Last week was a banner week for right-wing grifters who dabble in antisemitism.
For much of the past decade, many on the right viewed antisemitism as a problem exclusive to the far left. Despite shocking moments like the Charlottesville rally and absurd conspiracy theories about “Jewish space lasers” from public figures, many Jewish people found a kinship with the Republican Party on issues such as the Abraham Accords, family values and support for religious freedom.
Meanwhile, Jewish people were facing violent attacks on the streets of Democratic cities, being marginalized on college campuses and criticized in cultural discourse for their perceived privilege and lack of “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion” credentials — issues that were dismissed as purely left-wing problems.
However, in the wake of Hamas’s brutal Oct. 7 invasion of Israel, a deep rift within the conservative movement has surfaced. Prominent personalities are working to alienate Jewish supporters and reshape the party’s relationship with the Jewish community. These grifters have hijacked the conservative and Trump movements to push their own agendas, cultivating a following by originally promoting heterodox conservative positions and building their following, and then leading their audience into antisemitism and conspiratorial rabbit holes under the guise of challenging mainstream narratives imposed by the elites.
Figures like Tucker Carlson, Candace Owens and Lauren Chen are primary examples of this phenomenon.
Tucker Carlson, once a leading conservative voice on Fox News, has spiraled downward since his firing last year. He has hosted questionable figures and positioned himself as a Russian apologist, lauding superficial Potemkin village-like displays while bashing American history and role in the world.
Since Oct. 7, Carlson’s rhetoric has become even more alarming. He downplayed the Hamas attack, suggesting dual loyalty among people who care about the massacre and kidnapping of over 1,400 people when there are “domestic problems” to deal with—all while jetting around to meet with leaders in Russia, Hungary and Argentina.
Carlson accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of persecuting Christians and gave a platform to Munther Isaac, a pro-Hamas apologist, to bash Israel as an oppressor of Christians, ignoring Israel’s standing as the most tolerant society in the Middle East, and Hamas and the Palestinian Authority’s documented persecution of Christians.
Candace Owens gained prominence after 2016 as a high-profile Black conservative, eventually joining The Daily Wire. Despite defending Kanye West’s antisemitic remarks, stating, “If you are an honest person, you did not think this tweet was antisemitic,” she remained with the outlet until she departed after the Oct. 7 attack, triggered by her increasingly provocative statements and clashes with Ben Shapiro.
Since then, Owens has amplified her rhetoric, casting herself as a martyr for Christianity while accusing Jews of dual loyalty and control over America. She has spent hours delivering offensive and uninformed commentary on Israel, Jewish history and religious practices.
Her lack of understanding about Israel was evident when she wrongly claimed Muslims were restricted to living in the Muslim Quarter in Jerusalem, prompting her debate opponent to correct her, explaining that Muslims are free to live anywhere in Israel, and that the “Muslim Quarter” is simply an old name for a specific area, much like the German Colony or French Hill, which are obviously not segregated.
Owens also absurdly argued that the Allies, not the Nazis, were the true villains of World War II and mischaracterized the atomic bombing of Nagasaki as an attack on praying Catholics.
Lauren Chen, once an interesting cultural commentator on YouTube, has similarly veered off into antisemitism and conspiracy theories. She has attempted to co-opt Christianity and conservatism for her own financial gain, recently bizarrely advocating for the repeal of women’s voting rights, slamming Israel and tweeting “Christ is King” at anyone who dares notice her hypocrisy or antisemitism.
In a stunning development, a Department of Justice indictment last week revealed that Chen’s media company allegedly received millions of dollars from Russian backers to influence her commentary. This should horrify Chen. After all, she has often been vocal with her “concerns” regarding dual loyalty and financial control when it comes to Jewish people. But she has been quiet on X following the accusations.
These figures claim that Jews have dual loyalties and questionable funding, yet in some cases they are exposed as having foreign backers or an affinity for foreign powers. They accuse Jews of weaponizing antisemitism while they create false narratives about Christian persecution. While Christians are indeed persecuted in places like Nigeria and North Korea, that’s not the injustice these grifters highlight; they simply ignore persecution unless they can cast Jews as the persecutors.
It is painfully clear that the right wing has a serious problem with grifters and antisemites who exploit conservative causes for personal gain. These figures mock the values that made them influential, dragging conservative viewers and voters into fringe positions. They do not represent any iteration of the Republican Party, nor do they reflect the values of the American right. Their views are not conservatism, republicanism, pro-Western or American; they are charlatans using their platforms to spread hate and division.
It’s okay to be isolationist. Criticism of a foreign government, even a close ally like Israel, is fair — but these people aren’t engaging in good-faith criticism. They are antisemites laundering their hatred under the guise of anti-Zionism.
Their common goal is to reject American values and history, glorify our enemies and prey on an audience they believe is gullible enough to follow them into madness, while promoting antisemitism as a necessary part of their version of Christianity. Questioning the Holocaust, defending Nazis or blaming Ukraine instead of Russia’s Vladimir Putin for their current war isn’t “countercultural” or “anti-elitist” — it’s just idiotic. These figures are peddlers of ignorance, trading in outrage for profit. They deserve no platform, no attention and no credibility.
As they speak into their shrinking echo chambers and push narratives of division and hate, the true American ideals that bind us together will outlast them. Their voices will fade, just like the countless cranks and extremists before them. May it happen speedily in our days, amen.
Tzali Reicher is a political and media commentator, and the director of Notice Our Biz.