Fuentes has called for the extermination of Jews from American civilization, urged Christians to wage a “Holy War,” and smeared Jews as inherently deceitful.By Corey Walker, The AlgemeinerUS Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) repudiated controversial pundit Tucker Carlson, antisemitic commentator Nick Fuentes, and Heritage Foundation leader Kevin Roberts while calling out a rise in right-wing antisemitism during remarks at the Republican Jewish Coalition’s annual summit on Thursday night.“Now is a time for choosing. Now is a time for courage,” Cruz said to the audience in Las Vegas, Nevada. “If you sit there and nod adoringly as someone tells you that Winston Churchill was the villain of World War II, if you sit there and nod as someone tells you there’s a very good argument that America should’ve intervened on behalf of Nazi Germany in World War II, if you sit there with someone that says that Adolph Hitler was very, very cool, and that their mission is to combat and defeat global Jewry, then you are a coward.”Cruz was referring to a series of recent podcast interviews in which Carlson hosted controversial guests who made such arguments but did not challenge their views, seemingly endorsing them as legitimate.Most recently, Carlson conducted a friendly interview with Fuentes, an avowed antisemite and Holocaust denier, that was released earlier this week. During the conversation, both men rebuked Israel and Zionism, with Carlson lambasting Christian Zionism as an affront to the values of Christianity.“I dislike them more than anybody. Because it’s Christian heresy, and I’m offended by that as a Christian,” Carlson said of Christian Zionists.Fuentes further declared “organized Jewry in America” as the obstacle preventing Americans from experiencing true unity. He also stated that ‘these Zionist Jews’ need to be removed from the broader conservative movement.Following the controversial interview, Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts issued a statement reaffirming the prominent conservative think tank’s relationship with Carlson.Roberts argued that his loyalties rest with Christianity and the US, and that Christians are not obligated to lend support to Israel. He then repudiated critics of Carlson as “globalists” — a term that many people believe serves as an antisemitic dog whistle — and as a “venomous coalition.” He stated that he does not agree with Fuentes’s antisemitism, but “canceling him is not the answer.”Roberts’s comments whipped up a firestorm of criticism online, with many Jewish conservatives expressing outrage and feelings of betrayal. Republican Jewish Coalition CEO Matt Brooks wrote that Roberts’s statement “is a total abrogation of their mission and what it means to be a conservative today.”Carlson has sparked backlash among conservatives over his consistent pattern of condemning Israel and platforming individuals who peddle antisemitic narratives. He has falsely suggested that Israel, the world’s lone Jewish state, oppresses and persecutes Christians.During an interview with controversial podcaster Darryl Cooper, Carlson did not push back after Cooper argued that the US was on the “wrong side” of World War II and that former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, not Adolph Hitler, “was the chief villain of World War II.” Cooper also suggested that the slaughter of six million Jews in concentration camps was “humane” because the Nazis did not have food to feed the “prisoners of war.”Over the past decade, Fuentes has established himself as one the most high-profile openly antisemitic commentators in the US.Despite facing near-ubiquitous bans by most social platforms, Fuentes has amassed a significant audience for his “America First” web show on Rumble, in which he has spewed a seemingly relentless torrent of anti-Jewish commentary. Fuentes once called for the extermination of Jewish people from American civilization, arguing that Jews persecute and oppress Christians. He has urged Christians to start a “Holy War” against Jewish people and said of Jews: “To cheat, to lie, act in bad faith as though it’s second nature.”The commentator Fuentes has further claimed that “Jews run the news” and defended Hitler, saying that the Nazi leader’s reputation was “crafted by Jews.”“Everybody, in every nation, in all times, for thousands of years, eventually comes to the conclusion that Jews always act in bad faith,” Fuentes said during an episode of his show.In recent months, Fuentes has embarked on an extensive media tour, becoming a guest for popular podcasters such as Dave Smith and Patrick Bet David. In these interviews, some observers noted that Fuentes has struck a more moderate tone, potentially as a calculated effort to soften and mainstream his image.Fuentes’s popularity among right-leaning Gen Z men — his audience has quintupled to around 500,000 over the past year, according to the New York Times — may have decreased the stigma of featuring the antisemitic podcaster.Critics have noted that Carlson, in contrast to his friendly conversations with Cooper, Fuentes, and others, conducted an aggressive and hostile interview with Cruz, one of the most conservative members of the US Congress, during the summer. The interview quickly deteriorated into a shouting match, as Carlson interrogated Cruz over his staunch support of Israel. Cruz pushed back, accusing Carlson of fomenting antisemitic conspiracy theories under the guise of criticism of Israel.On Thursday, Cruz warned of a surge in right-wing antisemitism that must be thwarted.“In the last six months, I’ve seen more antisemitism on the right than I had in my entire life,” Cruz said.“This is a poison,” he continued. “And I believe we are facing an existential crisis in our party and our country.”The post Cruz slams Carlson and Fuentes, says GOP must choose sides on antisemitism appeared first on World Israel News.