WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) authored the following op-ed in the Dallas Morning News condemning the dangerous rise of antisemitism on the right and calling for moral clarity within the conservative movement to defend the dignity of every person.

Antisemitism’s rise is intolerable

Senator John Cornyn

The Dallas Morning News

November 20, 2025

https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/commentary/2025/11/23/cornyn-antisemitisms-rise-is-intolerable/

The United States of America was founded on universal principles, chief among them that we are all created equal with certain unalienable rights. This serves as the foundation for all of the other rights and freedoms we enjoy as Americans, including freedom of speech, freedom of religion, the protection of private property, and the rule of law. The recent resurgence of antisemitism, the world’s oldest form of hate, is an existential threat to the values that we hold dear. Judging a person by their race, ethnicity, or religion runs directly counter to what the founders of our country intended and undermines the very foundation of our constitutional republic.

Antisemitism is on the rise in our country. In the past year, four in 10 American Jews between the ages of 18 and 29 said they experienced antisemitism at least once. A recent FBI report determined there’s been a nearly 6% increase in religiously motivated incidents against Jewish Americans from 2023 to 2024. Furthermore, 70% of religiously motivated hate crimes last year were targeting Jews, who make up just 2% of the population. That is shocking and unacceptable.

Many of the most vivid examples of this dreadful phenomenon are on the political left. In the wake of Hamas’ unprovoked attack on Israel two years ago, college campuses have become hotbeds for hate, synagogues have become canvases for vandalism, and Jewish Americans have become targets for ridicule, prejudice, and physical harm. Of course, it is natural to feel sympathy towards the suffering of innocent Palestinians trapped in Israel’s war against Hamas, but we cannot forget that the responsibility rests with the terrorists themselves, who use Palestinians as human shields. Moreover, we cannot let our sympathy borne out of tragedy excuse racial or religious hate.

Support for the Jewish people and for Israel was once a bipartisan consensus, but as the left has increasingly turned its back on our Jewish friends, Republicans have taken on the mantle of defending Israel and the Jews against the rising tide of hatred. While these fringe ideas first began to find a home in the progressive left, there is an alarming emergence among self-styled conservatives as well.

In recent years, words like “white supremacist” and “neo-Nazi” have been thrown around carelessly, often as a caricature for anyone who disagrees with the Democrat Party dogma. But they describe Nick Fuentes, an influencer who has positioned himself as an alternative to mainstream conservatism, publicly praised Hitler, denied the Holocaust, and called a white nationalist rally “incredible.” Fuentes has also made vile racist comments about the vice president and his wife. It doesn’t take an expert in constitutional law to know these comments run afoul of the core principles for which conservatives, and Americans, stand. And, exercising the right to free speech that all Americans enjoy, we should denounce these heinous ideas for what they are: evil.

Some prominent voices in our conservative movement have shied from condemning the evil ideology that this young podcaster is promoting. Tucker Carlson hosted Fuentes on his show, giving him a broader platform to push his abhorrent views with minimal resistance. It is disappointing to see even storied institutions like the Heritage Foundation, which has long been a strong supporter of Israel and the Jewish people, waver in their condemnation of those who openly promote antisemitism and racism. Now is not the time to waver. Now is the time to speak the truth with clarity and conviction, and to condemn these un-American and anti-conservative ideas for what they are.

Our Jewish friends are facing increasingly hostile environments around the world, and sadly, now, in America as well. Many in the Democrat Party have remained silent or openly embraced those who profess antisemitism within their ranks. The Republicans cannot and will not do the same. There are times in politics that require moral clarity, and defending the inherent dignity of every human person is one of them.