Rosen named global chair of revived International Council of Jewish Parliamentarians

Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) was named the chair of the newly reestablished International Council of Jewish Parliamentarians (ICJP), in a move announced by the World Jewish Congress, which convenes the council, on Monday afternoon. 

Rosen, a founder of the Senate Bipartisan Task Force for Combating Antisemitism and the first former synagogue president to serve in the Senate, will lead the body, which was previously also supported by the Knesset and Israel’s Foreign Ministry.

“It is an honor to be named as global chair of the International Council of Jewish Parliamentarians at this critical time,” Rosen said in a press release. “In this role I will work to combat the evils of antisemitism, racism, bigotry, and xenophobia. I look forward to working alongside [WJC President Ronald] Lauder and Jewish parliamentarians from around the world in our shared mission to promote tolerance and fight back against hate.”

Rosen succeeds former Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY) as ICJP’s chair, a position he took up in 2013. The ICJP was formally established in 2002, following a series of informal meetings among international lawmakers beginning in 1988, but fractured into regional groups in 2016, according to WJC political affairs director David Meluskey. 

According to a statement from Lauder, the organization is relaunching ICJP in response to “an era of unfettered conspiracy myths, pervasive antisemitism and xenophobia, a horribly disturbing recurrence of Holocaust denial, and rising authoritarianism” in order to serve “as an incubator and accelerator of best practices to counter these phenomena.”

“Senator Rosen is a tremendous advocate in the fight against antisemitism and a leading legislator in efforts to combat the world’s oldest hatred,” Lauder continued. “She uniquely understands the concerns of Jewish communities and Jewish parliamentarians. Senator Rosen is the right person at the right time to chair this important forum.” 

WJC has yet to hold formal discussions with the Knesset in advance of the Israeli elections, Meluskey said, but the organization expects “significant Knesset participation” in the revitalized ICJP.

“The WJC has found a tremendous partner in Senator Jacky Rosen and her office to relaunch the forum as global chair,” he said. “Senator Rosen’s office uniquely understands the urgency of combating antisemitism through all means available to legislators. She is the right person for the right time to lead the network.”

The new ICJP will convene for the first time virtually on May 12, and plans to conduct frequent virtual meetings.