Trump nominates Yehuda Kaploun as US envoy to combat Jew-hatred
"Yehuda is a successful businessman, and staunch advocate for the Jewish faith and the rights of his people to live and worship free from persecution," the president said.
U.S. President Donald Trump nominated Yehuda Kaploun, an Orthodox Jewish businessman, to be U.S. special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism, an ambassador-level position.
“Yehuda is a successful businessman and staunch advocate for the Jewish faith and the rights of his people to live and worship free from persecution,” Trump stated.
“With antisemitism dangerously on the rise, Yehuda will be the strongest representative for Americans and Jews across the globe and promote peace,” the president said.
“At a time when Israel is fighting enemies seeking its destruction, it’s more important than ever to have a moral voice like Yehuda’s standing with us,” stated Israel Katz, the Israeli defense minister.
Katz thanked Trump “for this powerful reaffirmation of his unwavering commitment to the State of Israel and to the Jewish people.”
The leadership of the Orthodox Union stated that “during these troubling hate-filled times, this is a critical role, which Yehuda will fill with pride in our faith and values and confidence in the positive Jewish contribution to every country and society in which we reside.”
“We commend President Trump for this nomination and applaud the high priority he and his administration have placed upon fighting antisemitism,” the OU leaders said.
Among the other Israeli officials who congratulated Kaploun, a Chabad rabbi, were Israeli foreign minister Gideon Sa’ar, Knesset speaker Amir Ohana, opposition leader Yair Lapid, diaspora and combatting antisemitism minister Amichai Chikli and National Unity Party leader Benny Gantz.
“Hard to say ‘congrats’ on an appointment that is a devastating testament to the tsunami and mainstreaming of antisemitism across spaces and places,” wrote Michal Cotler-Wunsh, Israel’s envoy for combating antisemitism. “Looking forward to working with Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun.”
The Conference of European Rabbis also congratulated Kaploun.
Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), who is Jewish, urged colleagues in Congress not to cast even a single vote for Kaploun.
“The irony is not lost on me that the Trump administration—that already contains antisemites in its ranks—is seeking to add a divisive figure like Rabbi Kaploun as its antisemitism czar,” Nadler stated.
“Let’s not forget that Rabbi Kaploun is the same Trump campaign official who false claimed that President Biden, ‘won’t even make a statement about combating antisemitism,'” Nadler stated. “This insulting statement couldn’t be farther from the truth.”
“Perhaps most offensively, Rabbi Kaploun publicly claims that after Oct. 7, ‘Democrats refuse to even recognize the butchers of women and kidnappers of children as terrorists,'” the N.Y. Democrat said. “This absurd and insulting claim does not deserve a response. There is only one thing such a claim should be: disqualifying.”
The conservative talk-radio show host Sid Rosenberg wrote that he “almost cried when I found out moments ago my dear friend Yehuda Kaploun has been nominated by President Trump to be the U.S. special envoy to combat and monitor antisemitism.”
“He is the perfect man for the job,” Rosenberg said.
Kaploun, who lives in Miami, led Jewish outreach for Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign. He is co-founder and president of the company RussKap Water and helped to establish the Moses and Aaron Foundation, which supports families of children with special needs.
If confirmed, he would assume a position held most recently by the renowned Emory University historian Deborah Lipstadt.
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