Ambassador Deborah Lipstadt, the former U.S. envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism, told Jewish Insider on Tuesday that she’s concerned by the increased pace of antisemitic rhetoric coming from Saudi Arabia, and warned that an extended change of course by Riyadh could have implications on the spread of antisemitism globally.

Lipstadt, who began in the role in May 2022, said that she saw the Saudi government initially very open to addressing antisemitism, but less willing to work with her toward the end of her term, which finished in January 2025. She said that the situation has appeared to deteriorate further since then.

“If this is a real pivot, and not just a momentary detour, it’ll be very disappointing,” Lipstadt said. If that’s the case, “then it’s very disturbing because there was a chance for a change in the culture and in the atmosphere of the Middle East.”

She said she sees antisemitic and extremist sermons recently delivered at Saudi holy sites and around the kingdom as particularly significant — noting the Saudi government also funds imams who preach around the globe. This support gives Riyadh a significant lever to “limit the amount of Jew hatred that is expressed in Muslim communities throughout the world.”

“This is more than just a geopolitical shift,” Lipstadt continued. “It’s that — and it’s certainly an important geopolitical shift — but it also has implications for the spread of hatred, Jew hate.”

The former U.S. ambassador said that she’s also seen a distinct shift in the tenor of translated articles from the Saudi press.

“It’s completely different from what I saw when I was there in July of 2022, and very different from the numerous conversations and interactions I had with Princess Reema, the Saudi ambassador to the United States,” Lipstadt said. “She could not have been more gracious and forthcoming, publicly so.”

The former envoy said that the timing of the Saudi shift is also troubling, noting that it comes as tensions in the region are otherwise easing, as the war in Gaza winds down and progress is made toward a longer-term ceasefire. The Saudi government, she noted, was subject to pressure from its public, which was upset over the war.

“It’s happening now, when things are quieting down — that’s worrisome,” Lipstadt explained. “I hope it can be turned around because it has very, very big implications. … At a time that we’re seeing the impact of radical Islamism, it’s even more troublesome.”

Lipstadt’s first trip abroad in her role in the Biden administration was to Saudi Arabia in June 2022, where she conveyed the “message that I saw real possibilities there.” She said that she came to believe that the Saudis were on a path to joining the Abraham Accords, and that she received “a very warm welcome,” including meetings with the minister of Islamic affairs, who is in charge of the country’s holy sites, and the Saudi deputy foreign minister.

“One high-ranking official, when I walked into his office, introduced himself to me. He said, ‘Hello, welcome. I come from a city of Jews,’ and he meant Medina,” Lipstadt recounted. “Mecca and Medina, where the prophet was, and grew up — that’s a pretty significant way of identifying yourself.”

Her second visit to the kingdom, toward the end of her term in office, “was less promising, less forthcoming on the part of the officials.”

She said it was difficult to gauge at the time whether that was due to a lack of interest in engaging with an outgoing administration or because of pressure from popular opinion in Saudi Arabia against the war in Gaza. 

But she said she believes the situation has continued to worsen since she left office. And, she noted, Saudi Arabia has made no further public strides toward joining the Abraham Accords, which some expected the kingdom to do once President Donald Trump returned to office.