Black pastor warns antisemitism could ‘destroy’ Republican Party

A pastor dedicated to strengthening multiethnic Christian support for Israel warned that, just like the Democrats, antisemitism may destroy the Republican Party if conservatives don’t push back against figures like Tucker Carlson and Candace Owens.

“How do we expect the blessings of God on our nation, which we’ve experienced for the length of our nation — and much of that has to do with both our Philo-semitism and our stand with Israel — if we begin to lose support even on the right?” Pastor Dumisani Washington asked in a recent interview with The Christian Post. 

Washington is the founder and CEO of the Institute for Black Solidarity with Israel, which works to build relationships between Christians, Jews and people of African descent. 

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A registered independent, the Christian pastor believes there could be consequences on a spiritual level if support for Israel ceases to exist on the right. 

“Because the left — unfortunately, if it recovers, it’s going to be a while — we are now in danger spiritually,” Washington said. “This is what I feel.” 

Recent polls suggest the Democratic Party’s favorability among Americans has hit a new low. According to a Harvard CAPS/Harris poll of over 2,746 registered voters interviewed in late March, 37% of voters said they approved of the Democratic Party in March, compared to 36% in February.

According to the survey, approval ratings for the party are the lowest since March 2018. The survey also found that 34% of Democratic voters and 43% of black voters who were evaluated said that they disapproved of the party.

Another NBC News poll released in March reported that only 27% of registered voters said they have a positive view of the party, and only 7% stated that those views were “very” positive. Fifty-five percent of voters said they had a negative view of the party, with 38% saying those views were “very” negative. 

Antisemitism is one of many things that Washington believes is destroying the Democratic Party, arguing that the party’s pro-Israel wing didn’t do enough to distinguish itself from the anti-Israel voices, pointing to Reps. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., and Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich. 

While he concedes that anti-Israel lawmakers still have a First Amendment right to speak, Washington argues that Democrats like Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer could have done more to speak up and call out certain party members. 

Despite President Donald Trump and his administration’s efforts to build what Washington described as a “strong U.S.-Israel relationship,” the pastor fears that the issue of antisemitism is “creeping into” the right. 

“Fast forward to now, Tucker Carlson is platforming anti-Israel, Palestinian pastors giving all kinds of false information about Israel attacking and persecuting Christians,” Washington said.

Washington referred to Carlson’s April 2024 interview with Munther Isaac, pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Christmas Church in Bethlehem. The segment sparked criticism from several faith leaders, as Isaac has been accused of supporting Hamas and its attack against Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, which led to the killings of over 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in southern Israel. 

Historians criticized Carlson’s interview with Darryl Cooper, someone who questioned whether British Prime Minister Winston Churchill was the “chief villain” of World War II rather than Adolf Hitler.

“Tucker also has his First Amendment rights; we’re not trying to stop his First Amendment,” Washington stated. “We’re saying, where are the big voices on the right calling out Tucker Carlson and calling out Candace Owens?”  

“And we’re saying that this is the danger,” Washington said. “The danger is that when those marginal voices on the left began that type of demonization of Israel about 10 years ago or so, there was hardly any pushback.” 

Owens, a conservative commentator, has attracted controversy following several comments she made about Israel and the Jewish people that critics deemed antisemitic. Owens accused Israel of committing genocide following its response to Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack.

She also claimed that Israel enforces “Jim Crow” policies by forcing Muslims to live in Jerusalem’s Muslim Quarter. However, Israel doesn’t force Muslims to live there, and it also has a Christian Quarter and a Jewish Quarter.

Owens and The Daily Wire publicly parted in 2024 after she liked a tweet asking if author Rabbi Shmuley Boteach was “drunk on Christian blood,” an antisemitic stereotype.

Following her departure from the conservative news outlet, Owens has continued to attract controversy due to her comments about Israel and the Jewish community, which resulted in the watchdog group StopAntisemitism crowning the pundit as the 2024 “Antisemite of the Year.”