The former national director of the Anti-Defamation League, Abraham (Abe) Foxman, died Sunday at the age of 86.

Foxman, a lawyer and activist, served as the national director of the ADL between 1987 and 2015, and he remained the national director emeritus until his passing.

Foxman’s successor, Jonathan Greenblatt, mourned his death, recalling as an “iconic Jewish leader” who was “relentlessly dedicated to his pursuit of a world without hate.”

“America and the Jewish people have lost a moral voice, a passionate advocate for the Jewish people and the State of Israel, and a remarkable leader,” he said in a statement published by the organization.

Born on May 1, 1940, in what is now Belarus, Foxman spent the first years of his life in the care of his Polish Catholic nanny, having been entrusted to her by his parents in a bid to keep him safe during the Holocaust.

While in her care, he was baptized as a Catholic to hide his Jewish identity.

He was reunited with his parents in 1944, and the family immigrated to the US in 1950.

After receiving his law degree from the New York University School of Law, Foxman climbed the ranks of the ADL, eventually being appointed director of the anti-hate organization in 1987.

He stepped down from the post in 2015, and was succeeded by Jonathan Greenblatt.

From 2016 until 2021, Foxman served as the vice chair of the board of trustees at New York’s Museum of Jewish........

© The Times of Israel