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Anti-Semitism envoy speaks to U.S. Muslim group

September 8, 2011

WASHINGTON (JTA) -- Hannah Rosenthal, the Obama administration's anti-Semitism envoy, in an address to a U.S. Shia Muslim umbrella group said the Jewish and Muslim communities have much in common.

"While we Jews and Muslims may have highly educated communities, we also have fears about perceptions that others hold of our traditions," Rosenthal said in a Sept. 2 address to a conference of the Islamic Information Center, a group that disseminates information on Shia Islam to non-Muslims.

"According to a recent report, Muslims and Jews are more likely than adherents of any other tradition to conceal our religious identity. Sixty percent of Muslim Americans polled say they experience prejudice against Muslims. The fact that Muslims experience prejudice here in America concerns me as an American, as a Jew and as a U.S. government official."

Rosenthal outlined her efforts to combat anti-Semitism, and not, among other phenomena, Holocaust denial in Iran and the blurring of lines between legitimate criticism of Israel and anti-Semitism.

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