In Jewish life, disagreement is not a flaw, it is how we breathe. The foundational structure of the Talmud is argument with the schools of Hillel and Shammai debated fiercely, though I thought it as rather unfair that one side dearly always won. Rav and Abaye challenged one another with intellectual intensity and their disputes were preserved, not erased, because the Jewish tradition understands that truth is sharpened through serious conversation. From this we are sired on the principle that Rabbis can disagree, argue and even rebuke one another.
However, there is a line between principled disagreement and undermining leadership at a moment when the Jewish people face rising hostility across the globe. Before going further, let me offer something personal. Despite being a Sephardic Jew, I am not especially prone to rabbinic hero worship, I do not travel to visit graves of tzaddikim, I do not collect blessings like Panini stickers cards and after more than twenty-five years practicing law, I have seen almost every side of the human condition. Courtrooms and negotiation tables have a way of stripping away illusions and more often than I would like, I walk away disappointed.
That has not been my experience with Ambassador Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun. When a rabbi is appointed as the United States principal advisor on combating global antisemitism, that role carries double weight. It is not ceremonial or self-appointed but rather it comes with a congressional mandate to advise the President and the Secretary of State on confronting one of the most serious threats facing global Jewish communities today. Ambassador Kaploun has taken that responsibility seriously.
When he spoke openly about the role that failed integration and large-scale migration have played in the rise of antisemitism in parts of Europe, which I too have personally witnessed, millions responded. His position is certainly not fringe, it is being echoed at the highest levels of American leadership and is being whispered in the corridors of many European governments. Ambassador Kaploun is not playing with politics, he is dealing us all a large dose of clarity.
In contrast, it is deeply troubling to see a self-proclaimed European chief rabbi meeting in Munich with Alex Soros and allowing himself to be publicly paraded as a partner in efforts that many in the Jewish world view with justified concern. Leadership requires judgment, it demands discernment, it needs independence and, at the very least, compels the ability to say no when being used as a prop by questionable and adverse forces.
Jewish leadership is earned through moral steadiness and is built on judgment and courage, not optics. Ambassador Kaploun’s work speaks for itself. Within the last two-weeks he brought together Saudi and Emirati ambassadors at a Shabbat dinner attended by dozens of diplomatic representatives and senior State Department officials. The evening was not about press releases, it was about substance. It was described to me as the most meaningful example of quiet diplomacy they had ever witnessed. On one snowy Friday night in Washington DC, diplomacy happened over Kiddush and conversation with chicken soup potentially healing more than the common cold.
In Antwerp, funding for Jewish schools and synagogues has been restored. Armenia signaled its intention to adopt the IHRA working definition. Across several capitals, the Office to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism has been revitalized with new seriousness. These are not headlines but are actual, tangible results.
It is lazy writing to posit from the hip that the United States could do more and criticize from the bleachers. It is much harder to build face-to-face, sit across from ambassadors and blaze new policy. The Torah teaches that one should not chase honor and that honor pursued for its own sake has a way of fleeing. Ambassador Kaploun did not seek this position but was asked by the President to serve and like some of us, he answered. To me, that matters.
We are living through a dangerous resurgence of antisemitism. This is not the moment for personal rivalries or public grandstanding. It is not the moment for rabbis to allow themselves to be instruments of political agendas, but we have a moment for disciplined and united leadership, and we should choose wisely who we follow.
While disagreement intrinsic to our tradition, undermining those who are actually delivering results is not. After a lifetime of skepticism hard earned in courtrooms, I do not offer praise lightly but in this case, I offer it wholeheartedly. Ambassador Rabbi Kaploun has demonstrated real leadership at a time when Jewish communities need scything seriousness more than slogans, that is something in my book worth recognizing.
Robert Garson is an American attorney and international legal strategist based in Miami, Washington DC and New York. He serves as President of the American Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists and is a Presidential Appointee to the United States Holocaust Memorial Council.
In addition to his legal practice, Garson is actively engaged in public policy and Jewish communal leadership, focusing on combating antisemitism, strengthening transnational alliances, and advancing principled diplomacy in support of Jewish communities worldwide.
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