The Republican Party should see a flashing red light, but it does not.
Do you know how they serve Hummus in Israel? Generally, one receives a large plate with around half a kilogram of fresh, warm hummus. There can be added chickpeas, meat, or other goodies. One is given a couple of hot pita breads and it’s off to the races. A person would normally not buy a tub of hummus at the store and finish it off in one sitting, but when it’s Jerusalem hummus—as Tucker knows—how can one leave any on his plate?
There is an important story from the Talmud on the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem. A fellow was making a wedding for his son and sent out invitations. It turned out that there were two people with very similar names, one was a very close friend while the other was a loathed enemy. As things would have it, the delivery guy gave the invitation to the enemy, who was somewhat surprised to receive it. He thought that maybe better times lay ahead for the two of them, so he came to the wedding. He sat with everyone else and began to enjoy his meal. At some point, the fellow making the wedding saw the man he detested eating and drinking among his guests. He came over to him and demanded that he leave. The guest told him that he did not want a scene. He would pay for his meal, just don’t throw him out in front of so many people. The other would not hear of it. He offered to pay for half of the wedding and finally he offered to pay for the whole thing—just don’t embarrass me in front of all of these people. The livid host would have none of it and grabbed the fellow and threw him out. The offended party noted that the big rabbis of that generation were all at the wedding, and not a single one of them made any effort to prevent the ugly scene that unfolded at his expense. He decided to get his revenge.
He went to Rome and told the then reigning Caesar that the Jews would not offer on the altar of the Temple in Jerusalem an animal offering from the Roman leader. The latter knew that was not true as Jews had offered sacrifices from non-Jews in the past. The angry Jew told Caesar to send an animal with him and he will prove that the priests will not accept it. On the way back to Jerusalem, the fellow made a very small injury to the animal. It was an injury that one could not see but according to Torah law would make the animal inappropriate for the altar. When he arrived at the Temple with the animal, the same rabbis realized that they were in a serious bind. One fellow said that if they offered the animal, then others would believe that animals with blemishes could be offered. If they killed the guy, then people would learn that intentionally making a blemish on a sacrificial animal is punishable by death (which it is not). So in the end, they did not allow the animal to be brought before the priests. The Roman leadership heard of the affront and began the campaign that eventually led in the year 70 to the destruction of Jerusalem, the sacking of the Temple and the taking of the Jews from the land of Israel to Rome.
Tucker Carlson had to use the Charlie Kirk memorial to attack the Jews. His reference to the “hummus eaters” in a dimly lit room in Jerusalem obviously meant the Jews. There is a healthy debate online if he meant that they were planning to kill Jesus, Kirk or both. Jesus was killed by the Romans, while Kirk was killed by a Christian of Mormon bent. But Carlson had the microphone and could not lose an opportunity to stick it to the Jews and Israel. The leadership of the party was present: the president, his vice-president, virtually his entire cabinet, and every conservative commentator and influencer. As in the wedding of yore, nobody lifted a finger to put Carlson in his place. Israel had nothing to do with Kirk’s murder, however much some on the kooky right try to make it so. If they would ask the guy in jail, you know, the one with the rifle who admitted to his boyfriend that he killed Kirk, he probably would say that he did not buy Israel Bonds prior to going up on the university roof to kill Charlie Kirk.
When the Birch Movement threatened to taint the Republican Party, William Buckley, Jr., though a Yale man, did the right thing and got them out of the party. Charlie Kirk was a great man, and he showed a true love for Israel and Jews. Still, and I don’t pretend to know why, he insisted on inviting Tucker Carlson to his events. If this trajectory continues, I don’t think that orthodox Jews will bother voting for Republican candidates. Sure, we have nothing in the Democratic Party any longer. Its ideology and anti-Israel posture are offensive. Still, if we are just pinballs used to bounce off of Democratic and Republican bumpers, then we can stay home. And sure, the orthodox community is not such a big voting bloc, but you know, there are places where it can get a person elected to Congress or possibly sway a tight presidential contest. They want Tucker, his friends and their lightly-veiled Jew hatred? Fine, they can have him. But as the Beatles sang, “You don’t get me.”
One can say that Tucker is a harmless fool, but he has millions of followers on social media and his dedicated channel. If the Republican leadership cannot find the gumption to call him out, then the formal exit of orthodox Jews from the MAGA coalition is only a question of date and not whether it will happen.