Former Democratic National Committee (DNC) head and former presidential candidate Howard Dean tweeted on July 11 that the American Jewish Committee “gets no points” for hiring a Christian as its director of combating anti-Semitism.
Dean’s tweet was in response to a July 9 AJC tweet promoting Director of Combating Anti-Semitism Holly Huffnagle, who was hired for the role in April.
“Unfortunately Christians don’t have much a reputation for anything but hate these days thanks to Franklin Graham and Jerry Falwell and other Trump friends,” Dean wrote. “AJC gets no points for this.”
https://twitter.com/GovHowardDean/status/1282013403238871040?s=20
The AJC defended Huffnagle. “.@GovHowardDean you have literally insulted billions of Christians of good will around the world, including @HHuffnagleAJC, who has dedicated her career to fighting anti-Semitism,” the Jewish group tweeted. “Please apologize and remove your hateful post.”
.@GovHowardDean you have literally insulted billions of Christians of good will around the world, including @HHuffnagleAJC, who has dedicated her career to fighting antisemitism.
Please apologize and remove your hateful post. https://t.co/bvKSwpkNuK
— American Jewish Committee (@AJCGlobal) July 11, 2020
Huffnagle tweeted in response that her Christian faith is what motivates her to combat anti-Semitism. “It is disappointing and hurtful @GovHowardDean chose to paint Christians with so broad a brush,” she wrote. “I think we need more Christians in this fight, not less.”
My Christian faith inspires my commitment to fight antisemitism. It is disappointing and hurtful @GovHowardDean chose to paint Christians with so broad a brush. I think we need more Christians in this fight, not less. https://t.co/r5i6Yy9bVS
— Holly Huffnagle (@HHuffnagleAJC) July 11, 2020
Progressive Jewish group IfNotNow sided with Dean. “We welcome allies in the fight for Jewish safety — but it should be obvious that white Christians should not be leading Jewish organization’s advocacy against anti-Semitism,” IfNotNow tweeted. “The AJC continues to show how out of touch it is with American Jews.”
We welcome allies in the fight for Jewish safety — but it should be obvious that white Christians should not be leading Jewish organization’s advocacy against antisemitism.
The AJC continues to show how out of touch it is with American Jews. https://t.co/tsZY4pLGIz
— IfNotNow🔥 (@IfNotNowOrg) July 12, 2020
Former AJC Los Angeles Associate Director Siamak Kordestani, who currently serves as the West Coast director for the European Leadership Network (ELNET) NGO, defended his former colleague.
“[Huffnagle] is nonpartisan and has dedicated her career to researching and combating anti-Semitism,” he tweeted in response to IfNotNow. “This post by @IfNotNowOrg is absolutely shameful and should be condemned by all. We should be *thanking*, not attacking, Holly.”
.@HHuffnagleAJC is my former coworker at @AJCGlobal.
She is nonpartisan and has dedicated her career to researching and combating antisemitism.
This post by @IfNotNowOrg is absolutely shameful and should be condemned by all. We should be *thanking*, not attacking, Holly. https://t.co/Cr2e4oyIuv
— Sia Kordestani (@SiaKordestani) July 12, 2020
In May, Huffnagle told the Journal she became interested in the fight against anti-Semitism when she began studying the Holocaust at Santa Barbara’s Westmont College. “I actually entered the combating anti-Semitism space through the window of Holocaust education and Jewish-Christian dialogue, trying to figure out, can I somehow right an egregious past?” she said.
Huffnagle added that anti-Semitism is “not a Jewish problem. It’s a societal problem. It’s a reflection of our society, and effectively countering it requires non-Jews.”
