NEW YORK – GreekNewsUSA
Rep. Ted Deutch (D-FL), a lifelong Jewish and pro-Israel activist, has been selected to serve as American Jewish Committee’s next Chief Executive Officer, effective October 1, 2022, replacing David Harris, AJC announced on Monday.
He was unanimously selected by AJC’s 28-member Executive Council, the organization’s most senior lay body, following an extensive national search for a successor to AJC CEO David Harris, who has led the organization since 1990. Harris will remain AJC CEO until Rep. Deutch assumes the role, after which he will stay on as a consultant for one year to assist in a seamless transition.
Currently serving his seventh term representing Broward and Palm Beach Counties of South Florida, Deutsch has been a close friend and partner of AJC throughout his tenure in Congress. He sits on the House’s Judiciary, Ethics and Foreign Affairs committees, and is the chair of the Subcommittee on the Middle East, North Africa and Global Counterterrorism.
He is a founding Co-Chair of the House Bipartisan Taskforce for Combating Antisemitism, and has spoken passionately on the House floor against the increasing incidence of antisemitic expression, confronting colleagues on both sides of the aisle who have invoked such tropes and language. He is also a founding Co-Chair of the Congressional Hellenic-Israel Alliance.
“We are very pleased to announce that Ted Deutch will serve as AJC’s next CEO,” said AJC President Harriet P. Schleifer adding that “Ted’s deep and lifelong commitment to the Jewish community, Israel, and to the protection of democratic values is obvious to all who know him. His shared passion for AJC’s mission and vision makes him a natural fit to advance our critical global work and to build on David Harris’s extraordinary legacy”.
Described by the late Israeli President Shimon Peres as the “foreign minister of the Jewish people,” outgoing CEO David Harris is best known for his work in helping Jews leave the former Soviet Union and for combating anti-Israel rhetoric at the United Nations.
He has been decorated by foreign governments (among them Greece, with the Order of the Phoenix) more than any other Jewish organizational leader in American history.
Last September, he was honored in New York by Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades with one of the country’s most prestigious awards, the Grand Commander of the Order of Makarios III for his steadfast support for Cyprus and his longstanding contribution to strengthening relations between Greece, Cyprus, Israel and the United States. (Photo)
