(JTA) — Abraham Foxman, the national director emeritus of the Anti-Defamation League, received Germany’s highest civilian honor.
Foxman was presented with the Commander’s Cross of the Order of Merit earlier this week by Germany’s ambassador to the United States, Peter Wittig, at the ambassador’s residence in Washington D.C.
“Your voice has been a voice of tolerance and against hate, a voice for responsibility and against discrimination,” Wittig said. He called Foxman a “tireless and committed fighter” against bigotry in all forms, and praised his work in promoting reconciliation between Germany and the Jewish community in the United States.
Foxman, a Holocaust survivor, said in accepting the honor: “I never would have believed that I would one day accept and take great pride in accepting an honor like this from the government of Germany.”
He added: “Germany has shown that it is willing to be a leader in standing up against intolerance. Wherever things go, that instinctive reaction is to be commended. The moral lesson of the Holocaust has been well-learned.”
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