JERUSALEM (JTA) — In a letter to Anti-Defamation League National Director Abraham Foxman, Israeli President Shimon Peres expressed his “deep appreciation” for his “50-year service to the Jewish cause.”

Foxman announced earlier this month that he would step down as head of ADL in July 2015.

Peres sent the letter last week; it was released on Wednesday.

“Armed with the conviction of your moral compass, you have been tireless in your efforts to fight the scourge of anti-Semitism, lamenting its rise in today’s world, alongside any form of discrimination driven by hatred, using your powerful and influential voice to protect the safety of the Jewish people in the face of initiatives that threaten their well being,” Peres wrote.

“We in Israel value your leadership and dedicated commitment to our security and the cause of peace, and your unshakeable engagement in shaping a safe, peaceful and promising tomorrow for Jewish life.”

Foxman announced his retirement at the ADL’s annual National Executive Committee meeting in Palm Beach, Fla. The organization said its search for Foxman’s successor will be conducted by the executive search firm BoardWalk Consulting and will be guided by ADL leadership.

A lawyer by training, Foxman, a child survivor of the Holocaust, started at the ADL in 1965 and became its national director in 1987. Under his leadership, ADL has expanded to 30 regional offices across the United States and an office in Israel.

 

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