The Heritage Foundation’s signature antisemitism project was teetering Tuesday as a flurry of Jewish organizations and leaders decamped over the conservative think tank’s defense of anti-Israel commentator Tucker Carlson.
The Zionist Organization of America said it plans to leave the National Task Force to Combat Antisemitism, a Heritage-led coalition that unveiled its Project Esther strategy last year, on the anniversary of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack.
“Up until now, ZOA was proud and gratified to be a key participant in the Heritage Foundation’s excellent Esther Project initiative to combat antisemitism,” said ZOA National President Morton Klein in a Tuesday statement. “However, we believe that the Heritage Foundation can no longer capably combat antisemitism while its president defends and allies with leading forces that are defaming Israel and the Jewish people.”
As a result, he said, “ZOA has thus sadly and painfully concluded that we will terminate our participation in Heritage’s Esther Project, unless Heritage President Kevin Roberts publicly and immediately condemns Carlson’s actions and statements; apologizes for Roberts’ video statements; and ends Roberts’ and Heritage’s relationship with Tucker Carlson.”
Mr. Klein added that the “only alternative would be for Kevin Roberts to resign or be removed.”
The nation’s oldest pro-Israel organization’s departure came with at least a half-dozen other members ending or evaluating their involvement with the high-profile task force.
Also tendering its resignation Tuesday was the Baltimore-based Coalition for Jewish Values, which said it “cannot grant legitimacy to an effort to combat antisemitism operated by the Heritage Foundation while Heritage is validating antisemitism and giving it a platform.”
