“Jew hatred,” as Ms. Lipstadt repeatedly called it, is on the rise across the globe. This past weekend, three incidents of assault or vandalism that are being investigated as possibly antisemitic took place in Brooklyn. One might reasonably assume that lawmakers would have grasped the urgent need for an antisemitism warrior — a post that, having been elevated to the level of ambassador by this president, now requires Senate approval.
But for months, Ms. Lipstadt’s nomination has been held up because she once tweeted something mean about Ron Johnson, the Wisconsin Republican who sits on the Foreign Relations Committee. As a result, he is opposing her nomination and has urged colleagues to do the same.
No one seriously questions Ms. Lipstadt’s qualifications. In a career spanning four decades, she has written at least a half dozen books on antisemitism and the Holocaust and lectured globally on the topic. Her successful legal fight against a British Holocaust revisionist was turned into a movie, “Denial,” with Ms. Lipstadt played by Rachel Weisz. Her nomination in July drew applause from Jewish groups across the ideological spectrum.


The ranking Republican on the committee, Jim Risch of Idaho, didn’t bother pretending that the delay had been about anything other than Mr. Johnson. Let this be “a learning moment” for anyone who expects to be confirmed, he said. If you say something publicly about a member, you do so at your peril.

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