When foreign-policy critique becomes blood libel

“I’m a Christian man,” the college student at the University of Mississippi said to J.D. Vance, our future 48th (or 49th) President, during a TPUSA event attended by thousands. Uh-oh, here we go.

“And I’m just confused why there’s this notion that we might owe Israel something… or that they’re our greatest ally or that we have to support this multi-hundred-billion-dollar foreign aid package to Israel… to quote Charlie Kirk, ‘ethnic cleansing in Gaza.’”

That was nothing you wouldn’t hear outside of, say, Glenn Greenwald’s Twitter feed, but then it got dark. The student continued, “I’m just confused why this idea has come around considering the fact that not only does their religion not agree with ours but also openly supports the persecution of ours.”

Judaism doesn’t support the “persecution” of Christians. The religions share half a Bible. Christianity’s savior was a Jew until the Romans murdered him. Here we go again with a foreign-policy critique turning into a disgusting blood libel.

The audience, trained by groypers to hate Jews since childhood, roared with approval, and J.D. Vance didn’t seem willing to anger his base. “Sometimes Israel has similar interests to the United States and sometimes they don’t,” he said, as though he were talking about Almond Joy and Mounds. But sometimes you feel like a nut, and Vance said there were “significant theological differences” between Judaism and Christianity.

Instead of adding something like “Israel is our trusted ally and Jews do not control the United States, they are a valued part of America’s rich, diverse tapestry,” Vance said, “What I’m not OK with is any country coming before the interests of American citizens. That’s what we’re going to do… I promise you.”

And so we come to the central problem. As on the left, there’s a significant number of people on the political right who simply hate the Jews. This week, Tucker Carlson interviewed Nick Fuentes, who went on and on, as he does, about how “organized Jewry” is a threat. Tucker laughed and laughed in front of the roaring river that forms the backdrop to his online life.

In response, Heritage Foundation President Kevin D. Roberts, who as recently as this year called anti-semitism “evil,” refused to condemn this conversation. “We won’t start canceling our own people… that includes Tucker Carlson, who remains — and always will be — a close friend of the Heritage Foundation.” He also said, “Christians can critique the state of Israel without being antisemitic. And of course anti-semitism should be condemned.”

It should be condemned, and it often is, usually by Jews who feel the walls closing in around them. My social-media feed yesterday was full of World Series chatter, see-through Sydney Sweeney dress photos and conservative Jews saying that they feel betrayed by their political compatriots. Yesterday was a day you’ll never forget, unless you weren’t paying attention. When the left hates you and the right hates you, all that remains is vigilance. American Jews should get their passports ready. And maybe sign up for some Krav Maga.