Jeff Lax, a CUNY law professor and founder of SAFE CAMPUS, said former Fox News host Tucker Carlson has crossed into “dangerous antisemitic territory,” following Carlson’s widely criticized interview with far-right activist Nick Fuentes, an avowed Hitler admirer, yimakh shemo ve’zikhro, and Holocaust denier.

In a detailed discussion with VINnews contributor Alan Skorski, Lax said Carlson’s recent commentary and guest choices reflect a disturbing pattern. “There were warning signs early on,” Lax said, “but after the Fuentes interview and the repeated smears against Israel and Jewish conservatives, it’s clear what direction he’s taken.”

Fuentes appeared on Carlson’s digital platform in October 2025, where he was given extended, largely unchallenged time to promote conspiratorial claims about Israel and its supporters. Carlson at times echoed similar themes, particularly in criticizing Israel’s military actions in Gaza.

Carlson told viewers that “you have to judge people on their behavior, not on their blood,” before accusing Israeli leaders of suggesting Palestinians are “stained from birth.” Fuentes, in the same interview, claimed Israel views all Palestinians as inherently “guilty.”

The backlash intensified as Carlson labeled Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu an “enemy of Western civilization” and compared forms of Zionism to Nazism, saying: “Why are the Nazis bad? They’re bad for that exact same reason… Any belief system that starts by declaring one group morally superior to another violates Western values.”

The controversy also triggered turmoil within the conservative movement. After Heritage Foundation president Kevin Roberts declined to distance the organization from Carlson, several members of Heritage’s antisemitism task force — including Rabbi Yaakov Menken, attorney Mark Goldfeder, and Christian Zionist leader Laurie Cardoza Moore — resigned in protest.

Skorski noted that Carlson aggressively challenges pro-Israel guests while offering sympathetic platforms to Israel’s harshest critics. The only exception cited was an interview with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), during which Carlson repeatedly interrupted the senator’s defense of Israel.

“Carlson insists he isn’t antisemitic,” Skorski said. “But he consistently targets Jewish figures who strongly support Israel — Ben Shapiro, Mark Levin, AIPAC supporters — while giving a free pass to their most extreme opponents. He claims he’s criticizing their ‘views,’ yet he repeatedly distorts those views and amplifies their adversaries.”

The dispute marks one of the most significant breaks between Carlson and conservative Jewish leaders to date, with critics warning that his growing alignment with extremist voices poses a serious threat to the broader discourse on Israel and antisemitism.

-VIN News

Alan Skorski Reports - 03DEC2025 - PODCAST