Bob Silverman Tackles Jewish-Muslim Issues in New Post at AJC

Following a 27-career at the State Department, Robert Silverman is gaining attention as the new Director of Muslim-Jewish Relations at the AJC (previously known as the American Jewish Committee). A May 18 article in the New York Jewish Week, "AJC Muslim Push Comes Amid Rancor in U.S.," discussed the reasons that the AJC created the position, and the response from Jewish and Muslim observers. The article notes,

“This is a community that is in some distress because of some of the speech that is coming out of politicians,” Silverman told The Jewish Week. “We as Jews should do the right thing … [and] the AJC is the right address to work on stronger ties between the two communities.” 

He said that although both the Muslim and Jewish communities are minorities in the U.S., “we are the more settled, established community” and this is the “right time to develop ties with this community. Showing support at this critical time will lead to good results for the Jewish people down the road.” 

Fluent in Arabic, Hebrew and Turkish, Silverman, 58, worked for 27 years at the U.S. State Department. A senior foreign service officer, he completed his tenure as director of regional and multilateral affairs in the State Department’s Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs. 

“I had nine overseas tours and all but one was in a Muslim country,” he said. “I have spent my entire professional career forming ties and friendships with different communities and mostly in the Muslim world. Even in my ninth country, Sweden, I reached out to the Muslim community.”