This past weekend at Turning Point USA, Ben Shapiro took the stage and did what too few have been willing to do: he told the truth and drew a line in the sand against antisemitism in the conservative movement.
His courage matters, and we all need to pay attention.
Shapiro didn’t mince words. He called out Nick Fuentes as exactly what he is, a pro-Hitler racist whose venom extends far beyond Jews to include women – including the vice president’s wife – Black Americans, Asian Americans, and countless others.
He confronted the troubling reality that figures like Tucker Carlson have given Fuentes a platform, attempting to mainstream his toxic ideology. He challenged Carlson’s increasingly anti-Israel rhetoric and Candace Owens’ transformation from someone who built her career with support from Israeli venture capitalists to a voice that demonizes the Jewish people.
Fighting antisemitic hatred at Turning Point USA
Turning Point USA draws thousands of young, impressionable conservatives. Recent studies, including work highlighted by Yair Rosenberg in The Atlantic, show that antisemitism among young people is rising at an alarming rate. Despite attempts by some politicians to blame immigration, the data tells a different story. This hatred is homegrown and spreading.
We cannot allow ourselves to be used as political pawns. Too many politicians now cynically position themselves as anti-Israel and anti-Jewish because they believe it will win them votes. They see a path to power and take it, regardless of the damage they inflict.
The past three and a half years have taught us a crucial lesson: you cannot separate the Jews from Israel. The BDS movement understood this from the beginning. Overt antisemitism faced resistance, so activists cloaked their hatred in anti-Zionism instead. It’s the same poison in a different bottle.
What’s particularly disturbing is the response from some quarters. Megyn Kelly’s defense of people like Owens and Carlson – “but they’re my friends” – reveals a stunning moral blindness. Friendship cannot excuse hateful content. Personal relationships cannot override our responsibility to stand against bigotry in all its forms.
Shapiro joined a small but vital group of truth-tellers who have refused to stay silent. Broadcaster Mark Levin, journalists Bari Weiss and Eli Lake, as well as others, have been sounding the alarm, warning both the Left and Right that they’re heading down dangerous paths. History has shown us repeatedly that what begins with the Jews never ends with the Jews. We are the canary in the coal mine.
The Left has embraced a particularly visible and aggressive form of antisemitism, evident across college campuses and progressive movements and in certain segments of the Democratic Party. But what Shapiro confronted this weekend was an attempt to align an entire conservative movement with anti-Israel sentiment and antisemitic tropes. If we don’t stop this now, it will only grow.
Shapiro took real risks by speaking out. He said things that could affect his livelihood and standing. He did it because he believed the people on the other side were fundamentally wrong. That’s what moral courage looks like.
In that room full of young conservatives, Shapiro delivered a message they desperately needed to hear: know your values and stand by them. If you want to traffic in hate, own it, but don’t wrap it in conservatism. Don’t pretend it’s something noble or principled.
We must support people like Ben Shapiro who stand in the trenches fighting this battle. These truth-tellers are defending all of us, not just the Jewish community, because when hatred is normalized, when bigotry finds mainstream acceptance, everyone ultimately suffers.
The battle at Turning Point USA this weekend was a microcosm of a larger struggle. Will we allow antisemitism to infect our political movements from all sides? Or will we demand better from our leaders, our media figures, and ourselves?
Ben Shapiro showed us the way forward: speak the truth, even when it’s costly. Stand firm on principle, even when it’s uncomfortable. Reject hatred in all its forms, even when it comes dressed in political expediency.
That’s not just good for the Jews: It’s good for America.
The writer is CEO of Aish, a global Jewish educational institute and movement. He formerly served as eastern director of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, where he oversaw the Museum of Tolerance in New York City.