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Tucker Carlson Providing ‘Leading Platform’ for Jew-Hatred, Says Israel’s Minister of Combating Antisemitism
Tucker Carlson speaks on July 18, 2024 during the final day of the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Photo: Jasper Colt-USA TODAY via Reuters Connect
US media personality Tucker Carlson is currently providing the “leading platform” for Jew-hatred, according to Israel’s minister of diaspora affairs and combating antisemitism, Amichai Chikli.
“Congratulations to Tucker Carlson for becoming the leading platform for fringe Holocaust deniers, conspiracy theorists, and blood libel enthusiasts who oppose the State of Israel,” Chikli posted on social media on Tuesday.
Chikli’s comment came one day after Carlson, a right-wing commentator and former Fox News host, hosted economist Jeffrey Sachs for a lengthy interview in which both men gave credence to the antisemitic idea that Israel “controls” US foreign policy, among other controversial comments.
During the interview, Sachs floated the notion that former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s recently toppled regime was largely harmless and that the US opposed the authoritarian ruler “on behalf of Israel.” Sachs argued that American foreign policy hawks and the Israeli government have embarked on a joint mission to “remake the Middle East.”
“And so what happened last week in Syria was the culmination of a long-term effort by Israel to reshape the Middle East in its image,” Sachs said, claiming that Assad’s fall was largely orchestrated by the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) because “Israel has run American foreign policy in the Middle East for 30 years.”
Sachs continued rattling off a series of unsubstantiated conspiracy theories regarding Israel. He suggested that Israel also encouraged America to start the Iraq War in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and asserted that the Jewish state has abandoned the concept of “land for peace,” which Sachs claimed would yield the establishment of a Palestinian state. He also said that Israel has masterminded a plan to push the US into a military confrontation with Iran
Sachs, an economist with an extensive track-record of anti-Israel rhetoric, criticized the former Obama administration’s antagonism toward the Syrian government, claiming that the country was not a “threat” to US interests. He stated that America only implemented anti-Assad policies to benefit Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s goal to “control the Palestinian people” and prevent the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.
“Syria was a normal, functioning country at the time, despite whatever you read, whatever propaganda,” Sachs said.
Assad, who was closely allied with Iran and Russia, was widely considered to be one of the world’s most brutal and ruthless dictators. He has been accused of killing civilians in chemical attacks, forcing Syrians into notoriously brutal prisons on specious charges, and dropping indiscriminate bombs on the county’s population.
On Monday, the head of a US-based Syrian advocacy organization said that a mass grave outside of Damascus contained the bodies of at least 100,000 people killed by Assad’s former government.
Assad fled the capital of Damascus earlier this month as a coalition of rebel groups stormed the capital, ending his family’s five-decade rule.
During Monday’s interview on Carlson’s eponymous show on social media, Sachs claimed that Israel provokes wars against any neighboring government that supports the Palestinian people, suggesting that Jerusalem has attempted to thwart pro-Palestinian governments because they hinder the Jewish state’s alleged goal of territorial expansion.
Sachs stated that “[Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu’s crazy ambition” is to complete the establishment of “greater Israel,” which he described as at the bare minimum controlling or annexing the West Bank, Gaza, and Golan Heights and in a more extreme version seizing all the territory from the Nile to the Euphrates River.
“This greater Israel idea says ‘we can’t make peace with the Palestinians. So anyone that supports the Palestinians is by definition a mortal threat to us.’ And when you have a mortal threat, you must destroy it.”
Sachs has previously claimed that US lawmakers are influenced by a so-called “Israel lobby” and repeatedly blamed Israel and the United States for implementing “crushing sanctions” on the Assad regime and attempting to “seize” Syrian oil.
Beyond Israel, Sachs has rationalized Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, claiming that the prospect of NATO expansion into Ukraine threatened Russia’s safety. To resolve the conflict, Sachs has suggested that Ukraine surrender wide swaths of its territory to Russia in exchange for peace.
Since his 2023 ouster from Fox News, Carlson has adopted a pattern of platforming guests on his podcast deeply hostile to Israel who have also pushed antisemitic conspiracy theories. Carlson drew outrage in September when he hosted a so-called “historian” who downplayed the horrors of the Holocaust and pushed Nazi talking points about World War II.
Carlson also sparked backlash last year after he compared Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelensky, who is Jewish, to a “rat” and asserted that he “persecutes Christians.”
The post Tucker Carlson Providing ‘Leading Platform’ for Jew-Hatred, Says Israel’s Minister of Combating Antisemitism first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Israel Says Missile Launched by Yemen’s Houthis ‘Most Likely’ Intercepted
Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi addresses followers via a video link at the al-Shaab Mosque, formerly al-Saleh Mosque, in Sanaa, Yemen, Feb. 6, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
The Israeli army said on Saturday that a missile fired from Yemen towards Israeli territory had been “most likely successfully intercepted,” while Yemen’s Houthi forces claimed responsibility for the launch.
Israel has threatened Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement – which has been attacking Israel in what it says is solidarity with Gaza – with a naval and air blockade if its attacks on Israel persist.
The Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the group was responsible for Saturday’s attack, adding that it fired a missile towards the southern Israeli city of Beersheba.
Since the start of Israel’s war in Gaza in October 2023, the Houthis, who control most of Yemen, have been firing at Israel and at shipping in the Red Sea, disrupting global trade.
Most of the dozens of missiles and drones they have launched have been intercepted or fallen short. Israel has carried out a series of retaliatory strikes.
The post Israel Says Missile Launched by Yemen’s Houthis ‘Most Likely’ Intercepted first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Iran Holds Funeral for Commanders and Scientists Killed in War with Israel
People attend the funeral procession of Iranian military commanders, nuclear scientists and others killed in Israeli strikes, in Tehran, Iran, June 28, 2025. Photo: Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
Large crowds of mourners dressed in black lined streets in Iran’s capital Tehran as the country held a funeral on Saturday for top military commanders, nuclear scientists and some of the civilians killed during this month’s aerial war with Israel.
At least 16 scientists and 10 senior commanders were among those mourned at the funeral, according to state media, including armed forces chief Major General Mohammad Bagheri, Revolutionary Guards commander General Hossein Salami, and Guards Aerospace Force chief General Amir Ali Hajizadeh.
Their coffins were driven into Tehran’s Azadi Square adorned with their photos and national flags, as crowds waved flags and some reached out to touch the caskets and throw rose petals onto them. State-run Press TV showed an image of ballistic missiles on display.
Mass prayers were later held in the square.
State TV said the funeral, dubbed the “procession of the Martyrs of Power,” was held for a total of 60 people killed in the war, including four women and four children.
In attendance were President Masoud Pezeshkian and other senior figures including Ali Shamkhani, who was seriously wounded during the conflict and is an adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as well as Khamenei’s son Mojtaba.
“Today, Iranians, through heroic resistance against two regimes armed with nuclear weapons, protected their honor and dignity, and look to the future prouder, more dignified, and more resolute than ever,” Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, who also attended the funeral, said in a Telegram post.
There was no immediate statement from Khamenei, who has not appeared publicly since the conflict began. In past funerals, he led prayers over the coffins of senior commanders ahead of public ceremonies broadcast on state television.
Israel launched the air war on June 13, attacking Iranian nuclear facilities and killing top military commanders as well as civilians in the worst blow to the Islamic Republic since the 1980s war with Iraq.
Iran retaliated with barrages of missiles on Israeli military sites, infrastructure and cities. The United States entered the war on June 22 with strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.
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Israel, the only Middle Eastern country widely believed to have nuclear weapons, said it aimed to prevent Tehran from developing its own nuclear weapons.
Iran denies having a nuclear weapons program. The U.N. nuclear watchdog has said it has “no credible indication” of an active, coordinated weapons program in Iran.
Bagheri, Salami and Hajizadeh were killed on June 13, the first day of the war. Bagheri was being buried at the Behesht Zahra cemetery outside Tehran mid-afternoon on Saturday. Salami and Hajizadeh were due to be buried on Sunday.
US President Donald Trump said on Friday that he would consider bombing Iran again, while Khamenei, who has appeared in two pre-recorded video messages since the start of the war, has said Iran would respond to any future US attack by striking US military bases in the Middle East.
A senior Israeli military official said on Friday that Israel had delivered a “major blow” to Iran’s nuclear project. On Saturday, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said in a statement that Israel and the US “failed to achieve their stated objectives” in the war.
According to Iranian health ministry figures, 610 people were killed on the Iranian side in the war before a ceasefire went into effect on Tuesday. More than 4,700 were injured.
Activist news agency HRANA put the number of killed at 974, including 387 civilians.
Israel’s health ministry said 28 were killed in Israel and 3,238 injured.
The post Iran Holds Funeral for Commanders and Scientists Killed in War with Israel first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Pro-Palestinian Rapper Leads ‘Death to the IDF’ Chant at English Music festival
Revellers dance as Avril Lavigne performs on the Other Stage during the Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm, in Pilton, Somerset, Britain, June 30, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Dylan Martinez
i24 News – Chants of “death to the IDF” were heard during the English Glastonbury music festival on Saturday ahead of the appearance of the pro-Palestinian Irish rappers Kneecap.
One half of punk duo based Bob Vylan (who both use aliases to protect their privacy) shouted out during a section of their show “Death to the IDF” – the Israeli military. Videos posted on X (formerly Twitter) show the crowd responding to and repeating the cheer.
This comes after officials had petitioned the music festival to drop the band. The rap duo also expressed support for the following act, Kneecap, who the BCC refused to show live after one of its members, Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh – better known by stage name Mo Chara – was charged with a terror offense.
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