Gregg J. Rickman (born 1964) is an American former Congressional staffer and lobbyist who also served as the inaugural U.S. Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism from 2006 to 2009.
These efforts were one of the factors leading to the filing of a major World Jewish Congress lawsuit against the three largest Swiss banks on behalf of Holocaust victims.
[10] From 2004 to 2006, Rickman was a staff member of the House International Relations Committee, first on the Subcommittee on the Middle East and Central Asia where he handled numerous issues including Antisemitism and Holocaust restitution.
[6] The Global Anti-Semitism Review Act of 2004 created the position of a Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism.
In December 2007, Rickman traveled to Yemen to assess the condition of the Jewish community there and to investigate a report of abduction, forced conversion to Islam, and marriage of a young Yemenite woman.
[15] After stepping down as Special Envoy at the end of the Bush Administration, Rickman was hired as the Director of Foreign Military Sales for National Air Cargo.
[6] In the Central European History journal, John Teschke of University of California, Riverside called the book "an effective defense of the D'Amato effort and has made the job of apologist for the Swiss Nazi-era record far more difficult."
However, in the same review Teschke also stated that Rickman "perhaps has exaggerated the significance of his...efforts at the expense of Bronfman, who is considered the central figure in other accounts.
"[18] In his work, The Holocaust Industry, political scientist Norman Finkelstein questioned the motives behind the restitution efforts and resulting lawsuit against the Swiss banks.