At Charlie Kirk’s memorial, Tucker Carlson hints at antisemitic conspiracy

Tucker Carlson antisemitic conspiracy Charlie Kirk memorial remarks spark outrage, as critics say his Jesus plot story echoed classic antisemitic tropes and dog whistles about Jews and Israel.

Published September 22, 2025

Political commentator Tucker Carlson speaks during the memorial service for political activist Charlie Kirk at State Farm Stadium on Sept. 21, 2025 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Eric Thayer/Getty Images)

(JTA) — BERLIN — Tucker Carlson, the far-right personality who has repeatedly drawn criticism for promoting antisemitic conspiracy theories, recounted the plot to murder Jesus during his speech at the memorial service for Charlie Kirk.

Both supporters and critics said they believed Carlson was implying that Jews or Israelis had been behind Kirk’s assassination earlier this month — amplifying a prominent conspiracy theory that Israel killed Kirk because his longstanding support was eroding.

Netanyahu forced to respond

The theory advanced by far-right influencers gained so much traction last week that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly denied the allegations twice, first while being questioned on NewsMax, a far-right TV network, and again in a video address he posted online.

Carlson has flirted openly with the theory but did not mention Netanyahu, Israel or Jews explicitly during his speech at Kirk’s memorial, which included a who’s who of contemporary conservatism and married the stylings of a political rally and a religious revival.

Carlson’s Jesus comparison

Instead, Carlson likened Kirk to Jesus — and his assassin to those who killed the man worshipped by billions of Christians. Recounting what he said was “my favorite story ever,” Carlson said:

“So it’s about 2,000 years ago in Jerusalem, and Jesus shows up and he starts talking about the people in power, and he starts doing the worst thing that you can do, which is telling the truth about people, and they hate it, and they just go bonkers. They hate it, and they become obsessed with making him stop: ‘This guy’s got to stop talking. We’ve got to shut this guy up.’

And I can just sort of picture the scene in a lamp-lit room with a bunch of guys sitting around eating hummus, thinking about — what do we do about this guy telling the truth about us? We must make him stop talking. And there’s always one guy with the bright idea, and I can just hear him say, ‘I’ve got an idea. Why don’t we just kill him? That’ll shut him up, that’ll fix the problem.’”

Carlson laughed as he recounted the story, then concluded: “It doesn’t work that way. It doesn’t work that way.”

For many listening, including right-wing Jews who admired Kirk, the link between the story and the contemporary allegation against Israel was clear.

Antisemitic tropes resurface

Some Jewish voices said Carlson was invoking antisemitic ideas that have long fueled Christian violence against Jews. Several noted that hummus was not traditionally eaten in ancient Jerusalem, interpreting the reference as a clear dog whistle about contemporary Israel.

“Tucker Carlson pushed an antisemitic trope, painting the Pharisees as ‘sitting around eating hummus’ plotting Christ’s crucifixion — then comparing it to people supposedly silencing Charlie Kirk by killing him, as if Jews killed Kirk the way they killed Christ,” tweeted Adam King, who goes by “Awesome Jew” on his Infowars show.

“I’m not a person who sees dog whistles quickly or readily, but I sure as s— saw it in Tucker’s speech,” tweeted conservative commentator Bethany Mandel. She noted that former President Donald Trump had included Tel Aviv among the places where Kirk had been mourned, adding, “There is a fight for the soul of the conservative movement.”

Reactions across the spectrum

“Tucker Carlson Hints at Baseless, Antisemitic Conspiracy Theory of Jews Killing Charlie Kirk at Funeral Service,” read a headline on Belaaz, a right-wing Jewish news site. The site reported it had reached out to two influential Jewish leaders with personal ties to Trump, both of whom declined to comment.

The Quds News Network, a Palestinian outlet, tweeted a video of Carlson’s remarks with the caption: “Tucker Carlson suggests Israeli involvement in Charlie Kirk’s death during TPUSA’s memorial for its late founder.”

The most prominent voices amplifying the theory that Israel was behind Kirk’s murder, which authorities have attributed to a 22-year-old Utah man who confessed, have been Carlson; Candace Owens, who has long promoted antisemitic and anti-Israel ideas; and Nick Fuentes, a far-right streamer who had publicly pushed Kirk to be more antisemitic and anti-Israel.

Conservative Jewish backlash

Mark Dubowitz of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a pro-Israel think tank, tweeted that he was distressed by Carlson’s speech.

“Tucker Carlson used the memorial for Charlie Kirk — a passionate friend of Israel & the Jewish people — to spread antisemitic blood libels,” Dubowitz wrote. “I knew his father, Richard Carlson, Vice-Chair at FDD who strongly supported Jews & Israel. I just can’t fathom what happened to Tucker.”

Max Abrahms, a Republican political scientist focusing on terrorism, tweeted that Carlson’s prominence was more troubling than his words.

“There was a time when Tucker was known for debating,” Abrahms wrote. “Now he’s known for dog whistles, blaming everything on Jews, heaping praise on fake-historian Hitler apologists, apologizing to the Bin Laden terrorist family, denying Hamas is a terrorist group, siding with Islamist terrorists, and pretending Russians enjoy a higher standard of living than Americans.”

He added: “What concerns me isn’t Tucker. What concerns me is this un-American toxicity is so welcomed in the Republican Party.”

A Kansas Reform rabbi, Sam Stern, responded: “As long as he is welcomed, will we be?” Abrahms replied: “Your question answers itself.”

Conservative movement context

Prominent Jewish attendees at the Turning Point USA memorial in Glendale, Arizona, included Stephen Miller, the Trump policy architect, and Laura Loomer, who has reportedly played an influential role in personnel decisions despite holding no formal position.

Many of the speakers used the memorial to call for greater religiosity and evangelize for Christian ideas. “As much as I love the Lord, and as much as it was an important part of my life, I have talked more about Jesus Christ in the past two weeks than I have my entire time in public life,” Vice President J.D. Vance said.

Carlson’s remarks — and the audience that welcomed them — underscored how antisemitic ideas are increasingly mainstreamed in certain corners of the conservative movement, even at a memorial meant to honor one of Israel’s most vocal American allies.