The National Task Force to Combat Antisemitism is parting ways with the Heritage Foundation, the conservative think tank that created the panel after Oct. 7, and will continue its work “outside the Heritage Foundation for a season,” per an email that Jewish Insider reported.
The panel cited unease over Heritage’s recent defense of Tucker Carlson, the former Fox News host who aired an interview with Nick Fuentes, a neo-Nazi.
The task force said it will “now expand our work to fight the rising scourge of antisemitism on the right, beyond our previous work combating the pro-Hamas movement on the left,” per the reported email.
It also announced a Nov. 18 Washington conference titled “Exposing and Countering Extremism and Antisemitism on the Right,” organized with the Conference of Christian Presidents for Israel.
At press time, the task force’s website still stated that it is “supported by the Heritage Foundation.” It still lists a Heritage vice president as one of the panel’s co-chairs. It wasn’t immediately clear from Jewish Insider reporting if that co-chair signed the email and was to be part of the independent panel.
Mark Goldfeder, CEO of the National Jewish Advocacy Center, who resigned from the task force in a Nov. 2 letter accusing Heritage of blurring the line “between worthwhile debate and normalization of hate,” told JNS that he plans to rejoin the task force.
“I commend the task force for making the right decision to separate,” he told JNS. “That choice reflects the clarity and moral courage our community needs right now.”
“I’m proud of the important work the task force has done, and I look forward to rejoining and continuing that work together as it moves forward independently, true to its mission and values,” he said.
