Foxman’s death was announced by the Anti-Defamation League on Sunday, May 10. The organization said it “deeply mourns the loss of our longtime national director,” but did not provide details about where or when he died.
During more than 28 years leading the ADL, Foxman became a public face of the group’s efforts against antisemitism and other bias, counseling presidents and diplomats as well as CEOs and celebrities, the ADL said. Under his leadership, the organization also confronted prominent figures over antisemitic remarks or representations, according to the ADL, and accepted apologies on behalf of a broader community.
In a statement, ADL director Jonathan Greenblatt described Foxman as a trusted voice on the international stage. “Abe’s voice was heard –- and listened to -– by popes, presidents, and prime ministers, a voice he used wherever Jews were at risk,” Greenblatt said. He added that “Abe Foxman spoke on the global stage with moral authority and clarity and was relentlessly dedicated to his pursuit of a world without hate.”
Foxman was born in 1940 to Polish Jews in an area that is now Belarus. He survived the Holocaust after a nanny had him baptized as a Catholic to conceal his Jewish identity, and he was later reunited with his parents after the war. The family moved to New York, where Foxman later joined the ADL after earning a law degree.
Foxman spent his entire career with the ADL, beginning as a staff lawyer and becoming national director in 1987, the ADL said. After retiring in 2015, Foxman told The Associated Press that he worried the internet gave bigots a way to spread their beliefs “not only anonymously but at the speed of light.”
The ADL said Foxman’s tenure was marked by shifting emphases over time, starting from the group’s founding in 1913 with a mandate to fight antisemitism and all bias. Under Foxman, the ADL built a research arm into white supremacists and other extremists, pursued immigrant and gay rights, conducted diversity training for law enforcement, and developed school programs ranging from the Holocaust to the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the impact of bullying.
Foxman also faced criticism from multiple directions. Some critics said the ADL devoted too many resources to non-Jewish issues, while others argued that Foxman reacted too quickly to perceived slights and condemned people too readily. Other observers, the ADL said, criticized him for forgiving and embracing those who later repented for antisemitic remarks.
Foxman, the ADL said, believed apologies mattered—particularly from prominent allies. In remarks reported by The Associated Press, Foxman said, “If you don’t let them change, then you become the bigot.”