Republican Jewish leaders planned ceasefire celebration pivoted to take on antisemitism within

     Las Vegas, Nov 2 (AP) Concerns that antisemitism is on the rise among Republicans burst to the surface this weekend, turning a conference of the nation's leading Jewish Republicans from jubilation over a tenuous ceasefire in the Middle East into a clarion call to stem the spread of anti-Jewish voices within the party.
     The emerging schism was laid bare by a prominent conservative think tank president's defense of talk show host Tucker Carlson's controversial decision to welcome a far-right activist with antisemitic views onto his podcast Thursday, and Carlson's hesitation to challenge some of his views.
     It prompted nearly every speaker who took the podium at the Republican Jewish Coalition's annual conference in Las Vegas to call for rooting out anti-Jewish elements in the GOP.
     Still, the meeting's proceedings sent a clear signal that the Republican Party has work to do to reconcile views within its ranks about the path forward for Israel in its relationship with the United States, its staunchest ally. But the voices speaking from the podium Friday and Saturday were united in their condemnation of antisemitism.
     “We are at this point in what I consider sort of the early stages of an undeclared civil war within the Republican Party, as it relates to Israel, and antisemitism and the Jewish community,” Republican Jewish Coalition leader Matthew Brooks said in an interview with The Associated Press.
     Brooks and the dozens of other speakers who condemned antisemitism within the GOP from the stage before an audience of about 1,000 in the Venetian Resort ballroom in Las Vegas set an ominous tone that cut into the air of celebration many had anticipated over the October ceasefire.
     Brooks had planned to fold some of his concerns into the three-day, annual conference of Republican Jewish elected officials, fundraisers, media personalities and activists.
     But comments made just before the meeting by Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts denying the conservative group was “distancing itself” from Carlson — a former Fox News host and powerful voice on the right — after his podcast hosted Nick Fuentes prompted a sudden pivot.
     Fuentes has said the Holocaust was exaggerated, and that he believes in a global Jewish conspiracy.
     Carlson has espoused a white supremacist ideology called the “great replacement theory,” which says people of color are replacing white people and that Jews are furthering the change.
     The video of Roberts' comments sparked outrage from some Heritage staffers, senators and conservative activists. But they also reflect increasing scepticism toward Israel and of Jews among some on the right, complicating GOP efforts to cast the Democratic Party as antisemitic.
     For months The Republican Jewish Coalition has been uneasy about Carlson, who has criticised US support for Israel in its war with Hamas and has come under fire for his own far-right views.
     One is his opposition to Christian Zionism, the belief that some evangelical Christians interpret the Bible as promising the land of Israel eternally to the Jews, thus viewing Israel as belonging to the Jewish people.
     Brooks had named others for contributing to the schism, including Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and conservative social media figure Candace Owens.
     “And it's really going to be our challenge going forward to combat that before it has a chance to grow and metastasize in the Republican Party,” Brooks told the AP.
     That challenge was met by a steady chorus from the podium.
     “Sadly, we're seeing antisemitism on the fringes of our own party,” Tennessee Rep. David Kustoff lamented.
     Republican Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida later proclaimed: “In our party we will not tolerate antisemitism." (AP) SCY
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(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)