Rabbi Yaakov Menken sharply criticized Tucker Carlson on Tuesday, arguing that the media figure’s words and actions have crossed a line into promoting dangerous antisemitic falsehoods that have historically fueled violence against Jews.
Speaking on Newsmax’s “Wake Up America,” Menken said Carlson’s conduct has earned him an infamous distinction recently bestowed by the Jewish civil rights group StopAntisemitism, which named Carlson its 2025 “Antisemite of the Year.” The group described the label as a “distinct dishonor” that “is reserved for the most bigoted and hateful individual.”
Menken, who serves as executive vice president of the Coalition for Jewish Values, said the designation reflects a growing body of evidence rather than a single incident. He pointed to Carlson’s repeated decisions to give airtime to extremists and to Carlson’s own commentary. “I think the evidence for this is overwhelming,” Menken said, citing “the amount of times that Tucker Carlson has brought an avowed antisemite on the show to spout lies … and then he himself spreading traditional antisemitic tropes.”
According to Menken, those tropes are not harmless opinions but accusations with a long history of deadly consequences. He referenced one of the most enduring claims used to justify persecution of Jews throughout history. “The rivers of blood have been shed on the idea that Jews of today are responsible for the Jewish Council that said that Jesus deserved to be put to death,” he said, stressing that “it was the Romans that did it.”
Menken contrasted that reality with what he described as a persistent double standard applied to Jews. “Nobody thinks today that Italians should be slaughtered because of that, because they were the ones who actually put him to death,” he said. “But no, we’re going to go after the Jews.”
He said such narratives continue to circulate because some people are willing to accept conspiratorial thinking despite a lack of evidence. Menken argued that antisemitism thrives when individuals “find excuses to believe the Jews are stealing, that the Jews are conspiring against everybody else.”
Menken also criticized Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts for what he described as an inadequate response after Carlson interviewed white nationalist Nick Fuentes. He said that failure had real consequences within organized efforts to combat antisemitism. “We were one of the first organizations to leave the National Task Force to Combat Antisemitism, which began as a project of the Heritage Foundation,” Menken said.
He added that the controversy quickly undermined the initiative itself. “The task force itself, a week later, had to withdraw because they realized if they didn’t, they would lose all credibility,” he said.
Carlson has faced mounting backlash in recent months over statements about Jews and Israel that many critics view as antisemitic. Among the claims attributed to him are assertions that Jews control America’s banking system, Congress, the Pentagon, and even President Trump.
More recently, Carlson suggested that Israel was somehow connected to the death of Charlie Kirk, tying the allegation to Kirk’s opposition to striking Iran’s nuclear facilities. Critics have said such remarks further illustrate the pattern Menken described, warning that rhetoric rooted in conspiracy and collective blame carries consequences far beyond words.
{Matzav.com}
A well-known matzah bakery in Boro Park was completely destroyed in a major fire last week, drawing an extraordinary response from its owner that has since resonated across the neighborhood and beyond.
The blaze tore through the famous Boro Park Matzah Bakery on 14th Avenue, reducing the facility to ashes.
Firefighters battled the flames for nearly seven hours before finally bringing the inferno under control, according to local reports.
As firefighters worked to extinguish the fire, the bakery’s owner, R’ Chaim Bru, a chossid of Vizhnitz, stood nearby watching his livelihood go up in flames. Rather than reacting with anger or despair, he distributed sheets of paper to onlookers bearing the words “Ein Od Milvado,” and repeatedly called out the phrase, expressing his firm belief that everything comes from Hashem and is ultimately for the good, even amid enormous financial loss at the peak of the matzah-baking season.
In footage recorded at the scene, R’ Chaim can be heard explaining his outlook with striking clarity. When one bystander asked whether a malfunctioning oven may have sparked the fire, he replied that it was Hashem Above who caused it. “When Hashem gives a person a slap,” he said, “you don’t ask questions.”
True to his word, R’ Chaim later took his message a step further. A massive banner bearing the words “Ein Od Milvado” was hung prominently on the remains of the bakery, serving as a public declaration of faith and acceptance. The sign, now impossible to miss along the busy avenue, has become a powerful symbol of emunah.
{Matzav.com}
