WASHINGTON – US President Joe Biden decided to tap Chanan Weissman to serve as liaison to the American Jewish community, the White House announced on Thursday.
Weissman previously held that position during the Obama administration. His official first day will be on August 16, the White House said in a statement.
“We are thrilled to have Chanan Weissman serve as the White House’s liaison to the Jewish community,” a White House official told The Jerusalem Post. “Chanan will provide strong leadership in the administration’s efforts to partner with Jewish leaders, organizations and community members to combat antisemitism and hate; serve people in need; support the US-Israel relationship; and promote dignity, equality, and opportunity for all.”
Weissman, 37, is currently serving in the National Security Council as director for technology and democracy.
He started his career at the State Department, where he served in several positions at the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, including Bahrain desk officer and the Bureau’s spokesperson. During Obama’s last year in office, he served as the White House liaison to the American Jewish community.
After the 2016 elections, he returned to the State Department, where he worked as Section Lead for Internet Freedom and Business and Human Rights, and as the State Department’s representative to the Open Government Partnership.
Last week, Biden formally named Deborah Lipstadt as the next US ambassador to combat and monitor antisemitism.
Lipstadt, a professor of modern Jewish history and Holocaust studies at Emory University, was the founding director of the Institute for Jewish Studies.
She is currently on the boards of the Jewish Forward Advisory Committee and the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee in addition to serving as a judge for the Rohr Prize in Jewish Literature. During the administration of former president Bill Clinton, she served in several roles at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
Following Biden’s announcement, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called on the Senate to confirm the nomination of Rashad Hussain as ambassador at large for international religious freedom, and Lipstadt as special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism.
“We’re eager for Rashad and Deborah to be confirmed and to get to work because this is a critical moment,” said Blinken.