At exit, Foxman recalls his wrong predictions

Looking back after 50 years of service to the Anti-Defamation League, retiring National Director Abraham Foxman voiced concern about the safety and security of Jews overseas and Israel’s position in the world. Here are excerpts from his exit interview, edited for clarity and length.

Edwin Black: Looking back over a half century, how does it strike you?

Abraham Foxman: Boy, how wrong they were! When I came on this job, I read a lot of stuff about the future of the Jewish community. I wanted to know what I would be facing. One thing that the sociologists and prognosticators said 50 years ago was “Anti-Semitism, it’s a historical fact of the past. You don’t have to worry about it — we’re just going to point to it when we fight other prejudices.” The other thing they said was “In 50 years, Israel will be a normal nation among all the nations.” Boy how wrong they were! Israel has become “the Jew amongst the nations.”

Black: What do you mean the “Jew amongst the nations?”

Foxman: What everybody else can do, Israel can’t do. Tell me a country in the world that can’t decide its capital? Tell me a country in the world that has to defend its right to defend itself? And tell me a country in the world that has to deal with double and triple standards in terms of being told what it should do, how it should do it, who it can do business with, who it should play soccer with, what person can come and sing.

Black: How do you see the situation in Western Europe?