Far-right podcaster denies modern Jews related to ancient Israelites, while accusing the Israeli government of fomenting fears of Islamic terrorism in the West and carrying out “mass murder” in the Gaza Strip.
By World Israel News Staff
Far-right podcaster and former Fox News host Tucker Carlson has taken aim at Israel again, accusing the Israeli government and its supporters of engaging in a campaign to promote fear of Islamic extremism and terrorism, while he downplayed the threat of violence by radical Islamic groups.
On Friday, Carlson spoke by phone with Harrison Berger in an interview published by The American Conservative magazine.
The magazine was established by former Republican strategist and presidential hopeful Pat Buchanan to promote his isolationist brand of paleoconservatism after he split with the Republican party.
Berger, a correspondent for The American Conservative, is also a contributor at Drop Site News, a far-left anti-Israel blog established last year by two writers for The Intercept.
During the 26-minute interview, Carlson claimed that radical Islam is not a threat to the United States, accusing the Israeli government of fomenting fears of Islamism.
“I don’t know anyone in the United States in the last 24 years who’s been killed by radical Islam. You know, I know a lot of people who have killed themselves, a lot,” Carlson said.
Notably, in 2014, Steve Sotloff, a contributor to Carlson’s outlet, The Daily Caller, was beheaded by ISIS terrorists in northern Syria.
When asked by Berger where concerns in the US over Islamism and radical Islamic terror come from, Carlson responded “the Israeli government and its many defenders and informal employees in the United States.”
Carlson went on to accuse Israel, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, of “mass murder” in the Gaza Strip.
“This is how, you know, the United States has somehow tied itself to the anchor of Gaza. Like, why are we responsible for Bibi’s mass murder? Well, we are now, partly because so many Americans have been told over and over and over, like, your destiny is intertwined with Israel.”
The 56-year-old pundit said he does not view Israel as an ally, calling the Jewish state a “liability” for the United States.
“Israel’s our most important ally. There is no sense in which Israel is an important ally. It’s not even an ally. It’s a liability, but people have been told that again and again and again, or I’m an antisemite. I was, by the way, I got the award of, apparently, Antisemite of the Year two days after I gave a speech saying anti-Semitism was immoral. So what does that tell you?”
Florida Republican Rep. Randy Fine blasted Carlson for the comments, noting that a number of Americans were killed by Islamist terrorists just in the past year.
“Jews were burned alive in Colorado, two Israeli Embassy staffers were killed, and most recently two National Guardsmen were shot in D.C. – all of these heinous acts were committed by Muslim terrorists THIS YEAR.”
“To say you don’t know anyone in America in the last 24 years who has been killed by radical Islam is tone-deaf and shameful. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Tucker Carlson is not MAGA.”
Friday’s interview is the latest in a string of public statements Carlson has made about Israel and Jews, which prompted the StopAntisemitism group to name him “Antisemite of the Year” last week.
Carlson has stirred controversy this year not only with his condemnations of the State of Israel, but also his religious criticism of Judaism.
In October, Carlson promoted a return to Christian Replacement Theology – the belief that the biblical covenant between God and the Jewish people was nullified.
On December 10th, during an appearance on Theo Von’s podcast, Carlson denied that modern Jews are related “genetically” or religiously to the ancient Israelites.
“This is the Israel we read about? This is the inheritance of Abraham? How? How? Is it [the Jewish people] genetically the same? Are the people who live there now, related to the people we read about in the Old Testament?”
Falsely claiming that DNA testing is not permitted in Israel, Carlson suggested that contemporary Jews are not related to the ancient Israelites.
“If they are, we have DNA tests. Tell me how that works. Oh, those are banned. Okay, so then you tell me it’s the same religion. How is it the same religion? There’s no temple. Like, what are you even talking about?”
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