Rooting out workplace Jew-hatred ‘personal’ to acting US labor secretary, grandchild of Holocaust survivors
Keith Sonderling, acting U.S. labor secretary, didn’t feel out of place speaking to a room full of Jews this week. In fact, he told JNS, his passion has come from defending Jews from workplace discrimination.“President Trump’s administration has made this a priority, to make sure that not just antisemitism is eliminated but all religious bias is eliminated,” said Sonderling, whom U.S. President Donald Trump nominated to fill the role on a permanent basis.“For me, that’s personal,” the grandchild of Holocaust survivors told JNS on the sidelines of the Republican Jewish Coalition summit in Las Vegas.Sonderling, who has attended the GOP Jewish gathering for years, including before his time in government, said that his grandparents came to New York with just $7 in their pockets after surviving concentration camps.“They, like many other Holocaust survivors, faced bias in the workplace when they tried to start a new life here in the United…
Acting U.S. Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling, a grandchild of Holocaust survivors, views combating workplace antisemitism as a personal mission. He highlighted the Trump administration's focus on eliminating all religious bias, noting that his grandparents faced discrimination after surviving concentration camps. Sonderling emphasized that Jews continue to experience bias in schools and workplaces, stating, "For me, that’s personal."
- He warned that artificial intelligence, if not carefully designed, could exacerbate antisemitism in hiring processes, citing potential misuse to identify Jewish applicants based on last names or affiliations.
- Sonderling also addressed discrimination against Israeli-Americans, clarifying that being Jewish does not equate to being Israeli, yet this distinction is often blurred, leading to bias.
- He mentioned the Labor Department's Center for Faith, which launched an interactive map detailing religious protections and information for reporting Jew-hatred.
- The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, under Sonderling, achieved a $21 million settlement with Columbia University, the largest in U.S. history for Jew-hatred, and is actively addressing antisemitism within labor unions, such as the Association of Legal Aid Attorneys.
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