The editorial board of a prominent publication issued a fierce critique against the Heritage Foundation and its president, Kevin Roberts, accusing him of fostering antisemitism and amplifying extremist voices within the right. The piece, titled “The New Right’s New Antisemites,” warned that antisemitic rhetoric is spreading rapidly, fueled by figures like Tucker Carlson and white nationalist provocateur Nick Fuentes—while also being supported by individuals once seen as conservative pillars.
The editorial focused on Roberts’ recent video defending Carlson after the former Fox News host invited Fuentes onto his podcast for what the publication described as a “chummy” exchange. Fuentes, a self-proclaimed admirer of Adolf Hitler, used the platform to attack “organized Jewry” and “Zionist Jews,” rhetoric likened to 20th-century extremism. The Simon Wiesenthal Center labeled Fuentes a white supremacist, anti-Semite, and Holocaust denier, citing his claim that 6 million Jews could not have been murdered during the Holocaust. Fuentes also made inflammatory remarks, including “I piss on your Talmud. Jews get the f out of America.”
The publication criticized Roberts for framing the controversy as a debate over free speech rather than antisemitism, calling his stance a false equivalence and a failure of leadership. Roberts defended Carlson, stating he abhors Fuentes’ views but argued against “canceling” him. The editorial rejected this reasoning, labeling it complicity in spreading hate.
Jewish leaders condemned the response, with Morton Klein of the Zionist Organization of America calling Roberts’ remarks “a disgrace to the conservative movement.” Calls for Roberts’ resignation intensified as the controversy deepened divisions within the Heritage Foundation. Critics argued that his defense of Carlson and Fuentes endangered the integrity of conservative values, drawing parallels to historical efforts by figures like William F. Buckley Jr. to purge extremism from the right.
The editorial concluded that failing to confront antisemitic rhetoric risks undermining the conservative movement itself.
