Rabbi Menken to Newsmax: Heritage Foundation's Shift Is Pushing Allies Away

Rabbi Yaakov Menken, executive vice president of the Coalition for Jewish Values, told Newsmax on Sunday that the Heritage Foundation has "continued down the same very dangerous path" after he and others cut ties with the organization over President Kevin Roberts' refusal to distance himself from Tucker Carlson following Carlson's interview with Nick Fuentes.

Menken, who said he was part of the Heritage Foundation's National Task Force to Combat Antisemitism, said on Newsmax's "Sunday Agenda" that he left in early November and has not seen meaningful change since.

"Very sadly, what we've seen is an abandonment of Heritage by some very good people," Menken said.

He described those departures as significant, adding that staff and allies he viewed as key to the conservative movement "are now found at [former Vice President] Mike Pence's foundation Advancing American Freedom."

Menken said some "literally sacrificed an office at Heritage Foundation for a desk, at a conference table, at Advancing American Freedom," because "they just couldn't handle being under Kevin Roberts anymore."

He said the shift underscores, in his view, "how adamant it has been about maintaining Roberts as the president, when he really should have left."

Menken said he and others repeatedly warned leadership, "wait a minute, you're platforming antisemitism, you're allowing this to go forward," but claimed Roberts "is continuing down the same very dangerous path."

Rather than pulling back, Menken said, "it's like quite the opposite. Heritage is like doubling down on following this new path," adding, "that is why nearly half the board has quit."

Asked why he believes Heritage has taken this direction, Menken said it reflects a conscious shift in philosophy.

"They say, 'Well, we're going to allow anybody who claims to be on the conservative Republican side to be part of our movement,'" he said.

He added that Heritage leadership has signaled "they will always stand with Tucker Carlson," before sharply criticizing Carlson's role.

"Nothing says valuing American values and freedom like buying a home in Qatar, where you're under an Islamic regime that doesn't allow non-Arabs to become citizens," Menken said.

He called it "outrageous" that Carlson would be "considered the exemplar of the conservative movement." He said he believes antisemitism has already been tolerated on the left and is now being pushed on the right as well.

"We have seen, obviously, the left allow antisemitism to simply take over the party," Menken said. "But now Tucker and Nick Fuentes and his ilk are trying to do the same thing on the right."

He said he sees Roberts as playing a central role in that shift.

"We see from Kevin Roberts that he is making nice with these guys and trying to say they're part of the conservative movement going forward," he said.

This approach, Menken warned, alienates "all Jews and anybody who values the relationship with the Jewish community," including "a lot of evangelicals in this country and a lot of Catholics."

Menken said the antisemitism task force has resumed its work only after severing its ties to Heritage.

"We've already resumed being part of that task force to combat antisemitism, because the task force itself was forced to leave," he said. "Now that that relationship and that cord have been cut, the question is, will Heritage move in a direction to reinstate that?"

"Sadly," Menken added, "I haven't seen any progress thus far."

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