Malcolm Hoenlein, one of America’s most respected Jewish leaders, strongly criticized the Heritage Foundation and its president, Kevin Roberts, for giving sanctuary to those advocating antisemitism.
Hoenlein, recently the executive vice chair of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, warned on Newsmax,Tuesday, that conservative leaders like Roberts who defend or platform extremist figures are endangering the nation’s moral fabric and fueling a resurgence of antisemitism.
Speaking on “National Report,” Hoenlein said that he was shocked by the Heritage Foundation and Roberts defending Tucker Carlson’s interview of white supremacist Nick Fuentes.
Last week, Roberts released a Heritage video defending Carlson and Fuentes despite their antisemitic comments in the recent interview.
Roberts said he was defending Carlson against being “canceled” and described his critics as part of a “venomous coalition.”
“We’re not looking for cancellation,” Hoenlein said of Roberts’ comments. “We’re looking for repudiation.”
He added, “We have to understand that the utterings of Nick Fuentes and the enabling by Tucker Carlson are affecting a generation of know-nothings who don’t know the truth, who don’t know the answer.”
Hoenlein said Fuentes’ unchallenged appearance before an audience of millions spread “a message of hate” that could have real-world consequences.
“What we’re doing is influencing the soul of the nation,” he said.
“When you have more than 10,000 antisemitic incidents in America just in the past year, this is a very high-stakes game and should not be trivialized into issues of cancellation.”
Roberts has distanced himself from Fuentes’ comments but continues to describe himself as a close friend of Carlson and refuses to criticize him.
But Hoenlein said the Heritage Foundation’s response was inadequate.
“Why didn’t Mr. Roberts, in his remarks, put the record straight about it?” he asked.
“Nobody said people don’t have the right to speak, but there should be a response that this generation not be raised” on falsehoods and hate.
The discussion also turned to Carlson’s recent claims about Israeli nationals allegedly celebrating the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks — claiming they had foreknowledge of the events — a theory long debunked by federal agencies.
Carlson cited a New York Times article quoting then-Israeli opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu as saying the attacks were “very good” for generating sympathy for Israel, remarks that Hoenlein said were taken grossly out of context.
“That’s been disproven,” Hoenlein said. “It’s really raising an old canard, trying to justify the current hatred they are trying to spread.”
“He wasn’t saying it was good,” said Hoenlein. “He meant that people would now recognize what the real danger was.”
Hoenlein said such rhetoric plays into the hands of foreign adversaries seeking to divide Americans.
Asked about reports Heritage has been a financial sponsor of Carlson’s program, Hoenlein said any organization that funds such media platforms bears a responsibility to speak the truth.
“Heritage is entitled to sponsor any program, but they also have a responsibility to come out and say that they disagree with the people they are sponsoring,” he said.
Hoenlein concluded, “The extreme left and the extreme right, when they go far enough, they meet.”
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