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Abe Foxman, Holocaust Survivor Who Led Adl for Nearly Three Decades, Dies at 86
Foxman, a Holocaust survivor, led the Anti-Defamation League for nearly three decades and became a prominent voice against antisemitism.
On Sunday, Abraham 'Abe' Foxman, a towering figure who led the Anti-Defamation League for nearly three decades, died at age 86, the ADL confirmed.
Born to Polish Jewish parents in present-day Belarus in 1940, Foxman survived the Holocaust after his parents entrusted him to a Catholic nanny who baptized him, eventually immigrating to the United States in 1950.
Spending his entire 50-year career with the group, Foxman served as national director from 1987 to 2015, counseling presidents and diplomats while building a formidable research arm into extremists.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog praised Foxman as a 'passionate Zionist, a humanist, and an outspoken, wise friend,' while Jonathan Greenblatt, ADL's current director, said he was 'an iconic Jewish leader' who transformed the organization.
Foxman will be buried on Tuesday in New York, having remained active since retiring and criticizing the Democratic Party's shift on Israel while asserting, 'If Israel ceases to be an open democracy, I won't be able to support it.