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<\/a><\/p>\nTucker Carlson discusses Chabad during the March 5, 2026, broadcast about the Iran war. (Screenshot)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
But Carlson, who has a recent history of spreading anti-Israel and antisemitic conspiracy theories on his web show, has found a different target for his wrath: the Chabad-Lubavitch movement of Orthodox Judaism.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou may know people who give money to Chabad or run Chabad \u2014 super nice people, engaged in all kinds of charitable activities,\u201d Carlson told his followers about the global Hasidic sect in a video he posted Thursday. \u201cBut what is Chabad exactly?\u201d<\/p>\n
Carlson went on to claim, \u201cChabad has been pushing in a pretty subtle way, unless you look carefully, for the reconstruction of the Third Temple\u201d \u2014 the fabled structure that, according to ancient Jewish teachings, heralds the arrival of the messiah. Building the temple, he says later in the video, \u201cis considered so esoteric and weird and crypto-historical and religious and kind of culty. What\u2019s Chabad? No one ever mentions it.\u201d<\/p>\n
He accused Chabad of sitting at the center of what he said was an effort to wage a holy war in the Middle East aimed at destroying the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa Mosque, Muslim holy sites built on the remnants of the ancient Jewish temple, known as the Temple Mount, in order to clear the way for its reconstruction. As evidence, he cited a video posted by an Israeli soldier who showed off both a patch showing a crown and the Hebrew word for messiah and a Third Temple patch that he had affixed to his uniform.<\/p>\n
The Israeli Defense Forces have cracked down in the past on the patches, which have fueled allegations that the army is waging a religious war rather than working to preserve national security. The Third Temple patches are produced by an organization launched in 2022 by an American Jew that seeks to promote Jewish prayer on the Temple Mount, where it is forbidden.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid the IDF, the Israel Defense Forces, a military that U.S. taxpayers pay for, that lots of wealthy Americans send money to \u2026 how did all these guys wind up wearing patches, suggesting the point of this war was the destruction of one of the holiest places in Islam and the rebuilding of a temple that is totally anathema to Christianity?\u201d Carlson asked.<\/p>\n
It was at least the second time in recent weeks that Carlson had gestured at a familiar antisemitic conspiracy theory, following his promotion of the discredited idea that Ashkenazi Jews have no ancient connection to the Middle East.<\/p>\n
It was also not the first time an influential far-right pundit had sought to paint Chabad, a decentralized movement with hundreds of outposts around the world, as a hierarchical society with a sinister agenda. Candace Owens, the commentator with a long history of antisemitism, praised Carlson for going after Chabad; she herself has shared numerous conspiracy theories about the movement.<\/p>\n
Now, with tensions in the MAGA movement running high over Iran, and with lingering questions over whether Israel had pressured Trump into the strikes, Jewish groups and leaders across the spectrum \u2014 and even Trump himself \u2014 condemned Carlson on Thursday.<\/p>\n
\u201cTucker has lost his way,\u201d Trump told ABC News correspondent Jonathan Karl in an interview. \u201cI knew that a long time ago, and he\u2019s not MAGA. MAGA is saving our country. MAGA is making our country great again. MAGA is America first, and Tucker is none of those things. And Tucker is really not smart enough to understand that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trump\u2019s comments did not address Chabad and come amid reports that Carlson sought to stop him from waging war with Israel against Iran. Others denounced the Chabad comments specifically.<\/p>\n
\u201cTucker Carlson\u2019s opprobrious comments against Chabad are disgusting,\u201d the Republican Jewish Committee posted on the social network X. \u201cPresident Trump and his administration reject this nonsense.\u201d<\/p>\n
While not officially speaking on Trump\u2019s behalf, the RJC attached a photo of the president visiting and praying at the gravesite of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, Chabad\u2019s spiritual leader. The visit took place on the one-year anniversary of the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks in Israel. Visits to the Rebbe\u2019s grave, known as the Ohel, are commonplace for politicians on both sides of the aisle; New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani also recently visited the site.<\/p>\n
Sen. Chuck Schumer, too, denounced Carlson\u2019s remarks while tying him to the president.<\/p>\n
\u201cMore abhorrent antisemitism from Tucker Carlson, invoking medieval tropes and ugly conspiracies,\u201d the Jewish Democratic Senate majority leader said. \u201cYet the GOP continues to mainstream him as one of their most visible thought leaders and President Trump regularly invites him to the White House. \u201c<\/p>\n
Bill Ackman, a major Jewish donor increasingly backing Republicans, also denounced Carlson, saying that his rhetoric was dangerous.<\/p>\n
As the only or most prominent purveyors of Jewish life in many places, Chabad rabbis and synagogues have been repeated targets of antisemitic attacks, including in Sydney in December, when two men killed 15 people at a Chabad Hanukkah party.<\/p>\n
Carlson \u201chas reached a level of absurdity that is going to get someone killed,\u201d Ackman, the hedge-fund investor and anti-antisemitism advocate, wrote on X. \u201cHe needs to stop this now. Someone who knows him well needs to intervene or he will have blood on his hands.\u201d<\/p>\n
In Carlson\u2019s video \u2014 the second in two days in which he pointed the finger for the Iran war at Israel \u2014 Carlson dug into calls among figures on Israel\u2019s far right to reclaim the Temple Mount in Jerusalem from Islamic control. He also criticized Christian figures including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for invoking the Third Temple, highlighting a video taken in 2018, when Hegseth was a Fox News host, that showed him saying, \u201cThere\u2019s no reason why the miracle of the reestablishment of the temple on the Temple Mount is not possible.\u201d<\/p>\n
The ancient temple is reflected in contemporary Jewish practice and prayer, with holidays structured in part around the pilgrimage schedule. For the most part, though, the ancient rabbis who codified Jewish law following the temple\u2019s destruction in 70 CE sought to create a tradition that would endure without the temple. Various denominations have taken different approaches to the rabbis\u2019 theological stance that the temple can only exist in the age of the Messiah, with some envisioning a literal rebuilding and others viewing a future temple in symbolic terms. While some fringe operators have sought to actually construct a third temple, an endeavor that would require displacing Muslim holy sites, the more mainstream approach is that the conditions for a messianic era can be hastened by the fulfillment of Jewish values and commandments.<\/p>\n
An article published on Chabad\u2019s website, for example, discusses the rebuilding of the Third Temple as a literal idea, to be located \u201con the other side of the Western Wall,\u201d but says, \u201cOutwardly, it doesn\u2019t seem like a good plan for peace, especially considering the location.\u201d<\/p>\n
The author, Chabad.org editor Tzvi Freeman, continues, \u201cIt seems that when it comes time for all the Jewish people to return to their land, the Temple will need to be built first. Of course, that doesn\u2019t mean you can jumpstart the Messianic Era simply by rearranging the Temple Mount architecture.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rabbi Motti Seligson, a Chabad-Lubavitch spokesperson, tweeted a refutation of Carlson\u2019s talking points written by analyst Joel Mowbray. Carlson\u2019s targeting of Chabad, Mowbray claimed, was rooted in Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump\u2019s past relationship with a Chabad outpost in Washington, D.C., and reflected Kushner\u2019s own role in the negotiations that preceded strikes on Iran.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Chabad is not known to almost anyone outside of the Jewish community, it makes for an easy target of dark conspiracy theories,\u201d Mowbray wrote. He argued that, contrary to Carlson\u2019s claims, the way Chabad seeks to bring about the Third Temple is \u201cthrough acts of kindness. Truly by doing good deeds in order to \u2018merit\u2019 God rebuilding the Jewish holy site.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt has nothing to do with tearing down an Islamic holy site, let alone starting a holy war,\u201d he continued. \u201cIt\u2019s a prayer asking God to return us to the elevated state of spirituality that existed during the time of the Temple, and more importantly, for Him to send \u2018Moshiach,\u2019 or the Messiah.\u201d<\/p>\n
Personal testimonies about Chabad\u2019s more everyday impacts resounded on Thursday as Jews around the world responded to Carlson\u2019s attacks. Daniella Greenbaum Davis, a Jewish commentator and former producer on \u201cThe View,\u201d shared personal accounts on social media of Chabad stocking her with Jewish texts after she suffered pregnancy losses.<\/p>\n
\u201cGeopolitical masterminds responsible for the Iran war? Not so much,\u201d Greenbaum Davis wrote on X. \u201cJust the kindest people you will ever meet who believe they are put here on this earth to spread goodness and godliness and help anyone, with anything, at anytime.\u201d<\/p>\n
Those kinds of sentiments, Seligson said in an interview, were a positive takeaway for Chabad from this entire episode.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe outpouring of support and, really, love coming from all segments of the Jewish community and well beyond is really a testament to how Chabad has enriched so many millions of people\u2019s lives and helped change the world for the better,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Some in Chabad, which is famous for finding the silver lining in bad situations and for being willing to venture to the most distant corners of the Jewish world, had fun with Carlson\u2019s callout. San Antonio-based Chabad rabbi Levi Teldon, known for cracking jokes online, posted on X that the sect would soon be opening \u201cChabad of Tucker Carlson\u2019s Brain.\u201d<\/p>\n