(JTA) – The bipartisan Senate antisemitism task force urged President Joe Biden to name a State Department monitor to combat antisemitism. “Tragically, 76 years after the end of the Holocaust, antisemitism remains a serious and growing danger for Jews in Europe, the Middle East, the United States, and elsewhere in the world,” said the letter sent Monday, April 19, and spearheaded by Sens. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., and Jim Lankford, R-Okla, the task force chairs, and signed by another 20 senators on the panel.

“To combat the rising tide of global antisemitism, the State Department’s Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism works to promote accurate Holocaust education, improve the safety and security of at-risk Jewish communities, ensure foreign public officials condemn antisemitic discourse, and strengthen foreign judicial systems in their prosecution of antisemitic incidents.”

The letter noted that a law passed just before President Donald Trump left office elevates the position to ambassador level, lending it more clout within the State Department. The new designation also means that any nominee requires Senate confirmation. The task force brings together senators who otherwise would have little to do with one another, including Tom Cotton, the conservative Republican from Arkansas, and Raphael Warnock, the freshman liberal Democrat from Georgia.

To date, the Biden administration has not given any indication of any leading candidate. Trump left the position unfilled for two years until he named Elan Carr in early 2019 following multiple calls from Jewish groups and Congress members.

Main Photo: Then-Senate candidate Jacky Rosen introduces former Vice President Joe Biden as he campaigns for Nevada Democratic candidates during a rally in Las Vegas, Oct. 20, 2018. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)