JL;DR SUMMARY The article discusses the political obstacles facing the confirmation of Deborah E. Lipstadt as the U.S. State Department's Special Envoy for Monitoring and Combatting Antisemitism, highlighting the significance of the role and the complexities added by its elevation to ambassador rank. A way out west there was a fella, fella I want to tell you about, fella by the name of Jeff Lebowski. At least, that was the handle his lovin' parents gave him, but he never had much use for it himself. This Lebowski, he called himself the Dude. Now, Dude, that's a name no one would self-apply where I come from. But then, there was a lot about the Dude that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. And a lot about where he lived, likewise. But then again, maybe that's why I found the place s'durned innarestin'.