World
Trump’s antisemitism envoy rebukes European rabbi, drawing praise from Elon Musk
JTA – A disagreement over how to define the sources of rising antisemitism in Europe escalated into a public clash this week between two prominent Jewish leaders, with technology billionaire Elon Musk intervening to back the United States (US) government’s antisemitism envoy over a prominent European rabbi.
The dispute centres on remarks made on Wednesday, 21 January, at the World Economic Forum by Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt, the president of the Conference of European Rabbis, during a panel discussion on antisemitism, extremism, and social cohesion.
Responding to a question about the surge of antisemitism in Germany and beyond, Goldschmidt said the 7 October 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel had triggered a dramatic global rise in antisemitic incidents, including what he described as organised and state-sponsored activity on university campuses and in public spaces.
Goldschmidt then linked broader political developments in Europe to immigration-related anxieties.
“I think the rise of the extreme right in many European countries is a response to the insecurity felt by the so-called old Europeans regarding the new immigrants who came from the Middle East,” he said.
He went on to argue that combating antisemitism and Islamophobia together was in the shared interest of Jewish and Muslim communities, pointing to past interfaith initiatives he said had helped promote social cohesion.
Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun, the US special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism, publicly criticised Goldschmidt’s remarks on X, calling them a misreading of the drivers of contemporary antisemitism in Europe. The intervention marked one of Kaploun’s first major public statements since his Senate confirmation in December.
“Blaming ‘old Europe’ for the present surge in antisemitism is disgraceful,” Kaploun wrote, arguing instead that mass migration has played a significant role in recent antisemitic violence and threats to Jewish safety.
“I am proud to serve in an administration that understands that mass migration is a huge driver of antisemitism,” Kaploun wrote. “It creates dramatic social changes, and threatens the safety of all citizens. This administration, led by President [Donald] Trump and Secretary of State [Marco] Rubio, recognises and confronts today’s challenges with clarity. Mass migration itself threatens the safety of Jews and all communities.”
Musk, the owner of X, amplified Kaploun’s critique by reposting his comments and replying, “Exactly. Thank you for speaking up,” a move that quickly broadened the dispute beyond Jewish communal circles.
Goldschmidt responded within hours, rejecting the characterisation of his remarks and saying they had been taken out of context. He said he didn’t blame European culture for antisemitism and reiterated that he views antisemitism as stemming from multiple ideological sources, including the far right, the far left, and radical Islamist violence.
“I never blamed ‘old Europe’ for the current rise in antisemitism,” Goldschmidt wrote, adding that his Davos comments were intended to explain political reactions to immigration, not to excuse antisemitic attacks.
The exchange highlights a growing divide among Jewish leaders over how to frame antisemitism amid polarised debates about immigration, integration, and public safety, debates that have increasingly spilled into partisan politics in the US.
Kaploun’s emphasis on migration echoes language used by US Vice-President JD Vance, who said in December that reducing immigration was “the single most significant thing” the US could do to curb antisemitism while dismissing claims of rising antisemitic sentiment within the Republican Party.
The dispute also reflects longstanding institutional tensions. Kaploun is affiliated with the Chabad-Lubavitch movement, which has grown into a dominant force in Jewish communal life in Russia and parts of Europe. Goldschmidt, a former chief rabbi of Moscow who left Russia after refusing to endorse the war in Ukraine, represents a European rabbinic establishment that has at times clashed with Chabad over authority and representation.
Gali
January 28, 2026 at 3:57 am
While there are obviously many details missing & quite possibly many biases added to this story,
and if there could’ve been time (which there probably wasn’t), the best would’ve been to question & discuss with the original speaker (Rabbi Goldschmidt) to ascertain exactly what he actually meant – I don’t think the title is quite fair:
Rabbi Kaploun’s apparent remarks don’t appear antisemitic at all. Just the opposite!!!
One fault I see with R Goldschmidt’s initial speech as recorded here, is to compare antisemitISM with IslamaPHOBIA.
They are not the same & their root causes are not the same, nor can they be tackled the same way! Antisemitism in old Europe was fueled by Xian & evolution conspiracy theories created by evil people against an innocent people. Islamophobia is not even a fear (fobia) at all: it is the correct reaction to the terrorism of Islamicists: they are criminals. No death-wish; just send them packing back to their own countries which they’ve messed up!
Allowing mass Islamic immigration into Europe could be a result of guilt over-“correcting” to the holocaust (like a driver over-correcting his mistake & having an accident as a result), with Europeans wanting to place ancient Jewish immigrants to Europe on the same plain with more recent Islamicist-immigration, as if to say, “Let’s not treat Muslims as we treated Jews”. But it is deceptive & plays on the general lawlessness of people: it is easier for them to accept lawless Islamicists than lawful Jews!
These terms are so obviously not the same! So Trump’s envoy is right: the only way to curb antisemitism in the West, is to curb & reverse antisemitic immigration!
While there are certainly a few Muslims with whom there can be interfaith dialogues, etc., being “nice” to Islamicists which make up the majority of Muslim migrants & their descendents, & thinking this will aid “social cohesion”, is a tried & tested recipe for disaster. It’s insanity to keep doing things the same while expecting different results!