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The great antisemitism rug pull
The declining fortunes of Ben Shapiro’s Daily Wire media empire, which announced layoffs last week amid falling viewership across its network of shows on Youtube, is the latest evidence of a sudden erosion in the alliance between Jews and conservatives.
The partnership emerged around Donald Trump’s first election as Jews concerned about ascendant anti-Zionism were desperately casting about for allies. Conservatives realized they could lean into ironclad support for Israel while bashing their political opponents for being antisemitic. Among them: former Rep. Liz Cheney, who famously sought to brand Democrats as the party of antisemitism, infanticide and socialism during her stint in charge of campaign strategy for House Republicans.
It was an appealing line of attack because it seized on something liberals claimed to care about — minority rights — and offered evidence that the left was morally bankrupt. “Is it a mere accident that the loudest proponents of intersectionality also tend to be obsessed with ‘Jewish privilege’ and the alleged depredations of the Jewish state?” Sohrab Ahmari, a right-wing journalist, wrote in 2018.
Cheney, Ahmari and others making similar arguments were extending an olive branch to Jews from a conservative movement that had been plagued by antisemitism coming from its own “alt-right,” offering to welcome Jews into the patchwork of constituencies who they felt had been unfairly targeted by a progressive compulsion to split the world into “oppressors” and the “oppressed.”
This offer came with a bonus: Where progressives were pressuring Jews to move left on Israel, and sometimes applying offensive litmus tests around Zionism, these new partnerships with conservatives would require no such sacrifices or discomfort.
Many influential Jewish leaders were receptive.
David Bernstein, chief of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs during the first Trump administration, authored a book called “Woke Antisemitism,” while both the American Jewish Committee and Anti-Defamation League began raising the alarm about ethnic studies curricula in public schools and diversity initiatives at colleges and universities.
“End DEI,” Bari Weiss wrote in a Tablet essay shortly after Oct. 7.
And by the time that Deborah Lipstadt, the Holocaust scholar and longtime liberal, left her post as President Joe Biden’s ambassador for countering antisemitism, she had become convinced that conservatives were important allies for Jews concerned about antisemitism.
The second Trump administration carried this partnership to its logical conclusion. Official actions now focus on Jews — at least those who support Israel in traditional ways — alongside Christians, white people and men as groups that need government protection, in the form of executive orders, investigations and federal lawsuits.
Now the obvious risk in embracing a political framework that places “antisemitism” into the same category as “reverse racism” is that liberals who think discrimination against white people is fake may start to believe the same about discrimination toward Jews.
And, over the past three years, Democrats have become far more likely to say that claims of antisemitism are used to delegitimize political opponents and critics of Israel rather than to describe actual discrimination.
Now one could argue that this was something of a fair trade. If Democrats were always going to turn against Israel and abandon concern for antisemitism as a result, it might make sense to throw your lot in with the one political party that still supports Israel and is willing to defend Jews, even if it means losing credibility with old allies.
Yet, to return to The Daily Wire’s struggles, the Republican Party seems to be in the midst of an antisemitism rug pull: Just as major Jewish leaders decided to start working in earnest with the conservative movement and burn bridges with liberals, the MAGA vanguard has decided that Jews may not belong in their coalition after all.
Shapiro, an Orthodox Jewish lawyer who rose to prominence first as a columnist and later as a campus speaker and podcaster before starting The Daily Wire in 2015, has found himself on the losing end of a battle with Tucker Carlson for the future of the conservative movement.
Shapiro has denounced the conspiracism and gutter antisemitism animating figures like Nick Fuentes and Candace Owens, whose career he helped launch at The Daily Wire before she departed amid a bitter feud.
Carlson has countered by arguing against “cancel culture” and courting the far-right audience Fuentes has built, while articulating a political vision based on Christian nationalism that blames Israel for many of the Trump administration’s failures. “Tucker is obviously setting himself up to be the redeemer figure in the ‘the Jews puppeted/betrayed Trump’ MAGA narrative that is emerging on the right,” David Austin Walsh, a scholar of the far right, argued on social media over the weekend.
He seems to be winning.
The country’s two largest prediction markets place Carlson just behind JD Vance and Marco Rubio as the most likely to become the next Republican presidential nominee. Shapiro has lost 10,000 YouTube subscribers over the past month, according to the analytics platform VidIQ, while Carlson and Owens have gained a combined 110,000.
It’s not clear how large The Daily Wire layoffs were. Owens, a notoriously unreliable source with an axe to grind, claimed they fired 60% of the staff, which a company official called “insane” without offering an alternate figure. But the layoffs are not the first portent of hard times there; they follow the firing of CEO Jeremy Boering last spring, which was accompanied by a previous round of layoffs.
Younger Republicans who power much of the online conservative universe seem to be looking for something more crass than what Shapiro has to offer, at least when it comes to Jews: Nearly 40% of Republican voters believe the Holocaust was “greatly exaggerated,” a figure that grows among those under 50 — 25% of whom personally describe themselves as prejudiced against Jews, according to a Manhattan Institute study.
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The Trump administration is continuing to use legal measures to crack down on what it describes as antisemitism, yet it’s hard to see how its efforts persist much longer in a movement that is not only skeptical of special protections for minorities but that also harbors a growing distrust of Jews. The MAGA movement has seen faltering support for Israel amid the Iran war that Trump launched with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with a recent poll finding that 57% of Republicans under 50 had an unfavorable view of Israel.
Meanwhile, a growing segment of the populist left seems to have decided that they don’t need to worry about Jews. Ben Lorber, who has long been an astute observer of antisemitism from within the left, recently described his frustration with the willingness of leftists to work with anti-Zionists on the far right even when those conservatives seem to be driven by antisemitism rather than concern for Palestinian rights.
“Many of the louder voices on the left argue, in so many words, that we shouldn’t worry so much about the antisemitic kernel of America First anti-Zionism because we shouldn’t capitulate to ‘Jewish feelings,’” Lorber wrote on Substack. “It’s all extremely cursed.”
It’s tempting to throw one’s hands up at the increasingly lonely position of Jews in American politics and chalk it up to our eternal fate. Some have even cautiously celebrated this newfound political homelessness. “Choosing a side has never worked for Jews because when you get out of the hall to power, you will be identified as the exemplar of that political attitude that can now be destroyed,” Yehuda Kurtzer, president of the Shalom Hartman Institute, said at a recent event.
But it may be too late for Jews to stay neutral.
Jewish leaders had a choice to make as they faced growing animosity toward Zionism among their longtime partners on the left. They could have engaged in the excruciating work of reconciling their otherwise liberal values with their support for an increasingly illiberal Israel, while simultaneously trying to get their progressive allies to develop a more nuanced understanding of antisemitism and do a better job of including Jews in their coalition. Or, they could follow Shapiro’s path: leave their views on Israel untouched and try to convince conservatives, who normally believe that protections for minorities inherently disadvantage the majority, that they should make a special and singular exception for Jews.
There may have been a third option, closer to what Kurtzer suggests, of simply trying to remain above the fray. But Jews — or at least the mainline organizations intended to represent us — did choose a side by trying to build a fragile alliance with conservatives in the mold of Shapiro. Now it seems more and more likely that the result is that no political movement will be interested in standing up to antisemitism just as domestic political instability and violence reach a fever pitch.
The post The great antisemitism rug pull appeared first on The Forward.
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Palestinian-American to challenge John Fetterman for Senate seat in 2028
(JTA) — Ahmed Moor, a Palestinian-American writer who has worked with anti-Zionists, is the first Democrat to challenge Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman in the 2028 primary.
Fetterman, who has faced sharp criticism from within the Democratic Party for his staunch support for Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, has yet to announce whether he plans to run in 2028. A defeat or retirement would remove one of the Democratic caucus’s most pro-Israel voices.
Moor, 42, enters the playing field with radically different positions on Israel, and on foreign policy in general, from those Fetterman has promoted. Claiming that the United States “funds wars based on corruption and lies and has turned its back on its own people,” Moor pledged on his campaign website to ensure “this never happens again.”
Moor, born in Gaza, moved as a child to Philadelphia, where he earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania. He completed a master’s degree in public policy from Harvard. He switched from finance to journalism, reporting in Beirut and Egypt for The Guardian and other outlets, and co-editing the book “After Zionism: One State for Israel and Palestine.” He also spent many years in Jordan, where he launched a peer-to-peer lending organization, before moving back to Philadelphia in 2021.
“A few years ago my birthplace was turned to rubble in a genocide funded by our tax dollars,” Moor stated, saying that this has occurred “with the support of politicians on both sides of the aisle who can’t find money for transit or removing asbestos from our schools.”
Moor, who has served on the Philadelphia Democratic City Committee, has never held public office. He says he is determined to address corruption, affordability, foreign policy and constitutional authority, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer, which first reported his candidacy.
Moor told the Inquirer that he was “not really running against Fetterman” but instead “running for the rule of law.” He acknowledged that he would face an “uphill battle” against Fetterman, who took office in January 2023.
Fetterman has irked some fellow Democrats by siding with Republicans on numerous issues, especially on Israel. He has also drawn praise from the pro-Israel community and Israel’s leadership. With Democrats securing a Senate majority of at least 54 seats, including two independents who caucus with the party, Democratic leadership will be less dependent on Fetterman’s vote when the new Congress convenes in January.
This article originally appeared on JTA.org.
The post Palestinian-American to challenge John Fetterman for Senate seat in 2028 appeared first on The Forward.
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Northwestern launches civil rights investigation into club that banned pro-Israel group from its food festival
Northwestern University’s Office of Civil Rights is investigating a club that said it canceled its annual “Cultural Food Fest” after students objected to its initial inclusion of a pro-Israel student group.
Spoon University Northwestern, a student-run food magazine, wrote in an email to students that it was calling off its Nov. 6 food festival because of concerns about the participation of Wildcats for Israel, a club housed within Hillel that describes itself as focused on Israeli culture and society.
“There’s been a lot of disappointment expressed in and around Hillel today,” Michael Simon, executive director of Northwestern Hillel, told the Forward on Friday. “What should be an opportunity for connecting across differences and having really positive engagement got turned into a sort of political catfight.”
Students involved with Wildcats for Israel were initially “really excited” to participate in the fest, Simon said.
But amid student backlash, Spoon reversed course and disinvited Wildcats for Israel, Simon said. In a statement posted to Instagram, Spoon cited “the ongoing genocide in Gaza” to explain the group’s removal.
Yet even that exclusion was not enough for some student organizations. Northwestern’s Asian Pacific American Coalition; Alianza, the Latinx student alliance; and the Middle Eastern North African Student Association, issued a joint statement saying that they were withdrawing from the fest because of the original inclusion of Wildcats for Israel.
“A ‘culture’ born from the active land theft and genocide of Palestinians should not be recognized,” the student groups wrote on Instagram.
Spoon then cancelled the event altogether.
Now, Spoon’s status as an officially registered student organization has been frozen while the investigation into allegations of discrimination is being conducted, a Northwestern spokesperson wrote in an email to the Forward.
The investigation comes as Northwestern faces additional obligations to address and report allegations of antisemitism as part of its $75 million settlement with the Trump administration in November 2025. As part of the agreement, the university pledged that its Office of Civil Rights would publish annual reports with data about complaints of antisemitism, including investigative and disciplinary actions taken.
Spoon did not respond to the Forward’s request for comment.
In its email to students, Spoon said Wildcats for Israel was removed because of its status as “a political action group, not a cultural organization.”
Simon pushed back on that characterization of the club. “They’re not engaged in political advocacy or political work, certainly not in their current iteration,” Simon said. “They’re really focused on doing cultural and educational programming, connecting with Israel and with the Israeli people.”
The idea that Wildcats for Israel is considered political, while other student organizations opposing Israel are not, “appears to be a real double standard,” Simon said.
Still, Simon said the cancellation did not prevent Wildcats for Israel from having its own cultural food event — inviting students to the Hillel building on Friday to talk about what had happened over slushies in two flavors popular in Israel, limonana and iced cafe.
“They’re really turning to a place of being in community and supporting one another,” Simon said.
The post Northwestern launches civil rights investigation into club that banned pro-Israel group from its food festival appeared first on The Forward.
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Israel’s love affair with Trump may be over – with no other suitor in sight
Israelis were among the few groups outside America who genuinely liked Donald Trump, and they had persuaded themselves that the feeling was mutual. Now, as the American president pledges to terminate military assistance and blames Israel’s unpopularity for the Republicans’ electoral humiliation, they are confronting the possibility that their greatest supposed friend may become one of their gravest strategic liabilities.
In a 2025 Pew Research Center survey of 24 countries, 69% of Israelis expressed confidence in Trump to do the right thing in world affairs. Israelis saw a champion where much of the democratic world saw a menace.
Israelis, who tend to be more direct and plainspoken than other Western societies, were less inclined to be scandalized by Trump’s personal shortcomings. But mainly it was policy that made him so popular: Trump moved the American embassy to Jerusalem, recognized Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights and cultivated a conspicuously warm relationship with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, despite his increasing toxicity around the world. Trump opposed Hamas and ultimately joined Israel in attacking the Iranian regime.
Still, warning signs were there – in the displays of U.S. dominance over decisions in the 2025 and 2026 Iran confrontations and in the Election Day announcement last week that Trump plans to terminate roughly $4 billion in annual military assistance to Israel this year.
The announcement threatened a cornerstone of Israeli security planning established under Barack Obama, whose administration negotiated a 10-year, $38 billion assistance agreement extending through 2028.
The precise legal and financial consequences remain uncertain, not least because Congress controls appropriations. But the political significance is unmistakable: The president whom Israelis regarded as their most dependable protector was proposing to dismantle an arrangement that even administrations regarded as unfriendly to Netanyahu had sustained.
Moreover, the aid is far more than a gift. Its greatest value is not financial but geopolitical: the unmistakable message to Israel’s enemies that Washington stands behind it.
As the dismal election results became clear, Vice President JD Vance highlighted a supposed demand among disaffected Republican voters to “change our relationship to Israel,” placing the alliance itself among the issues requiring political reassessment.
In Sunday’s 60 Minutes interview, Trump went further, identifying what he called a “great dislike” for Israel as one factor in the Republican electoral defeat.
Trump certainly has a point. A 2026 Pew survey found that 60% of Americans viewed Israel unfavorably, up from 42% in 2022, including 57% of Republicans under 50. Gallup found that, for the first time in its 25-year tracking, Americans were no longer more sympathetic to Israelis than Palestinians: 36% favored Israelis, compared with 41% for Palestinians. The longstanding bipartisan consensus is unraveling. Among younger Americans, the situation is even worse.
Whether the reason is a global propaganda campaign against Zionism, social media manipulation, Netanyahu and his noxious far-right allies, or Israel’s actions in Gaza and the West Bank are almost beside the point – the collapse in Western and U.S. opinion is undeniable.
Trump also asserted that “those countries that we’ve protected” from Iran – meaning Israel – “wouldn’t exist” without the U.S. and “are going to pay us back any and all costs that we’ve had for the war,” which was another major surprise and mystery that caught Israelis off-guard.
Whether this implies a demand that Israel reimburse the United States, and for precisely what, remains unclear. What is clear is that Trump has begun discussing a relationship Israelis considered existential in the language of electoral liabilities and financial transactions.
Writing in Maariv on Monday, veteran Washington correspondent Shlomo Shamir reported that senior Washington commentators described Netanyahu as having become effectively persona non grata in Trump’s inner circle – and that Trump’s seeming affinity for Netanyahu was “more a media relationship than a genuine friendship.”
The change in atmosphere in Israel has been extraordinary.
On Monday, Israeli television seemed preoccupied with little beyond the coalition negotiations following Israel’s election and the growing fear that the country might lose its most important international relationship.
Appearing on Channel 13, I argued that another Netanyahu government would have faced economic sanctions from Europe and even serious discussion of an American weapons embargo. This provoked very little disagreement.
“Netanyahu put all his chips on Trump, and it’s falling apart,” observed anchor Daniel Zilberstein. “It wasn’t only him, but the entire system,” replied Omri Rolls, an expert in monitoring and countering anti-Israel propaganda. “We put all our attention on the United States. Europe, we’ve completely given up on. All over the world, important elements are simply not on Israel’s agenda.”
The alarm was loud and clear this week across the Israeli political and diplomatic establishment.
Tovah Herzl, a former Israeli diplomat who served in Washington as liaison to Congress, captured the predicament in the title of her article in Maariv: “Netanyahu Bet on Trump — and Israel Could Lose Far More Than Money.”
“Israelis are unaware of the depth of the hole into which the country has fallen,” wrote Yedidia Stern, a leading expert on Israel-U.S. relations, in Ynet. “The hourglass has been turned over: we have two years to regain the legitimacy that has been lost” before a Democrat potentially wins the White House.
Ashley Perry, a former senior Israeli government adviser, wrote in The Jerusalem Post that Israel must urgently start arguing its case – “consistently demonstrating what Americans gain” in intelligence cooperation, joint defense development, investment, trade and Israeli contributions to scientific and technological progress.
Beyond all that, there is a general understanding that Israel will need some real policy changes – for example, cracking down on Jewish extremists in the West Bank. And it will need to court the U.S. Democrats and the Europeans once more – as it did decades ago.
There is a grim lesson at play, and it has more to do with morality than ethics.
Israelis are people badly traumatized by the conflicts that implacable enemies have forced on them. Over the decades, however, they took some pride nonetheless in what they believed was a moral high ground. It’s safe to say this has eroded, at least somewhat.
In a reflection of that erosion, one of Trump’s greatest attractions to Israelis – sadly enough – was his indifference to Palestinian human rights, an issue that had long complicated Israel’s relations with more conventional Western leaders. Trump was clearly untroubled by the West Bank occupation, the expansion of settlements or the absence of a credible political horizon for millions of Palestinians. In February 2025, he even proposed removing Gaza’s Palestinian population in its entirety and placing the territory under American control, a scheme whose breathtaking implications seemed scarcely to concern him.
Many Israelis overlooked the dark aspects of such absurdities, seeing only evidence of exceptional friendship. They overlooked the possibility that a president so utterly uninterested in Palestinian rights might also prove indifferent to Israeli interests whenever they ceased to coincide with his own.
They celebrated his willingness to discard diplomatic conventions – or even basic human decency – when it worked in their favor. They are discovering now that sometimes cliches are true: What goes around comes around.
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