U.S. Rep. Elliot Engel (D-N.Y.) has been appointed chair of The World Jewish Congress’s International Council of Jewish Parliamentarians (ICJP).
Engel, who succeeds former Italian MP Fiamma Nirenstein, is the senior Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives’ Foreign Affairs Committee.
“I’m honored to be appointed,” he said. “The ICJP represents Jewish parliamentarians from all over the world.”
Engel was appointed to the position this week during the organization’s steering committee meeting, in which such issues as the global Jewish community, negotiations with Iran, anti-Semitism and the Syrian civil war were discussed, Engel said.
“Out of these talks, the Committee has adopted resolutions on Iran, anti-Semitism in Europe, and anti-Semitism in Latin America. We have also begun the process of drafting a resolution on religious freedoms and practices in Europe. Finally, the Steering Committee and I have agreed to send President Obama a letter calling for the commutation of Jonathan Pollard’s prison sentence,” Engel said.
