{"id":161609,"date":"2026-03-12T18:31:10","date_gmt":"2026-03-12T18:31:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/161609\/"},"modified":"2026-03-12T18:31:10","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T18:31:10","slug":"tucker-carlsons-ignorant-comments-on-iran-war-spark-outrage-from-new-york-jewish-groups","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/161609\/","title":{"rendered":"Tucker Carlson\u2019s \u201cignorant\u201d comments on Iran war spark outrage from New York Jewish groups"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\"war\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Smoke rises from a building following a reported strike, amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Tehran, Iran in this screen grab obtained from social media video released March 11, 2026. <\/p>\n

Social media via Reuters<\/p>\n

New Yorkers are reacting to former Fox News presenter-turned-podcaster Tucker Carlson\u2019s statements last week that appeared to blame Jewish people for instigating the war in Iran<\/a> on Feb. 28.<\/p>\n

Carlson told viewers of his eponymous podcast during its March 4 episode<\/a> that the conflict could be \u201ca religious war\u201d designed to rebuild the Third Temple \u2014 a theory based largely on believers in Christian end-times scripture \u2014 on historically disputed land between the Jewish and Muslim faiths.\u00a0<\/p>\n

During the episode, Carlson displayed video and a photo collage of Israeli soldiers, all wearing a similar patch, which he claimed depicted the Third Temple.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHow exactly did the IDF, a military force the U.S. taxpayer pays 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? There are a lot of ways it happened,\u201d the host said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"TuckerTucker Carlson told viewers of his eponymous podcast during its March 4 episode that the conflict could be \u201ca religious war\u201d designed to rebuild the Third Temple \u2014 a theory based largely on believers in Christian end-times scripture \u2014 on historically disputed land between the Jewish and Muslim faiths.\u00a0Photo by Gage Skidmore\/Wikimedia Commons<\/p>\n

He then alleged that Chabad, a Hasidic Jewish movement focused on outreach and education, \u201chas been pushing in a pretty subtle way for the reconstruction of the Third Temple.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Gerard Filitti, senior counsel at the Lawfare Project, said Carlson\u2019s specific evidence about the IDF patches was fabricated or unverified. The patches Carlson had claimed belonged to Chabad are actually from an unaffiliated organization, the attorney said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHe named an identifiable Jewish organization as the secret architect of a war on grounds he did not establish, a pattern that creates not only moral culpability but potential legal exposure for defamation and the foreseeable consequences of incitement<\/a>,\u201d Filitti said.<\/p>\n

New York rabbis step up security after \u2018dangerous\u2019 Carlson remarks
\n\"PoliceFILE \u2013 Police outside the Chabad Lubavitch world headquarters on Eastern Parkway in Crown Heights, Brooklyn on Dec. 14, 2025.Photo by Lloyd Mitchell<\/p>\n

Rabbi Yaacov Behrman, a spokesperson for Chabad Lubavitch, headquartered in Brooklyn, told amNewYork that Carlson\u2019s antisemitic conspiracy theory claims about Chabad and the Temple Mount are lies.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cTucker Carlson\u2019s rhetoric is reckless, dangerous and irresponsible. It endangers Jews worldwide,\u201d he said. \u201cChabad focuses on doing good deeds to bring more goodness in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Religion News Service<\/a>, the increased attention prompted Chabad rabbis across the country to step up security. Although Behrman could not comment on security at his location, he doubled down on the dangers Jewish people continue to face, including violence and physical and verbal antisemitic attacks.<\/p>\n

\u201cHistory has taught us that lies and blood libels always lead to violence,\u201d he said.\n<\/p>\n

While Behrman values free speech in America, he said it can sometimes contribute to the spread of misinformation or lies when used irresponsibly.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\u201cFreedom of speech is something that is good. Part of my family comes from parts of Europe where it wasn\u2019t allowed,\u201d the rabbi said. \u201cWe appreciate being allowed to practice your religion and being allowed to say anything. But it also comes with risks. When you have a platform as big as Tucker\u2019s and you spread reckless conspiracy theories rooted in antisemitic ideas, total lies, a lot of people read that. And it\u2019s dangerous.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rabbi Mark Wildes, founder and director of the Manhattan Jewish Experience, said \u201cTucker is at it again,\u201d and defended Chabad from the host\u2019s comments.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cHis ridiculous comments about Chabad\u2014an organization that does tremendous good for Jews and communities around the world\u2014reveal a deep ignorance about, and hostility toward, the Jewish people,\u201d Wildes said. \u201cI don\u2019t know where he gets these ideas, but rhetoric like this becomes dangerous when it reaches such a large audience. To those who support him: be careful who you choose to look up to.\u201d<\/p>\n

Filitti echoed the sentiments of many Jewish advocates.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\u201cTucker Carlson is spreading lies that inflame Jew-hatred and can get people killed at a time when Jewish communities around the world are under siege,\u201d he said. \u201cEvery political leader and every media figure who shares his platform, his stage, or his audience must say so clearly and without equivocation \u2013 or be judged by their silence to be complicit.\u201d<\/p>\n

amNewYork contacted \u201cThe Tucker Carlson Show\u201d for comment and is awaiting a response.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Smoke rises from a building following a reported strike, amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Tehran, Iran…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":161610,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[51352,9,11,10,87,19660,22202,65223],"class_list":["post-161609","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york","tag-chabad-lubavitch-world-headquarters","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-headlines","tag-new-york-news","tag-politics","tag-the-lawfare-project","tag-tucker-carlson","tag-war-in-iran"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/161609","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=161609"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/161609\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/161610"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=161609"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=161609"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=161609"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}