Jun 10, 2022

USCIRF Welcomes Senator Mitch McConnell’s Appointments of Abraham Cooper and Eric Ueland to U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom

 

Washington, DC – Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) announced on June 8 the appointments of Abraham Cooper and Eric Ueland to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF). USCIRF welcomed the newly appointed Commissioners who will be instrumental in continuing the promotion of religious freedom abroad.

Abraham Cooper is the Associate Dean and Director of Global Social Action for the Simon Wiesenthal Center (SWC), which he co-founded. He is also a founder of the Global Forum on Anti-Semitism. As an acknowledged expert on online hate and terrorism, Abraham Cooper has a distinguished career defending the rights of the Jewish people, combating terrorism, and promoting multi-faith relations worldwide. He has been ranked by Newsweek among the 50 most influential rabbis in America, alongside USCIRF Commissioner Sharon Kleinbaum.

Among his other roles, Eric Ueland is a Public Advisor for the Paragon Health Institute. In 2020-21, Ueland served as the Senior Official (Acting Undersecretary) for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights at the Department of State, after some time as a Senior Advisor and then Acting Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary. Formerly, he served as the Director of the Office of U.S. Foreign Assistance Resources at the Department of State, a Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Director of the White House Domestic Policy Council, and then the Director of Legislative Affairs.

USCIRF Commissioners are appointed by the President and leadership of both political parties in the Senate and House of Representatives. Last month, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) reappointed Nury Turkel; Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY) reappointed Frederick Davie; and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) appointed Frank R. Wolf and David G. Curry to the Commission.

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The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is an independent, bipartisan federal government entity established by the U.S. Congress to monitor, analyze, and report on religious freedom abroad. USCIRF makes foreign policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State, and Congress intended to deter religious persecution and promote freedom of religion and belief. To interview a commissioner, please contact USCIRF at [email protected].