Veteran Jewish political operative Ira N. Forman, who served as the Jewish Outreach Director for President Obama’s 2012 reelection campaign, was named by Secretary of State john Kerry as the administration’s Special Envoy and head of the Office to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism, The Jewish Week reports.

Mr. Forman was a founder and later executive director of the National Jewish Democratic Council from 1996 to 2010.  He was a legislative liaison and political director at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee from 1977 to 1981, when he left to go to Stanford University for his MBA.

During the Clinton administration he served as director of congressional relations in the Office of Personnel Management.

The position of Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism was created by the Global Anti-Semitism Review Act of 2004 and is a part of the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor (DRL).

Announcing the new appointment, Kerry paid tribute to Forman as a longtime “champion of fair treatment for all, and he has worked extensively to combat intolerance”, as he wished him success as he prepared to embark on his “vitally important mission”.