The right’s new civil war over Israel proves both sides need a nap
David Harsanyi recently sounded the alarm in the New York Post that “Gen Z’s casual anti-Semitism is growing.” His warning has some merit, but it also reveals blind spots about the political context he prefers not to acknowledge.
Harsanyi isn’t wrong that ugly anti-Zionist and anti-Semitic rhetoric has surfaced in parts of the populist right. Plenty of very online commentators have insinuated — and in some instances insisted — that Charlie Kirk’s assassination was tied to Israel. Conspiracy theory claims circulate online that Jewish billionaires control conservative media, bribing or blackmailing Republicans into supporting Benjamin Netanyahu in Gaza no matter the cost.
Gen Z has broken old taboos. That’s healthy. But if Zoomers want to be taken seriously, they must separate legitimate criticism of US policy from adolescent conspiracy theories.
This is an “ugly turn,” but it didn’t appear out of thin air. Once the neoconservative gatekeepers lost their grip, a wider debate on the right was inevitable.
For decades, particular outlets and movement foundations policed what conservatives were allowed to say. That censorship has collapsed in the internet era, for better and worse.
I welcome the broader discussion on the right. It was overdue. But the opening comes with a price: young voices saying stupid and reckless things. Then again, establishment conservatives have spent years saying reckless things of their own. My own anthology of commentaries catalogs four decades of such elite nonsense — much of which never saw daylight in “respectable” venues such as National Review, Commentary, or the Wall Street Journal.
Why? Because I was “unreliable on Israel.” Never mind that I never attacked the Jewish state. My real offense was questioning whether American conservatives should be compelled to parrot Likud talking points. Harsanyi may not see it this way, but the reality is obvious: Conservatives should be free to criticize Israeli policy without fearing cancellation from their own establishment.
That establishment has demanded iron discipline on Israel, sometimes even backing Democrats AIPAC preferred over those judged insufficiently loyal to Jerusalem. Yet the same institutions shy away from clear stands on basic civilizational issues like marriage. The imbalance speaks for itself.
And Charlie Kirk himself, before his death, reportedly raised doubts about Netanyahu’s ongoing Gaza campaign — only to spark frantic denials from conservative influencers who insisted he hadn’t meant it. Harsanyi frets about Gen Z’s “abnormal fixation” on Jews and Israel. He should also notice the establishment’s fixation, which is every bit as abnormal.
The movement Harsanyi defends is a relic. I’m old enough to remember its birth in the 1980s, and I remember how eagerly it purged dissenters. (Full disclosure: I was one of them.) Forgive me if I feel some schadenfreude watching Gen Z give that same establishment fits, even if I wince at the crudity of their attacks.
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What really troubles me is the lack of reflection among Gen Z’s loudest voices. Nick Fuentes, for example, is a sharp communicator, but he throws away credibility by ranting about international Jewish conspiracies. That style is unserious, self-defeating, and easily exploited by enemies.
Even on substance, the Gen Z case collapses under scrutiny. They cite the Adelsons, but that’s one family. They point to Bill Ackman, a hedge-fund billionaire, but ignore his politics: Ackman is firmly on the left at home, even if he backs Israel abroad. Meanwhile, non-Jewish moguls like the Murdochs wield far more influence over conservative institutions and their loyalty to Israel.
And one final irony: As a Jewish dissenter on the right, expelled long ago, I know from experience that many of my opponents were not Jewish at all. More often than not, they were well-heeled gentiles writing checks.
Gen Z has broken the old taboos and raised questions the establishment tried to bury. That’s healthy. But if Zoomers want to be taken seriously, they must separate legitimate criticism of U.S. policy toward Israel from adolescent conspiracy theories. Otherwise, the real lessons will be lost in the noise.
Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images
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