Commentator Tucker Carlson triggered a storm this week after accusing the global Chabad-Lubavitch movement of secretly pushing for the destruction of the Islamic shrines on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount and the construction of a Third Jewish Temple. The remarks came as Israel remains locked in a widening confrontation with Iran and its regional proxies. Carlson, who commands a massive online audience, used his program to present the war as part of a Jewish religious agenda, claiming that Chabad has been quietly working to advance plans to remove the Dome of the Rock and the Al Aqsa Mosque in order to rebuild the Temple.
Carlson opened his broadcast by asserting that “key players involved in this war” believe the conflict will lead to the destruction of the Islamic structures on the Temple Mount and the rebuilding of the Jewish Temple. He then singled out Chabad, stating that the movement has been “pushing in a pretty subtle way” for such a development. As supposed evidence, Carlson pointed to patches worn by Israeli soldiers that depict a Temple structure, claiming—without proof—that they originated with Chabad.
The claim immediately drew condemnation from Jewish leaders and analysts who described the accusation as a classic antisemitic conspiracy theory repackaged for modern media.
Rabbi Yaacov Behrman, a spokesman for the Chabad community in Brooklyn, rejected Carlson’s claims in blunt terms.
“Chabad’s focus is on encouraging mitzvos—good deeds—to bring more goodness into the world and hasten the coming of the Messiah while living responsibly in the present,” Behrman said. “Reckless rhetoric like this is dangerous and irresponsible.”
Chabad, headquartered in Crown Heights in Brooklyn, operates Jewish outreach centers in more than 100 countries and is widely known for its work encouraging Jewish practice. The movement is not a political organization and does not run campaigns related to Israeli military or government policy.
Carlson’s theory relied partly on images of Israeli soldiers wearing patches depicting a Temple. Those images in fact, came from social media posts connected to the Temple Institute, an advocacy group that promotes education about the Temple and preparation for its eventual restoration. The institute has no connection to Chabad.
Despite the lack of evidence, Carlson framed the current war as a “global religious war” allegedly triggered by Jewish ambitions regarding the Temple Mount. He also claimed that Christians die disproportionately in such conflicts, suggesting hidden motives behind Jewish support for Israel.
The comments were quickly amplified by another controversial media personality, Candace Owens. Writing on social media, Owens warned followers to “be aware of where the Chabad is nearest your home,” describing Chabad members as “dangerous” and accusing them of following a “war messiah.” She also repeated the widely debunked claim that Israel was responsible for the September 11 terror attacks.
Eylon Levy, who served as the official Israeli government spokesman from the start of Gaza war to March 2024, was even more critical of Carlson’s comments, tweeting, “Between @TuckerCarlson claiming Chabad is behind the Iran strikes and @RealCandaceO claiming Israel did 9/11, we have to understand that today’s antisemites— the most popular media voices on the American right—are trying to get Jews killed.
Political reaction was swift. The Republican Jewish Coalition condemned Carlson’s remarks as “disgusting,” while critics pointed out that the accusations closely resemble longstanding antisemitic myths portraying Jews as secretly manipulating world events and wars.
Even Carlson’s former ally, President Donald Trump, publicly distanced himself from the podcaster’s claims.
“Tucker has lost his way,” Trump said in comments reported by ABC News. “He’s not MAGA.”
Carlson’s remarks also revived an accusation that has fueled violence for nearly a century: the claim that Jews are plotting to destroy the Islamic shrines on the Temple Mount. The allegation has repeatedly appeared in Arab and Islamist propaganda and has triggered riots and attacks on Jews dating back to the British Mandate period.
The hope for a restored Temple is a central belief in traditional Jewish faith, rooted directly in the Bible. The prophet Isaiah described the future Temple in language that emphasizes peace and prayer rather than war:
“And I will bring them to My holy mountain, and make them joyful in My house of prayer; their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be acceptable upon My altar; for My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations.” (Isaiah 56:7)
The medieval sage Maimonides codified belief in the coming of the Messiah and the rebuilding of the Temple as one of Judaism’s core principles of faith. Jewish tradition teaches that the Beit HaMikdash—the Holy Temple—will stand as a place where all nations can serve God.
Rabbi Mordechai Lightstone, Chabad’s social media director, noted that belief in the Temple and the Messianic era is shared across the entire Jewish world. “The sum total of goodness and kindness done by people everywhere brings closer a time when ‘nation shall not lift up sword against nation,’” he wrote online.
Carlson’s accusations emerged as antisemitic narratives increasingly circulate across both the far-right and far-left political fringes. Analysts say the convergence of those narratives has created a new ecosystem of conspiracy theories in which Israel and Jews are portrayed as secret manipulators of global events.
The Temple Mount remains the holiest site in Judaism and a focal point of intense political and religious tension. Yet Jewish teaching about the future Temple speaks not about conquest or destruction, but about a world in which all humanity gathers in Jerusalem to serve God together. Carlson’s claims invert that message and recycle a familiar slander that Jews have heard for generations.
