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The rise of Yehuda Kaploun: How a Hasidic fixer became Trump’s nominee for antisemitism czar

JL;DR SUMMARY Yehuda Kaploun, a Hasidic Jewish communal advocate known for his quiet influence and controversial personal history, has been nominated by Donald Trump for an ambassador-level position as an antisemitism czar. 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'.

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Tags

InfluenceOrthodox JudaismChabadDonald TrumpJewish LeadershipPhilanthropyLegal ControversyYehuda KaplounPolitical Appointment

Places mentioned

Doral, Florida, United States
"Donald Trump and Yehuda Kaploun light a candle during an Oct. 7th remembrance event at the Trump National Doral Golf Club in Doral, Florida on Oct. 07, 2024."
North Miami Beach, Florida, United States
"...disrupted community life at Bais Menachem, a large synagogue in North Miami Beach affiliated with the Chabad Hasidic movement, where Kaploun had belonged for most of the time since he moved to South Florida from New York."
Miami, Florida, United States
"In March 2025, two weeks after Linda McMahon became Trumps secretary of education, Kaploun brought her to tour the Lubavitch Educational Center in Miami."
Doral, Georgia, United States
"Donald Trump and Yehuda Kaploun light a candle during an Oct. 7th remembrance event at the Trump National Doral Golf Club in Doral, Florida on Oct. 07, 2024."
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
"They later moved to Ottawa, Canada, where Yaacov became the director of Hillel Academy, the Jewish day school Yehuda attended."
Israel
"Kaploun, the eldest of five children, was born in Israel but has been an American citizen from birth through his mother, Dreizel, a Connecticut native."
Eilat, Southern District, Israel
"(Kaploun said his ordination test was ultimately administered by the chief rabbi of the Israeli city of Eilat, Yosef Hecht, who is his great-uncle.)"
Brooklyn, New York, United States
"As an adult, Kaploun moved to the heart of the Hasidic world in which he was raised, joining the thousands of Chabad followers studying at rabbinical schools in Brooklyn."
Crown Heights, New York, United States
"The timing also meant that Kaploun was present in August 1991 when a car in Schneersons convoy ran a red light and struck two young Black children, killing one."

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Cairo Item ID 51711
Cairo Source ID 42
Retrieved 2025-05-15 18:00:40 UTC
Curated 2025-05-15 19:00:47 UTC