Abraham H. Foxman, who served as national director of the Anti-Defamation League for nearly three decades and survived the Holocaust as a young boy, died Sunday at 86, the organization said. The ADL did not provide details about where or when Foxman died, stating only that it “deeply mourns the loss of our longtime national director.”

Jonathan Greenblatt, ADL’s current leader, described Foxman as a voice “heard — and listened to — by popes, presidents, and prime ministers, a voice he used wherever Jews were at risk.” In a statement, Greenblatt said Foxman “spoke on the global stage with moral authority and clarity and was relentlessly dedicated to his pursuit of a world without hate.”

Born in 1940 to Polish Jews in territory that is now Belarus, Foxman was hidden during the war after his nanny had him baptized as a Catholic to conceal his Jewish identity. He was reunited with his parents after the war and the family immigrated to New York. Foxman earned a law degree, joined the ADL as a staff attorney, and spent his entire 50-year career at the organization, rising to national director in 1987.

During his tenure, Foxman positioned the ADL as a prominent voice against antisemitism while also expanding its work into areas such as white supremacist extremism research, immigrant and gay rights advocacy, law enforcement diversity training, and school programs on the Holocaust, the 1964 Civil Rights Act, and bullying. The expansion drew criticism from some who argued the organization spent too many resources on non-Jewish issues. Foxman also faced objections that he was too quick to condemn perceived slights against Jews, while others faulted him for too easily forgiving people who repented for antisemitic remarks.

Foxman defended his practice of accepting apologies, particularly from influential figures. “If you don’t let them change, then you become the bigot,” he said.

After retiring in 2015, Foxman expressed concern that the internet was empowering bigots. He told The Associated Press that he worried the internet gave them a way to spread their beliefs “not only anonymously but at the speed of light.”

Foxman’s career intersected with decades of ADL history, from its founding in 1913 to its contemporary efforts under a broad anti-hate mandate. Greenblatt said Foxman’s legacy would endure in the organization’s work.