Bayside Hosts Head Of State's Antisemitism Monitor, Talks With Leaders

BAYSIDE, QUEENS —A Queens native in charge of combating antisemitism in the state visited Bayside Monday to meet with local Jewish leaders from the borough.

Deborah Lipstadt, the State Department’s Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism, met with local Jewish community leaders to discuss incoming initiatives in the White House to fight antisemitism. She was invited by Queens Congresswoman Grace Meng.

"I thank her for addressing the concerns that our local Jewish leaders have about their safety and for listening to the challenges they face," Meng said. "Unfortunately, my constituents have not been spared from these hateful incidents."

Inside the Kupferberg Holocaust Center at Queensborough Community College, Lipstadt told local leaders about the White House’s new national strategy to combat antisemitism.

The strategy includes increasing school-based education about antisemitism, as well as adding workplace training on countering antisemitism. The plan also includes improving data collection about these types of hate crimes and increasing support for victims of antisemitic harassment.

Lipstadt, raised in Far Rockaway, also visited CHAZAQ in Kew Gardens Hills, which provides a wide range of social services to residents of the Jewish community.

The Queens native was appointed by President Joe Biden and has served as the ambassador of the Office of the Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism since May 2022.