Elan Carr

{{Infobox officeholder

| name = Elan Carr

| image = Elan Carr State Department portrait upon Special Envoy appointment.jpg

| alt = State Department portrait of Elan Carr upon Special Envoy appointment

| caption =

| office = United States Special Envoy for Monitoring and Combating anti-Semitism

| president = Donald Trump

| term_start = January 28, 2019

| term_end = January 20, 2021

| predecessor = Ira Forman (2017)

| successor = Deborah Lipstadt

| birth_name = Elan Somekh Carr

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1968|11|25}}

| birth_place = Manhattan, New York, U.S.

| party = Republican

| spouse = Dahlia Carr

| children = 3

| occupation = Attorney, diplomat, CEO

| allegiance = {{flag|United States}}

| branch = {{army|United States}}

| serviceyears = 2001-2023

| rank = {{Dodseal|USAO4|25}} Major

| unit = 24px Judge Advocate General's Corps

| education = University of California, Berkeley (BA)
Northwestern University (JD)

}}

Elan Somekh Carr (born November 25, 1968) is an American lawyer,https://apps.calbar.ca.gov/attorney/Licensee/Detail/192826 diplomat, politician, and chief executive. He is the CEO of the Israeli American Council.{{Cite web |date=18 September 2023 |title=Israeli American Council appoints Elan S. Carr as CEO |url=https://www.israelhayom.com/2023/09/18/israeli-american-council-appoints-elan-s-carr-as-its-new-ceo/}}{{Cite web |last=shanee |date=2023-10-02 |title=Elan S. Carr |url=https://www.israeliamerican.org/national-headquarters/team-member/elan-s-carr |access-date=2024-04-23 |website=IAC {{!}} Israeli American Council |language=en}} Previously, he served as the United States Special Envoy for Monitoring and Combating anti-Semitism under President Donald Trump from 2019 to 2021.{{USStat|118|1282}}, 1284. "The head of the Office shall be the Special Envoy for Monitoring and Combating anti-Semitism (in this section referred to as the 'Special Envoy')."{{cite press release |last1=Pompeo |first1=Michael R. |authorlink1=Mike Pompeo |date=February 5, 2019 |title=On the Appointment of Elan S. Carr as Special Envoy To Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism |url=https://www.state.gov/secretary/remarks/2019/02/288785.htm |type=Remarks by the Secretary of State |location=Washington, DC |publisher=United States Department of State |access-date=February 5, 2019}}{{cite news |url=https://www.jta.org/quick-reads/trump-names-former-aepi-leader-iraq-war-vet-to-be-anti-semitism-monitor |last=Kampeas |first=Ron |title=Trump names prosecutor, former AEPi leader, Iraq war vet to be anti-Semitism monitor |date=February 4, 2019 |work=Jewish Telegraphic Agency |access-date=February 4, 2019}}{{cite web |url=http://jewishinsider.com/15524/trump-appoint-elan-carr-special-envoy-monitor-combat-anti-semitism/ |title=Trump to appoint Elan Carr Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism |date=February 4, 2019 |access-date=February 4, 2019 |work=JewishInsider}}

Before that appointment, Carr was a Deputy District Attorney in the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office.{{cite press release|date=February 5, 2019|title=Alpha Epsilon Pi Leader Named US Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism: Past International President Elan S. Carr to Lead United States' Government's Efforts Against Global Anti-Semitism|url=https://www.aepi.org/2019/02/05/alpha-epsilon-pi-leader-named-us-special-envoy-to-monitor-and-combat-anti-semitism|type=Press release|location=Indianapolis, IN|publisher=Alpha Epsilon Pi|access-date=February 5, 2019|quote=A lifelong advocate for Jewish causes, Carr was previously a Deputy District Attorney for Los Angeles County (CA) where he prosecuted violent felony crimes for more than a decade. He has prosecuted murders, armed robberies, hate crimes, and some of Southern California's most notorious criminal street gangs. Most recently as a special victim prosecutor, he focused on sexual assault, domestic violence, and child molestation cases.}} In 2014, he was the Republican candidate for the US House of Representatives, losing the general election to Ted Lieu. Carr is also an officer in the Judge Advocate General's Corps in the U.S. Army Reserve and an Iraq War veteran.

Political candidacies

In 2014, Carr ran as a Republican to succeed retiring Congressman Henry Waxman, representing California's 33rd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives. In the heavily Democratic district, his message centered on bipartisan solutions to the country's problems and he spoke about the support he was receiving from Democrats.

In the June nonpartisan blanket primary, he placed first, receiving approximately 21% of the votes cast, defeating all Democratic candidates, who split the Democratic vote in the district.{{cite news |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/republican-elan-carr-leads-wendy-709222 |last=Daunt |first=Tina |date=June 4, 2014 |title=Republican Elan Carr Leads Wendy Greuel, Ted Lieu in Race for Henry Waxman's 33rd District Seat |work=The Hollywood Reporter |access-date=February 4, 2019}}

In the November general election, Carr faced Democratic state senator Ted Lieu.{{cite web|url=http://www.dailybreeze.com/government-and-politics/20140603/republican-elan-carr-democrat-ted-lieu-set-for-november-general-election-battle|title=Republican Elan Carr, Democrat Ted Lieu set for November general election battle|last=Sumers|first=Brian|work=The Daily Breeze|date=4 June 2014|accessdate=2014-06-22}} Lieu defeated Carr, securing 59.2% of the vote to Carr's 40.8%.{{cite news |url=https://jewishjournal.com/tag/los-angeles-county-deputy-district-attorney-elan-carr/ |title=Former congressional candidate Elan Carr to run for county supervisor |last=Sichel |first=Jared |date=March 12, 2015 |work=The Jewish Journal |access-date=February 4, 2019}}

In 2016, Carr was a candidate to represent the 5th Supervisorial District on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. Republican donor Sheldon Adelson contributed $100,000 to an independent expenditure political action committee in support of Carr's candidacy.{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-adelson-carr-contribution-20160606-snap-story.html |last=Sewell |first=Abby |title=Casino mogul Sheldon Adelson gives $100,000 to support L.A. County supervisor candidate |date=June 6, 2016 |work=Los Angeles Times |access-date=February 4, 2019}} Carr failed to advance in the June primary.{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-county-election-results-20160607-snap-story.html |last1=Sewell |first1=Abby |last2=Zahniser |first2=David |last3=Walton |first3=Alice |title=Janice Hahn and Kathryn Barger face runoffs in L.A. County supervisor races |date=June 8, 2016 |work=Los Angeles Times |access-date=February 4, 2019}}

Personal

File:Panel discussion with Q&A- Combating Anti-Semitism. Global Context.jpg

Carr is Jewish. His maternal grandfather, a relative of Baghdad rabbinical leader Abdallah Somekh, was arrested during widespread antisemitic persecution of Iraq's Jewish community during the time of the founding of the state of Israel in 1948. He was convicted in a show trials and sentenced to five years in prison.

During Carr's Iraq War service, he helped lead an anti-terrorism team in missions throughout Iraq, prosecute terrorists who had attacked U.S soldiers in the Central Criminal Court of Iraq, and train Iraqi judges and lawyers on constitutional law and criminal defense. He also led Jewish services in the former presidential palace of Saddam Hussein in Baghdad, including by lighting a Hanukkah menorah in the first Hanukkah after the liberation of Baghdad in 2003.https://aish.com/chanukah_in_baghdad/{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/27/magazine/the-real-house-candidates-of-beverly-hills.html |last=Leibovich |first=Mark |title=The Real House Candidates of Beverly Hills |date=April 24, 2014 |work=The New York Times |access-date=February 4, 2019}}

Carr's mother fled from Iraq to Israel, while his stepfather fled from Nazi-occupied Bulgaria to Palestine. Both later immigrated to the United States.{{cite news |url=http://bhweekly.com/issues/pdf/2014_750.pdf |title=Carr announces candidacy for 33rd Congressional District |date=February 13, 2014 |issue=750 |pages=3–4 |work=Beverly Hills Weekly |access-date=February 4, 2019}} His biological father is second generation Irish and Italian descent.

Carr earned his bachelor's degree in philosophy and political science at the University of California, Berkeley and his J.D. degree at the Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law.{{cite news |url=http://archive.signalscv.com/archives/152602/ |title=Meet the Fifth District supervisor candidates for primary election |last=Daily |first=Krista |work=The Santa Clarita Valley Signal |date=May 26, 2016}} He previously served as international president of the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity.{{cite news |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/iraqi-past-trails-former-frat-boy-to-israel-la-and-saddams-former-palace/ |last=Frydberg |first=Tracy |date=January 6, 2013 |title=Iraqi past trails former frat boy to Israel, LA and Saddam's former palace: Now a prosecutor and the head of the world's largest Jewish fraternity, Elan Carr has drawn on his painful family history in each phase of life |work=The Times of Israel |access-date=February 4, 2019}}

He and his wife Dahlia, a physician, met when they were introduced by a mutual friend hosting a Jewish singles event.{{cite news |url=https://bhweekly.com/issues/pdf/2014_771.pdf |title=Who is Elan Carr? Straight talk with the Congressional candidate in a Weekly exclusive |last=Yeang |first=Nancy |date=July 10, 2014 |pages=6–7 |issue=771 |work=Beverly Hills Weekly |access-date=February 4, 2019}}