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Abraham Foxman

Abraham H. Foxman, National Director of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) since 1987, is world-renowned as a leader in the fight against anti-Semitism, bigotry, and discrimination, and as the author of The Deadliest Lies: The Israel Lobby and the Myth of Jewish Control (Palgrave Macmillan, September 2007) and Never Again? The Threat of the New Anti-Semitism (HarperSanFrancisco, 2003).

In the forefront of major issues of the day, including the rise of global anti-Semitism, the war on terrorism, church/state issues, religious intolerance and issues relating to the Holocaust, he consistently speaks out against hatred and violence wherever they occur.

Mr. Foxman regularly confers with elected officials and community leaders here and abroad. He has had consultations in Europe, Russia, Israel, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, China, Japan, South Africa, and Argentina, as well as with Palestinian leaders, on problems of ethnic hatred, violence, terrorism, and to promote democracy. He has had six audiences with Pope John Paul II. Mr. Foxman is a passionate supporter of the State of Israel and a voice for peace in the Middle East.

A Holocaust survivor, Mr. Foxman was a member of the President’s United States Holocaust Memorial Council, appointed by Presidents Reagan, Bush and Clinton. He has been a participant of official Presidential delegations to special events in Europe and Israel.

Born in Poland in 1940, Mr. Foxman was saved from the Holocaust by his Polish Catholic nursemaid who baptized and raised him as a Catholic during the war years. His parents survived the war, but 14 members of his family were lost. He arrived in America in 1950 with his parents.

A graduate of the Yeshiva of Flatbush, Brooklyn, NY, Mr. Foxman has a B.A. in political science from the City College of the City University of New York, graduating with honors in history. He holds a J.D. degree from New York University School of Law, and did graduate work in advanced Judaic studies at the Jewish Theological Seminary, and in international economics at The New School for Social Research. Mr. Foxman is fluent in several languages. He joined ADL in 1965.

Mr. Foxman appears frequently on national news programs and is quoted often in the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, Time, and Newsweek, among other media. His op-eds have appeared in newspapers across the country.

Awards and Honorary Degrees
2008 Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters, Yeshiva University
2007 Honorary Doctorate, Bar Ilan University
2007 Jan Karski Eagle Award
2006 French Legion of Honor Award
2004 Commendatore of the Italian Republic
2003 Honorary degree, Clark University
2002 The Raoul Wallenberg Humanitarian Leadership Award
2001 State University of New York at Albany’s University Medallion
2001 Austria’s Grand Decoration of Honor in Gold
2000 Bulgaria’s Order of the Madara Horseman
1999 Honorary Doctor of Philosophy degree, University of Sofia, Bulgaria
1999 Honorary degree, Iona College
1997 Martin Luther King, Jr. and Donald R. Mintz Freedom and Justice Award, Dillard University
1994 Townsend Harris Medal, City College of New York Alumni Association
1993 Ellis Island Medal of Honor
1992 Honorary Doctor of Law degree, Florida International University