Right-wing media figure Tucker Carlson's flirtation with antisemitism isn't new, but this past week, he ignited a storm, shaking one of America's most important conservative organizations. At the center of the turmoil stands the Heritage Foundation – the most important research institute on the American Right, now facing an unprecedented crisis marked by resignation demands, departures, and internal revolt.
There has been speculation that @Heritage is distancing itself from @TuckerCarlson over the past 24 hours.
I want to put that to rest right now—here are my thoughts: pic.twitter.com/F8bcxBIqKI
— Kevin Roberts (@KevinRobertsTX) October 30, 2025
Carlson's shift happened gradually – since Fox News showed him the door two years ago, he began sharpening his tone against Israel and adopted a voice perceived as "isolationist." At first, it was the friendly interview with Putin, then the conversation with Iran's president, and a sympathetic interview with antisemitic conservative commentator Candace Owens. Carlson called for revoking citizenship from anyone who served in the IDF, claimed 9/11 was an inside job, and strongly opposed all American aid to Israel in the war against Iran.
Last week, Carlson interviewed Nick Fuentes, a highly influential white nationalist streamer who doesn't shy from overt antisemitism, racism, and crude chauvinism. Fuentes is well known in American far-right circles, and regularly leads his supporters – the "Groyper Army" – in attacks on those perceived as too soft or too moderate. The man previously claimed Holocaust victim numbers are exaggerated, said women "want to be raped," and, after the recent election, published the slogan "your body, my choice," a parody of the pro-choice slogan.
In the interview with Carlson, he proudly admitted he "admires" Stalin, explained why fighting "organized global Jewry" is necessary, and contemptuously mocked Christian Israel supporters – Carlson's greatest "enemies" since he adopted his new line. The interview sparked outrage in the conservative Right – from Ted Cruz, who called Fuentes a "Nazi" to Ben Shapiro who condemned Carlson's silence. But then something nobody expected happened – Kevin Roberts, president of the prestigious Heritage Foundation, posted a video warmly defending his "close friend" Carlson. Roberts came out swinging against the "venomous coalition" attacking Carlson, and explained you can criticize Israel without being antisemitic – while using terms like "the globalist class" – a familiar antisemitic dog whistle.
No to Ben Shapiro
No to the neocons
No to dual citizens
No to Benjamin Netanyahu
No to cancel culture
No to genocide and ethnic cleansing
No to the Christ-hating Talmud
No to Greater Israel
No to our Jewish oligarchyAMERICA FIRST. AMERICA FOREVER 🇺🇸 https://t.co/XwvzilknID
— Nicholas J. Fuentes (@NickJFuentes) November 3, 2025
The shock in American Jewry, especially the conservative community, was enormous – and to understand why, you need to know the Heritage Foundation's tremendous power. The foundation was founded in 1973 and has become the most influential conservative think tank in Washington, serving as an American counterpart to the Kohelet Forum, with an annual budget exceeding $100 million and employing hundreds of staff members. It shaped American government policy from Ronald Reagan to Donald Trump and led "Project 2025," which sought to outline the incoming Trump administration's policy framework, quite successfully.
At a time when American Jews face unprecedented attacks from the far-right and far-left, what appeared as overt antisemitic currents penetrating Republican Party institutions shocked many. The response was immediate – eight Jewish organizations abandoned the foundation's "Project Esther," including the Coalition for Jewish Values and the Zionist Organization of America. The National Task Force for Combating Antisemitism, operating under foundation sponsorship, announced it was severing ties and moving to independent operation. Mort Klein, ZOA president, issued a clear ultimatum – if Roberts doesn't apologize, sever ties with Carlson, and resign, the organization will cease all cooperation.
Senator Ted Cruz called Fuentes a "Nazi" and described Carlson's silence, "If you sit there with someone who says Adolf Hitler was very, very cool, and that their mission is to combat and defeat global Jewry, and you say nothing, then you are a coward and you are complicit in that evil."
Inside the institute itself, no less, a genuine internal revolt unfolded. Five members of the antisemitism task force resigned in protest, and Roberts' chief of staff "offered his resignation," which was quickly accepted. Wednesday saw a stormy employee meeting whose recording was leaked to the media, with veteran staff attacking Roberts with unprecedented sharpness. Roberts opened the meeting with an apology, "I made a mistake, I disappointed you and the institution. Period." He admitted the expression "venomous coalition" was "a terrible word choice, especially for our Jewish colleagues and friends," and promised to correct but not resign. "You showed staggering lack of courage and lack of judgment," senior researcher Amy Swearer told him, "I have no confidence in your leadership."
The leaked meeting recording reveals the depth of fury at the foundation. A veteran employee threw at Roberts, "Buckley (William F. Buckley, a founder of modern American conservatism) understood we must expel the crazies and purge the movement of antisemitism – that's what built American conservatism, and now we're reversing the entire process." Daniel Flesch, a Jew working at the institute's National Security Center, described "difficult days when the institution is unable to say out loud that Tucker is antisemitic, and we don't want to identify with him." One young female employee actually defended the video and claimed that, as a Catholic, "Christian Zionism" is heresy. A clear hint that, despite the strong reaction among most employees, even inside the foundation itself, the "civil war" – centered on the struggle over Israel – is seeping in.
The Heritage Foundation crisis is a symptom of a deeper rift in the American Right. On one side stand the veteran conservatives and traditional Israel supporters; on the other grows a new generation of isolationist populists who see Israel as a burden and supporting it as a betrayal of "America First."
Tucker Carlson explains why Zohran Mamdani is winning:
"That guy [Zohran Mamdani] was the ONLY person in the New York City Mayor's debate to say he wanted to focus on New York City. All the other candidates said, 'Israel.'
America is done with lsraeI
pic.twitter.com/qdIl7biu6a— ADAM (@AdameMedia) October 29, 2025
Horseshoe theory speaks of a situation where extreme ends meet – and in today's America, they're meeting around shared open hatred of Israel, and in secret even more. For the vast majority of American Jews, who see Zionism and connection to Israel as a central component of their identity, these two horseshoe ends become a hammer and an anvil, with the Jewish community finding itself between them.
