US antisemitism envoy tells 'Post' people should understand Zionism, ‘not be ignorant about it’

US Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism, Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun, told The Jerusalem Post that Zionism must be understood through Jewish history rather than equated with racism. He criticized the UK Green Party's declaration of Zionism as racism, said the US revoked over 250,000 visas, and rejected the term 'genocide' against Israel as misuse by 'uneducated people.'

US Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism, Ambassador Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun, told The Jerusalem Post on Monday that Zionism must be understood through Jewish history rather than equated with racism. In a State Department briefing, he said more than 250,000 visas had been revoked under the Trump administration, described US efforts to change antisemitic educational material abroad, criticized the use of the term 'genocide' against Israel, and said a two-state solution could not advance while one side called for the eradication of the other. Kaploun made the comments after the Post asked whether his office was addressing a growing international misconception about the meaning of Zionism. He cited Israeli universities and hospitals where Jews, Arabs and Druze study and work together, and said 'I don't think that it's racism.' He also said the US would raise the UK Green Party's motion equating Zionism with racism, and rejected concerns that adopting the IHRA definition of antisemitism would prevent legitimate criticism of Israel. Kaploun outlined measures including visa vetting, hate-crime prosecutions, and work with Saudi Arabia to remove antisemitic content from textbooks. He sharply criticized misuse of the term genocide, questioned why a Jewish child should be called a 'baby killer,' and said the administration's immediate focus was on economic opportunity in Gaza, education, and Hamas disarmament.