U.S. State Department special envoy to speak at Temple Emanu-El
Ira N. Forman, the U.S. State Department’s Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism, will speak on the topic Global Anti-Semitism in 2016: What the U.S. Government is Doing to Combat It, at a special Lunch and Learn event at Temple Emanu-El, the Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee and the Florida Holocaust Museum have announced.
The presentation will be offered from noon to 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 14, a news release says. Temple Emanu-El is located at 151 McIntosh Road in Sarasota.
The foundation and the museum are sponsoring Forman’s appearance, the release adds.
The event is offered free of charge, the release notes; attendees are invited to bring their own lunches to enjoy while listening to Forman’s talk.
Although there is no charge for this event, advance reservations are required. Interested persons should call Temple Emanu-El at 941-371-2788 for more information or to reserve a spot, the release says.
Forman was sworn in as Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism on May 20, 2013 by Secretary of State John Kerry, the release continues. Inspired by his parents’ values, “Forman has accumulated 30 years of experience in Jewish communal work and public service,” the release points out.
“We are thrilled to host Ira Forman and to invite the entire community to hear his first-hand report on global anti-Semitism and the response of our government,” said Rabbi Elaine Rose Glickman of Temple Emanu-El in the release.
Forman served for nearly 15 years as the executive director of the National Jewish Democratic Council and spent four years with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, where he worked as political director and legislative liaison, the release explains. He also has served on the boards of a number of Jewish nonprofits.
In the Clinton Administration, Forman served as the director of congressional relations for the Office of Personnel Management, the release notes. Earlier in his career, he worked as professional staff of the Public Works and Transportation Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Throughout his career, the release continues, Forman has spoken and written extensively on Jewish history and public policy.