Eli Rosenbaum, head of the Justice Department’s Office of Special Investigations, poses next to a World War II map of Germany showing the locations of concentration camps, March 29, 1995, in Washington. Rosenbaum’s unit specializes in hunting for former Nazis.

Eli Rosenbaum’s long career has brought him face-to-face with the “inconceivable” — twice. Four decades ago, fresh out of Harvard Law School, he joined the Department of Justice’s famed Nazi-hunting unit, the Office of Special Investigations, which he would later go on to lead. Now, the longtime prosecutor of atrocity crimes has been tapped by Attorney General Merrick Garland to lead Washington’s efforts to investigate Russian war crimes in Ukraine, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch writes.

Role reversal: “The inconceivable has happened,” Rosenbaum said on Tuesday at a U.S. Institute of Peace event about pursuing accountability for Russian war crimes. “Russians and Ukrainians were both victims of the Nazis,” he said in an emotional appeal. “Two countries that were invaded by the Nazis, one is now attacking the other — and honestly, when I hear the president of the Russian Federation refer to Ukraine as Nazis, it’s like fingers on the chalkboard for me, only a lot worse,” he continued. “Everybody knows who’s channeling the Nazis in waging an aggressive war and committing atrocities.”

Stuff of legend: Rosenbaum achieved global celebrity in the world of international criminal justice for his inventive legal approaches to investigating and, later, prosecuting those who had committed crimes against humanity during World War II. “Americans are sending a signal. It’s a very, very important step, and he’s a highly qualified professional. His dedication is really legendary,” said Efraim Zuroff, chief Nazi hunter at the Simon Wiesenthal Center.

Family legacy: Rosenbaum also brings a historical — and personal — understanding of this conflict and of war crimes. His father served in the U.S. Army during World War II, and some of the detainees he questioned during the war were later tried at Nuremberg. “I don’t know whether it led me to this work or not,” Rosenbaum told JI in 2020. “It probably played a role.” He and his father only briefly discussed his father’s experience in World War II once, when Rosenbaum was 14: “We never did speak about that, actually. He lived for many, many, many more decades — and we certainly talked about my work — but that was just too close to home.”

Be patient: The road ahead for Rosenbaum and Ukraine’s allies in Europe will be long; investigations happen quietly, over months or years or even decades, as in the case of the Nazi prosecutions. Just last year, a Tennessee man was extradited from the U.S. to Germany after Rosenbaum and his team discovered evidence that the naturalized U.S. citizen had worked during the war as an armed guard in a Neuengamme subcamp. “This is not something that’s going to happen in the short term. This is a long-term project,” said Elizabeth White, now a historian at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum who worked with Rosenbaum for more than two decades at OSI.

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A man walks past a closed “Ben & Jerry’s” ice-cream shop in the Israeli city of Yavne on July 23, 2021.

Unilever, the parent company of Ben & Jerry’s, announced on Wednesday that it reached an agreement with the Israel-based manufacturer of the ice cream products to continue selling in Israel and the West Bank, Jewish Insider’s Melissa Weiss reports.

How it will work: Under the new arrangement, Unilever will sell its interests in Israel to American Quality Products Ltd. owner Avi Zinger, whose company has manufactured and distributed Ben & Jerry’s in Israel and the West Bank for more than three decades. “Ben & Jerry’s will be sold under its Hebrew and Arabic names throughout Israel and the West Bank under the full ownership of its current licensee,” Unilever said in a statement.

Pressure point: Ben & Jerry’s announced in July 2021 that it would cease sales of its products in what it referred to as “Occupied Palestinian Territory,” triggering a number of states with laws prohibiting the boycott of Israeli products to begin the process of divesting from Unilever. Several members of Congress also called for the Securities and Exchange Commission to look into whether Unilever needed to amend its regulatory filings to reflect new risks posed to shareholders in light of the ice cream company’s announcement. And earlier this year, Zinger filed a lawsuit against both Ben & Jerry’s and Unilever, alleging both breach of contract and that he had been pressured to violate Israeli laws prohibiting boycotts against Israel and areas under its control.

Breaking point: ​​A person familiar with the negotiations between AQP and Unilever told JI that there were a number of concurrent issues that brought Unilever to reach the agreement with AQP. “You have the sanctions that were happening in the U.S. by U.S. governors and senators, you had the federal lawsuit,” the individual said. “And [Unilever] really did want to resolve that issue. And they really did make a stance against BDS.”

Weighing in: “I think Unilever took a very principled stance and recognized that it was important for Ben & Jerry’s ice cream to continue to be made available to all consumers in Israel: Israelis, Palestinians, Jews, Muslims, Christians, wherever they may live,” Alyza Lewin, president of the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, which represented Zinger, told JI on Wednesday. “And they took the steps necessary to make sure that’s what happened.”

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Holocaust survivor Arek Hersh (93, C), Agnes Kaposi (89, 2nd R) and other survivors take part in The March of the Living in honour of the victims of the Holocaust, at the former Auschwitz-Birkenau camp in Oswiecim, Poland on April 28, 2022.

The House Appropriations Committee’s subcommittee on labor, health and human services, and education reiterated its call for a significant funding boost directed toward supporting Holocaust survivors in its draft 2023 funding bill, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.

Try, try again: The committee proposed $10 million for the Holocaust Survivor Assistance Program, which provides support — including combating isolation and aiding with physical, mental and cognitive health — for aging Holocaust survivors and their families, as well as elderly victims of other traumatic events. The program was funded at $6 million for 2022, despite the House subcommittee having proposed $10 million for the program last year.

Behind the scenes: There has been significant behind-the-scenes support for increasing funding for the program this year, including letters from bipartisan groups of House and Senate members to the leaders of their chambers’ respective Appropriations panels. A group of 215 House members, led by Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), Anthony Gonzalez (R-OH) and Troy Balderson (R-OH), sent a letter in April urging the House subcommittee to support $10 million for the program. Forty-nine senators sent a nearly identical letter in May.

Quotable: “Holocaust survivors in my community, and across America, endured unprecedented inhuman treatment, so their support needs eclipse any of the normal trauma and psychological services our aging population normally requires,” Wasserman Schultz told Jewish Insider. “It will always be a priority for me to provide added funding that makes life easier for these aging Holocaust survivors and their families, along with other aging populations impacted by the traumatic, extreme events that military veterans, first responders, and victims of violence or natural disasters go through. They need special care, and this add[ed] funding can help do that.”

Outside help: The assistance program operates as a public-private partnership between the Department of Health and Human Services, The Jewish Federations of North America and local health and service providers. “Jewish Federations commend the House Appropriations Committee’s proposed $10 million in funding for the Holocaust [Survivor] Assistance Program,” Elana Broitman, JFNA’s senior vice president for public affairs said in a statement. “Holocaust survivors, older adults affected by trauma, and their caregivers face unique challenges and deserve dignity and support, which is why Jewish Federations advocated for bolstering this important program.”

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House Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Chair Barbara Lee (D-CA) (L) greets ranking member Rep. Hal Rogers (R-KY) before a hearing with U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield in the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill on June 08, 2022 in Washington, DC. Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield testified about the State Department’s FY2023 budget request for operations at the United Nations. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

The House Appropriations Committee adopted amendments to the 2023 State Department and foreign operations funding bill that aim to cut off U.S. funding to the United Nations commission investigating Israel and prevent the U.S. from revoking the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ terrorist designation, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.

Cut off: With the support of some Democrats, the committee approved an amendment that seeks to block any U.S. funding from going to the U.N. Human Rights Council’s Commission of Inquiry investigating Israel, established following the May 2021 conflict in Gaza. “This amendment ensures taxpayer dollars will not go to this highly controversial commission that has been roundly denounced by members on both sides of the aisle, as well as numerous senior officials from the Biden administration,” Rep. Guy Reschenthaler (R-PA) said, introducing the amendment.

Other side: Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA), who leads the subcommittee on state, foreign operations and related programs, said the amendment was “unnecessary” and was an “effort to make Israel a wedge issue.” She argued that the U.S. has no ability to specifically reduce funding to any individual activities conducted by the U.N. Human Rights Council.

Iran troubles: The committee later approved an amendment by Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL) seeking to block the administration from withdrawing the IRGC’s terrorism designation and mandate that it comply with the terms of the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act and submit any potential Iran nuclear agreement to Congress for review.

Also included: The committee later rejected an amendment that sought to prevent the administration from upgrading the Palestinian Affairs Unit at the U.S. Embassy in Israel. The bill, as approved by the Appropriations Committee, also includes $1.5 million for the U.S. special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism, a 50% increase over 2022; $1.5 million for the special envoy for Holocaust issues, also a 50% increase; $3.3 billion in security assistance to Israel; $2 million for joint sustainability efforts; $50 million for the Middle East Partnership for Peace Fund; $8 million for regional Arab-Israeli science cooperation; and $5 million for refugee resettlement in Israel.

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