Civil rights advocate Leo Terrell leads antisemitism task force, calls cause 'personal'

Leo Terrell, a veteran civil rights advocate, now leads a federal task force focused on combating antisemitism across the United States, placing him at the center of one of the most politically and socially sensitive areas of civil rights enforcement.

As senior counsel to the assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division at the U.S. Department of Justice, Terrell has spent much of his career working on civil rights issues. Although he grew up in a predominantly Black neighborhood in Los Angeles, his Baptist family maintained relationships across faiths and communities.

He recalled that his family included Jewish lawyers and doctors among their close professional and social circles.

“We had an open door. We didn’t see color or religion, we just saw friends,” Terrell said in an interview with the Jerusalem Post Magazine. He said he currently heads a federal task force combating antisemitism and threats to the Jewish community in the United States. Inspired by Martin Luther King Jr. and the historic Black–Jewish alliance in the civil rights movement, he described the fight against Jew-hatred as “personal to me.”

“I don’t know if you can tell by my voice inflection, I’m very passionate about fighting antisemitism,” he said.

Terrell was deeply affected by the Hamas Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel, which led to the massacre of 1,200 Israelis and the kidnapping of 251 people. He praised U.S. President Donald Trump for allowing him to lead efforts against antisemitism and racism.

“This man has given me the authority, under executive order, to head this task force… For those who believe in freedom of religion, we have a unicorn in the White House,” he said. “If Trump was not in the White House, we would be in trouble,” Terrell added, calling him “the best friend in the White House the Jewish community ever had” and “the best friend in the White House Israel has ever had.”

He also thanked U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee for sharing his understanding of the need to combat antisemitism.

“You’ve got two people who are not Jewish who understand what the war is all about on fighting antisemitism,” Terrell said.

Terrell said the Trump administration is pursuing legal action under Title VI against universities accused of antisemitism. In December 2023, a Network Contagion Research Institute report found that the rise of antisemitism on American college campuses was linked to foreign donations from Middle Eastern countries, including Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

Terrell has been critical of Democratic-led cities, arguing that “these local blue cities have basically turned their backs on the Jewish community,” and that hate crimes are not being adequately prosecuted.

He also worked on behalf of Israeli hostages in Gaza, advocating for the release of Hadar Goldin, an IDF soldier killed by Hamas terrorists in 2014, whose remains were returned to Israel in late 2025.

In January, Terrell visited Israel for the first time and received Israel’s Beacon of Truth Award for his efforts to combat antisemitism.