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Hannah Rosenthal

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Hannah Rosenthal
United States Commission on International Religious Freedom
Commissioner
In office
June 17, 2014 – 2015
Appointed byNancy Pelosi
Office to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism
U.S. Special Envoy
In office
November 23, 2009 – October 5, 2012
PresidentBarack Obama
Preceded byGregg Rickman
Succeeded byMichael Kozak (acting)
Personal details
Born1951 (age 72–73)
Children2
Alma materUniversity of Wisconsin–Madison

Hannah Rosenthal (born 1951) is an American Democratic Party political official and Jewish non-profit executive who served as the U.S. Special Envoy for Monitoring and Combating Antisemitism from 2009 until 2012 during the Obama administration.[1][2]

Rosenthal was previously head of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA), during which she was named as one of the 50 most influential Jews in America.[3]

After serving as Special Envoy, Rosenthal was later appointed by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi to serve as a commissioner of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom from 2014 to 2016.[4] Rosenthal served as president and CEO of the Milwaukee Jewish Federation until her retirement in 2018.[5][6]

Biography

Rosenthal's father was a Holocaust survivor, a former prisoner at the Buchenwald concentration camp, and a Reform rabbi.[7] She attended Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts through her sophomore year and then transferred to and graduated from the University of Wisconsin. She then studied for the rabbinate at Hebrew Union College in Jerusalem and Los Angeles, but dropped out in 1975.[8]

Rosenthal served as the founding executive director of the Wisconsin Women's Council from 1985 to 1992.[9] She is featured in the Council's 25th Anniversary Tribute video.[10]

In 1995, Rosenthal was appointed by the Clinton administration to serve as Midwest regional director of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.[11] In 2005, she was named one of the Forward 50, a list of the 50 most influential Jews selected by The Forward newspaper.

From August 2000 to 2005, Rosenthal headed the Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA).[12] She was the vice president for community relations for the not-for-profit WPS Health Insurance Corporation. Rosenthal served on the advisory council of J Street and J Street PAC.

During the 2008 presidential election, she supported and contributed to Hillary Clinton.[13] She served on the board of Americans for Peace Now.

Special Envoy

Appointment

According to Jewish Standard, Rosenthal reportedly did not want to become Special Envoy and "was advocating for someone else in the role", but then State U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL) Michael Posner "was very insistent.”[14]

Hannah Rosenthal, U.S. Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism, recognizes the work of Father Patrick Desbois, President of the Yahad-In Unum Association of France, with a Tribute of Appreciation certificate, May 12, 2011.

Together with Farah Pandith, U.S. Special Representative to Muslim Communities, Rosenthal launched the Acceptance, Respect and Tolerance Initiative to promote inter-faith and inter-ethnic understanding.[15] The initiative was criticized by Gregg Rickman, her predecessor as Special Envoy in the George W. Bush administration.[16]

Tenure

In December 2009 Rosenthal criticized Israel's ambassador to the United States Michael Oren for his "most unfortunate" remarks regarding J Street.[17] In response, the Israeli Embassy in Washington requested clarification from the Obama administration.[18] Alan Solow, chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, was also crtiical of Rosenthal.[19]

Rosenthal met with a number of foreign officials regarding antisemitism, including Ilmar Reepalu then mayor of Malmö, Sweden.[20] Reepalu has been criticized for his comments about antisemitism and Jews but he has responded by saying that "antisemitism is an abomination" and that Jews in Malmö have nothing to do with Israel's actions and should not be called to account for that.[21] After the meeting, Rosenthal described Reepalu's language as antisemitic.[21] Rosenthal also met with the Swedish Minister for Integration, Erik Ullenhag. Ullenhag released a statement after the meeting, saying that Reepalu's comments "obstructs the fight against antisemitism".[21]

Rosenthal also confronted Saudi officials regarding antisemitism in their textbooks and requested that Jordanian officials teach about the Holocaust in their schools.[2]

Successes of tenure

During her tenure, Rosenthal and her staff established a mandatory 90-minute course on antisemitism at the Foreign Service Institute, which is the training school for diplomats, along with a 341-word definition of antisemitism, which includes newer forms of antisemitism, including Holocaust denial. The United States State Department human rights reports have been reporting anti-Semitism with more frequency, which Rosenthal has been praised, and she said that "our reporting has improved many times over — 300 percent in the three years I’ve been here."[2]

Political controversies

Rosenthal was criticized by ADL president Abraham Foxman in an open letter for saying that the speakers of the Israel solidarity rally "espoused narrow, ultra-conservative views of what it means to be pro-Israel".[22] The list of speakers included Harry Reid, Dick Gephardt, and Natan Sharansky.[23] In response to Foxman's letter, Rosenthal said in an interview to Tablet: "I have worked with Abe in the past and I consider Abe a friend of mine. ... we mostly agree."[24] Foxman was supportive of Rosenthal's appointment; in a statement issued by the Anti-Defamation League, Foxman wrote: "We look forward to working with Hannah Rosenthal ... ."[25]

Foxman has also criticized Rosenthal for organizing and accompanying a trip by eight American imams and Muslim leaders to the Dachau and Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camps, saying that the involvement of the State Department in an intercommunal affair was unwarranted. He explained that "having Muslims speaking out about anti-Semitism, that's our job" and not that of the State Department. However, since then, Foxman and Rosenthal settled their differences, and Foxman has praised Rosenthal for her work, as well as for establishing a mandatory course on antisemitism for diplomats.[2]

Personal life

Rosenthal is open about how she survived uterine cancer.[26]

References

  1. ^ "Rosenthal, Hannah". U.S. Department of State. Archived from the original on 2011-03-11.
  2. ^ a b c d Kampeas, Ron (October 18, 2012). "American anti-Semitism czar hails her 'breakthrough' definition of the oldest hatred". Jewish Telegraph Agency. The Times of Israel. Retrieved October 21, 2012.
  3. ^ "Advancing women in the Jewish world" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-01-06. Retrieved 2009-11-14.
  4. ^ "Hannah Rosenthal, Commissioner". United States Commission on International Religious Freedom. 2014-06-19. Retrieved 2017-07-12.
  5. ^ "Hannah Rosenthal - Milwaukee Jewish Federation". www.milwaukeejewish.org. Retrieved 2017-07-12.
  6. ^ "Hannah Rosenthal retires from Milwaukee Jewish Federation".
  7. ^ Menachem Z. Rosensaft, Defending Hannah Rosenthal At State Department, Baltimore Jewish Times, January 22, 2010.
  8. ^ Hannah Rosenthal, Jewish Woman Magazine, Fall 2005 issue.
  9. ^ "Wisconsin Womens Council: History". womenscouncil.wi.gov. Retrieved 2018-03-15.
  10. ^ Video on YouTube
  11. ^ "Advancing women in the Jewish world" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-01-06. Retrieved 2009-11-14.
  12. ^ Obama expected to name envoy to combat global anti-Semitism, Salon magazine, November 11, 2009.
  13. ^ "Hannah Rosenthal - $2,620 in Political Contributions for 2008". www.campaignmoney.com. Retrieved 2018-03-15.
  14. ^ New anti-semitism monitor sees role as reactive, proactive, Jewish Standard, 29 November 2009.
  15. ^ Hillary Clinton, Remarks At a Reception Hosted for the Jewish Community and Hannah Rosenthal, Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism, July 13, 2010.
  16. ^ Rickman, Gregg (2010-07-05). "Our Confused Special Envoy on Anti-Semitism". www.thecuttingedgenews.com. Retrieved 2018-03-15.
  17. ^ U.S. official blasts Israel envoy's 'unfortunate' J-Street remarks, Haaretz, 24 December 2009.
  18. ^ U.S. official's criticism of Israel ambassador sparks furor, Haaretz, 27 December 2009.
  19. ^ Smith, Ben (2009-12-24). "Envoy-on-envoy criticism over Jewish group". POLITICO. Retrieved 2018-03-15.
  20. ^ "Reepalu träffade Rosenthal" (in Swedish). Sydsvenskan. 24 April 2012. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
  21. ^ a b c "Reepalus språk är antisemitiskt" (in Swedish). Sydsvenskan. 27 April 2012. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
  22. ^ An Open Letter To Hannah Rosenthal, by Abraham Foxman.
  23. ^ Goldfarb, Michael (2009-11-12). "Obama's Likely Anti-Semitism Chief Was Criticized by the ADL". Weekly Standard. Retrieved 2018-03-15.
  24. ^ Hoffmann, Allison (2009-11-20). "The Anti-Anti-Semite". Tablet Magazine. Retrieved 2018-03-15.
  25. ^ "ADL Welcomes Appointment Of State Department Envoy On Anti-Semitism". Archived from the original on 2010-01-11. Retrieved 2010-01-07.
  26. ^ Authority, University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics. "Beating Cancer: Hannah Rosenthal's Story". UW Health. Retrieved 2018-03-15.
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by United States Special Envoy for Monitoring and Combating anti-Semitism
2009–2012 		Succeeded by
Michael Kozak (acting)
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