This article was written on the heels of Turning Point’s 2025 conference. The Republican Party’s divide regarding antisemitism was on full display at the conference, courtesy of speakers Vance, Tucker Carlson and Ben Shapiro.
Trump recently addressed Carlson’s antisemitism by framing his views as a choice individuals should decide upon. “People have to decide”, Trump stated bluntly. The result for many Jews was disappointment where moral clarity was appropriate. Trump pointed to past pro Israel actions, but avoided directly condemning specific people or groups. Instead, Trump emphasized Republican Party unity.
At Turning Point 2025, Vance responded to the same debate by rejecting what he called a “purity test”. Vance argued that demanding ideological or moral gatekeeping weakens Republicans and resembles “cancel culture”. Like Trump, Vance’s message favored partisan pragmatism over moral clarity.
Taken together, these positions tolerate and normalize antisemitism by treating it as a factional disagreement rather than a moral disqualification. Calling the exclusion of antisemites a purity test is a categorical error. Antisemites are not simply a political faction, they are a movement that committed humanity’s only industrialized genocide and that continues to traffic in lies, conspiracy theories, and hatred.
Refusing to draw a line normalizes extremists and shifts the burden onto their targets, Jews, to prove our ‘innocence’ against the charges leveled by Carlson and others. That is not party unity, it is moral abdication.
This moral abdication also distorts foreign policy. Regarding Israel, America First does not mean America alone. The United States advances its interests by aligning with countries that share core American values like democracy and freedom. In the great power competition, China relies on authoritarian clients like North Korea and Iran, while the United States partners with democratic allies such as Taiwan, South Korea, and Israel. These allies are net contributors, leading in technology, medicine, intelligence, and defense in ways that directly strengthen American security. These partnerships are reciprocal, not charitable. Trump’s Golden Dome drawing on Israeli missile defense is one clear example.
I am an independent. I do not speak for America First and I do not claim to define it. However, if America First is to mean anything truly American, it must rest on long standing American values such as liberty and religious tolerance. Antisemitism is not a mere policy dispute, it is a direct rejection of American values. A movement that will not plainly reject antisemitism and disavow antisemites is not putting America first, it is abandoning American ideals for partisan expediency.
I strongly recommend reading this article by The Editorial Board of The National Review before commenting:
https://www.nationalreview.com/2025/12/cheers-for-ben-shapiro/
Questions for Discussion:
- Does free speech require equal access to major media outlets, conferences, and other metaphorical microphones?
- Why platform anti-Semites like Carlson at a major conference like Turning Point?
- Is denial of intent a sufficient defense when the effects of laundering anti-semitism are predictable?
RealGayJew
Article URL : https://disqus.com/by/TheGayJew/