Israel’s antisemitism envoy quits, citing lack of strategy

Michal Cotler-Wunsh says she is resigning as Israel’s voluntary Special Envoy for Combating Antisemitism, citing the government’s failure to institutionalize the role and develop a national strategy to confront rising antisemitism.

Cotler-Wunsh, a former MK with the Blue and White party, took the position in September 2023, a month before Hamas launched its war against Israel on October 7, 2023, bringing antisemitism to the forefront of the international agenda.

Since then, she has traveled extensively to meet lawmakers, university leaders, Jewish communities, and international counterparts, and developed a comprehensive strategy for combating antisemitism globally that was signed by representatives of 40 countries, including Israel, Cotler-Wunsh says in a statement.

However, she charges, her recommendations to Israeli officials regarding what she refers to as Israel’s eighth battlefront were largely ignored.

“In the ongoing existential war, the ‘eighth front’ continues to rage without a comprehensive strategy or authority that enables and equips to fight in the manner necessary,” Cotler-Wunsh says, adding that she remains committed to fighting antisemitism around the world.