Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Co-Chair of the House Bipartisan Task Force for Combating Antisemitism, has 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. In 2004, Smith wrote the amendment (PL 108-332) that created the State Department’s Office of the Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism.
Smith also authored a law in 2020—the Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism Act—that elevated this office to ambassador level (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 14th 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.
Chris Smith has represented New Jersey’s 4th district in Congress since 1981 after succeeding Frank Thompson. He was born in Rahway, New Jersey in 1953 and currently lives in Manchester Township. Smith graduated from The College of New Jersey with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1975.
