Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Co-Chair of the House Bipartisan Task Force for Combating Antisemitism, today welcomed the U.S. Senate’s confirmation of Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun as the U.S. Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism.

                “I am glad to see that the U.S. Senate has finally confirmed Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun to serve as the U.S. Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism, who I am confident will be an extraordinarily effective and formidable force in the global fight against antisemitism,” said Smith, who, in 2004, wrote the amendment (PL 108-332) that created the State Department’s Office of the Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism.

                In 2020, Smith authored the law—the Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism Act—to elevate the Office of the Special Envoy to the high-level position of ambassador (PL 116-326).

                “When I first authored the legislative provisions to create the position back in 2004, Rabbi Kaploun was exactly the type of leader I had in mind: incredibly strong, remarkably productive, and wholly committed to countering the escalating threats and acts of violence against Jews,” continued Smith.

                “As acts of antisemitic violence and hate continue to rise—including the horrific December 14^th terrorist attack on the Jewish community in Australia—President Trump’s nomination of Rabbi Kaploun sends a strong message to the international community: the United States will never tolerate, excuse, or accept antisemitism within its borders—and anywhere else in the world,” stated Smith, who has chaired 18 congressional hearings on global antisemitism.

                “I am grateful to President Trump for nominating such an impressive and accomplished candidate to serve as the Special Envoy, and I wish Rabbi Kaploun every success in his new position.

                “I look forward to working alongside Rabbi Kaploun and his Office of the Special Envoy to eradicate the spiritual cancer of antisemitism that metastasizes around the world,” concluded Smith.

###