He holds honorary doctorates from Florida International University , Sofia University , Bar Ilan University, and Yeshiva University . He was also a member of the United States Holocaust Memorial Council under Reagan, Bush and Clinton.
Controversy
- Foxman's public campaign against homosexual discrimination earned him criticism from Orthodox Jews.
- Foxman attributed anti-Semitic views to Mel Gibson for his film The Passion of the Christ .
- Foxman spoke out publicly against a Congress resolution on the Armenian genocide and has been criticized by exiled Armenians.
- Foxman spoke out publicly against a new mosque in 49-51 Park Place in the immediate vicinity of the former World Trade Center , which earned him criticism from Muslims.
documentation
The Israeli director Yoav Shamir portrayed the ADL under Foxman in the documentary Defamation in 2009 .
Fonts (selection)
- Never again? The Threat of the New Anti-Semitism . Harper Collins, San Francisco 2003, ISBN 0-06-073069-2 .
- The Deadliest Lies. The Israel Lobby and the Myth of Jewish Control . Palgrave Macmillan, New York 2009, ISBN 978-0-230-60404-9 .
- Jews and Money. The story of a stereotype . Palgrave Macmillan, New York 2012, ISBN 978-0-230-12064-8 .
- Viral hate. Containing Its Spread on the Internet . Palgrave Macmillan, New York 2013, ISBN 978-0-230-34217-0 .
literature
- Richard S. Hirschhaut: Foxman, Abraham . In: Michael Berenbaum , Fred Skolnik (Ed.): Encyclopaedia Judaica . Volume 7, 2nd Edition, Macmillan Reference, Detroit 2007, ISBN 978-0-02-865935-0 , p. 142.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Tuvia Tenenbom: "In Europe I see how much worse it can be" . Zeit Online , July 19, 2015; Retrieved July 20, 2015
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Foxman, Abraham |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Foxman, Abraham Henry |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American lawyer and association official |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 1, 1940 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Baranavichy , Soviet Union |