US ex-diplomat Richard Schifter dies aged 97, hailed as defender of Israel

4 October 2020, 5:39 pm

Edit

Former top US diplomat Richard Schifter has died aged 97, according to American Jewish organizations and Israel’s Foreign Ministry director-general.

Schifter, who fled his native Austria to the US ahead of the Holocaust and whose Jewish family was killed by the Nazis, is hailed in many of the comments as a defender of Israel.

US President Ronald Reagan meets with Richard Schifter, US representative to the UN Human Rights Committee in the Oval Office of the White House, February 2, 1984 in Washington. (AP Photo/White House Photo/Mary Anne Fackelman)

A longtime diplomat who spent more than 20 years working in the United Nations, Schifter held roles such as former assistant secretary of state for humanitarian affairs in the Reagan and Bush administrations, US envoy to the UN’s Commission on Human Rights and UNESCO Committee on Conventions and Recommendations and deputy US representative to the UN Security Council.

In 1993, former US president Bill Clinton made him a special adviser to the president and the National Security Council. Since leaving that post in 2001, Schifter had headed the American Jewish International Relations Institute, for which he often spoke publicly about the UN and Israel.

“Ambassador Richard Schifter was a symbol of perseverance and strength who achieved much in his lifetime and worked endlessly on improving Israel’s position in the UN,” tweets Foreign Minister director-general Alon Ushpiz. “My condolences to his family and friends. May his memory be a blessing.”

Richard Schifter, 97, died.

Born in Vienna. Came to US after Nazi takeover. His family murdered in Holocaust.

Served in US army during, after WW2.

Graduated City College, Yale Law. Attorney. US Ambassador. Human Rights Activist. Defender of Israel. Friend.

An amazing life. pic.twitter.com/tozJb8Tq5X

— David Harris (@DavidHarrisNY) October 4, 2020

B’nai B’rith mourns him as “an inspirational leader, accomplished diplomat, public servant, staunch advocate for human rights, a resolute defender of Israel, a strong proponent of trans-Atlantic relations and of America’s place in the world.

“Notwithstanding his immense achievements, Ambassador Schifter’s persona was one of humility and civility,” the organization says.