At a special panel held alongside Dirshu’s major Torah testing event in Jerusalem, Ambassador Mark Walker—President Trump’s nominee for Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom—delivered a passionate speech denouncing antisemitism. “We must call antisemitism by its name,” he declared. “It’s not enough to issue condemnations online; attacks on Jews must be met with strength. When governments show weakness, hatred grows.”

Walker, a deeply religious former Republican congressman from North Carolina, visited Israel to meet Jewish leaders and witness the global reach of Torah learning. Accompanied by Dirshu’s founder, Rabbi Dovid Hofstedter, he met HaGaon Rav Moshe Hillel Hirsch, Rosh Yeshivas Slabodka, in Bnei Brak. During their meeting, Walker described his devout Christian upbringing and shared his view that when secular and progressive movements push religion aside, they create a moral vacuum that becomes filled with hatred—often targeting Jews. Rav Hirsch asked if the recent surge in antisemitism stems from the Gaza war; Walker replied that the war merely exposed underlying hatred already present, especially in universities where secularism and ideology breed anti-Jewish fervor.

At the Dirshu testing site, Walker observed hundreds of scholars being tested on the Talmud and Shulchan Aruch and participated in a global discussion with Dirshu representatives from Australia, England, Belgium, and the U.S. Participants shared first-hand accounts of rising antisemitism: in Australia, synagogues burned; in England, Jews murdered near schools; in Belgium, bans on kosher slaughter and circumcision. Many said they no longer feel safe wearing kippot in public.

Walker responded empathetically, criticizing governments that “hide behind platitudes” and fail to act decisively against antisemitic violence. He stressed that the Trump administration, supported by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, plans to confront antisemitism globally with practical measures, not just rhetoric. As ambassador, Walker will lead a State Department team of over thirty people focused on defending religious freedom and combating Jew-hatred worldwide.

Concluding his visit, Walker praised Dirshu’s mission, saying, “It’s amazing what one man can do to inspire masses to daily Torah study—the moral foundation of society.” He pledged to fight antisemitism “not just with words, but with action.”