GOP Says It's the Only pro-Israel Party; Trumps Vows to End Israel-Gaza War

For the Republican Party to present itself as the only party for American Jews is disingenuous as prominent conservatives call for fundamental rethink of U.S.-Israel ties while pushing antisemitic conspiracy theories

Ben Samuels, Haaretz

MILWAUKEE – Republican officials, without fail over the past few days, insisted they are the only pro-Israel party considering the Democratic Party's shift leftward.

The crescendo of the week-long convention happened when GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump vowed to end Israel's war in Gaza, the blame for which he put squarely on the Biden administration.

It is, however, disingenuous for Republicans to present themselves as the only political party for American Jews when surface level issues are present for all to see. No one represents this fork in the road more than Tucker Carlson.

It is difficult to square, how a party could describe itself as singularly and universally pro-Israel when the party's most popular figure other than Trump, Carlson, has consistently and actively called for a fundamental rethink of U.S.-Israel ties while pushing antisemitic conspiracy theories.

Carlson received among the loudest and most sustained applause of the entire convention, and spoke without prepared remarks with a 10-minute timer in place of a teleprompter.

His speech included virtually no focus of his polarizing foreign-policy viewpoints, though consistent with his America First worldview.

Meanwhile, in the days and hours leading up to his speech, it was abundantly clear that Carlson has more sway over Trump than anyone, and accordingly, more sway over the Republican Party than anyone.

Carlson got his choice of running mate in fellow isolationist JD Vance, despite the fierce objections of more traditional foreign policy hawks close to Trump, as well as key GOP figures like Rupert Murdoch.

Vance may be trying to sell his America First-except-for-Israel worldview, but Carlson is doing no such thing, all while platforming and spreading antisemitic conspiracy theories with a brazenness that seems to grow by the week.

In fact, blaming Biden for the Hamas attack, whether due to his alleged failure to hold Iran accountable or his cognitive decline, was among the week's premier unifying message.

Despite Tucker's attitudes towards Israel, Republicans are not genuine in their horror over October 7, or concerned about Jewish students feeling unsafe on college campuses or Jewish-Americans feeling endangered in the streets of America.

Campus antisemitism also played a significant role over the course of the convention. Lawmakers and students alike highlighted the issue, with much of the references being couched in the GOP's ongoing culture wars rather than wrestling with actually combatting anti-Jewish hated.

However, this week alone, Carlson hosted country music star John Rich, who accused the Rothschild's of developing End Times theology of Christian Zionism, which has been at the bedrock of much GOP support for Israel in recent decades, in the 19th century. Carlson decried this theology as "a lie" which has "resulted in the deaths of a lot of people" and unduly influencing U.S. policy.

These aren't dog whistles. These are blaring clarion calls that are as loud as his reception on Thursday.

The only person who may have rivaled Carlson's ovation was Peter Navarro, a former Trump senior trade advisor who served four months in prison for defying a House subpoena related to January 6 and was released hours before his appearance.

Navarro notably tried deposing Jared Kushner from running the 2020 re-election campaign by scheduling what he deemed a "coup d'etat" on Saturday to take advantage of Kushner's observance of Shabbat.

To be clear, much of the Republican Party differs from Carlson, falling somewhere between Vance's isolation with an Israel waiver and the old-school Reagan-esque peace-through-strength that is holding on for dear life.

The latter group are not in denial of Carlson's influence – in fact, they openly acknowledge it while using his name as the adjective.

"That is a little problematic," Mark Messmer, the Indiana Republican who defeated an avowed anti-Israel isolationist with the backing of pro-Israel Republicans, over Carlson's prime-time slot, told reporters on the sidelines of a Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) event.

"It's one thing to have the view that America does not need to be the watchdog for the world. But Israel does more than that. Israel is the West's tip of the spear in blocking and defending the rest of the world from radical Islamic forces in the Mideast," he added.

Republican Jewish Coalition CEO, Matt Brooks, echoed this same sentiment earlier in the week following his speech at the convention.

"America has got a unique role in the world to help defend liberty and support democracy and fight back against totalitarianism. We're going to continue to wage that battle in the party and make sure the Tucker Carlson-wing of the party doesn't get a foothold," he said.

Despite these concerns, Vance's political evolution has provided pro-Israel Republicans with enough flexibility to maintain Carlson will not have undue influence when it comes to Israel.

Those hoping for a Trump-Vance victory paired with strengthened U.S.-Israel ties insist that Vance is on the right side of this. And even if he is not, he will not be the primary decision-maker when it comes to foreign policy.

This discounts the fact that if Carlson has enough sway to convince Trump to tap Vance, he has enough sway to appoint lower-level bureaucrats, diplomats and officials who share a similar worldview.

One only needs to look at Vance's own efforts to explain his belief that Israel should be immune from a radical foreign policy shift– efforts aimed at those who have been directly influenced by Carlson.

"I've heard from a few constituents who don't want to support any foreign nation, even a close ally like Israel, in our nation's time of crisis. I hear you, and even though I'd like to change your mind on this issue, I'll instead make a practical point. Israel aid is happening. Over 90 percent of each house of Congress will support it," he said.

"Given that, the fight we can win is to separate the Israel package from everything else. You can get $14 billion for Israel, or you can get $104 billion for Ukraine and open borders. There is no third option. Even if you disagree with me on Israel, help us fight the fight we can actually win. Separate the aid packages," he said, describing it as "the most important conservative battle happening right now."

This isolationist-except-Israel may be sufficient enough for pro-Israel Republicans for now, but it is highly unclear how deep these convictions will last if Trump wins.

Vance has primarily grounded his support for Israel in his Christianity. Among Carlson's chief criticisms of Israel is the suffering of Palestinian Christians.

"If you wake up in the morning and decide your Christian faith requires you to support a foreign government blowing up churches and killing Christians," he said on one show, "I think you've lost the thread."

He added: "It's just hard to believe we would send any money to a government that would do something like that to Christians."

Christian Nationalism, at the bedrock of the so-called Project 2025 set to define Trump policy, is anticipated to play a prominent role in a Trump presidency. While key Trump allies have promoted it as advancing so-called Judeo-Christian values, others have said it serves as a thinly veiled diversion from antisemitism endemic within the far right.

Israel and the American-Jewish community would not be safer with this ideology being the primary justification of U.S. support.

Carlson would only gain a further foothold among key decision-makers, and he will continue to publicly showcase unabashed antisemites and conspiracy theorists while privately airing his criticism of U.S. aid to Israel and "pro-Israel censorship" of figures like Candace Owens, who too has explicitly trafficked in antisemitism with increasing frequency.

Pro-Israel Republicans had their platform this week. They made the most of their moments, and were warmly received. With Carlson firmly establishing himself as the Republican Party's thought-leader, Israel and its supporters in the Republican Party should not assume its exceptionalism to isolationism is a given.