2022 Theses Master's

The Effects of the Antisemitism Envoy in the Global Effort to Combat Contemporary Antisemitism

Miller, Hilary

After the 2001 UN World Conference Against Racism and Discrimination in Durban, South Africa, a range of actors in government and civil society mobilized to confront the problem of contemporary antisemitism. Their continued efforts over the last two decades amounted to the creation of a whole universe of tools and mechanisms – in the form of action plans, working groups, legal frameworks and sophisticated incident reporting and data collection hubs – all to address Jew hate in the modern world. Within this combat-antisemitism universe of tools is the “antisemitism envoy.” Also referred to as a commissioner, coordinator or focal point, the antisemitism envoy is an individual appointed by government with a mandate to address antisemitism.

Since the UN Durban conference, governing bodies on the state, regional and international levels have adopted the envoy paradigm. The global proliferation of the position is a trend that by no accident coincides with another: rates of antisemitism are reaching near-historic levels around the world. It is in this context that antisemitism envoys are becoming increasingly relevant, popular and admired subjects in the discursive realm of combat-antisemitism strategy and policy design, so much so that they have already been lauded as “perhaps the most important people helping the Jewish people fight antisemitism.” But such high praise for a relatively new position that emerged in response to a new era of antisemitism should be subject to scrutiny before making any declaration about their import or value.

This study is the first ever to make the antisemitism envoy its core subject and seeks a deeper understanding of how this tool is addressing antisemitism. By evaluating multiple mandates around the world at all levels of government, and identifying common patterns and practices, this research gives insight into the effects of the antisemitism envoy and its significance in the global effort to combat contemporary Jew hate.