“Saudi Arabia is a very important country in the Gulf,” she said. “It has shown a willingness and openness to hosting me. We’ve gotten a very warm reception from them.”
WASHINGTON – Deborah Lipstadt, the US Special Envoy to Monitor and combat antisemitism is traveling to the Middle East in her first trip abroad. She will travel to Israel, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia.
“Saudi Arabia is a very important country in the Gulf,” she said. “It has shown a willingness and openness to hosting me. We’ve gotten a very warm reception from them, and I’ve gotten strong support from my colleagues in [the State Department].”
“In the light of the atmosphere was created and the worldview that’s been created as a result of being able to talk with them about normalizing the situation of the vision of the Jews, normalizing the understanding of Jewish history, for their population, particularly the younger, is really important,” she added.
“If someone opens the door to me, and members of my team to fight this pernicious hatred,” of antisemitism, she said, then she is willing “to go anywhere.”
“I am not coming to discuss regional politics. In my title, it couldn’t be more clear what I am about. If they are willing to discuss [that] I am willing to do it.”
US Special Envoy Deborah Lipstadt
“I said that that was someplace I’d like to go,” she said, an idea that was warmly received both at the State Department and in Saudi Arabia. “They showed receptivity,” she said of the Saudi reaction.
Lipstadt’s visit comes a month before President Biden’s visit to the kingdom, and as the Biden administration is working to bring Israel and Saudi Arabia closer. However, Lipstadt said that her visit has nothing to do with regional or security issues. “I am not coming to discuss regional politics,” she said. “In my title, it couldn’t be more clear what I am about. If they are willing to discuss [that] I am willing to do it,” she said.
The State Department’s statement
According to the State Department, during her 11-day trip, Special Envoy Lipstadt will meet with senior governmental and civil society interlocutors “to discuss important changes underway in the Middle East.”
“Her engagements will emphasize promoting interfaith understanding, as well as combating intolerance and anti-Jewish sentiment,” the State Department said in a statement. “Amb. Lipstadt intends to build on the profoundly important Abraham Accords to advance religious tolerance, improve relations in the region, and counter misunderstanding and distrust.”