Right-wing infighting erupts again while Israel stands firm and Arab actors fuel global instability.
A quiet meeting in Jerusalem has sparked a loud and bitter ideological war inside the American right. Israel’s Ambassador Mike Huckabee, long known as a steadfast defender of the Jewish state, is now facing fierce criticism from an increasingly fractured MAGA movement after meeting with Jonathan Pollard, the former U.S. Navy intelligence analyst who served 30 years in prison for passing classified material to Israel.
The uproar reveals a widening—and potentially explosive—divide within the movement over the future of America’s bond with Jerusalem. Even in a week dominated by debates over Jeffrey Epstein, economic frustrations, and foreign-policy entanglements in the Middle East and Africa, the right ultimately circled back to its most combustible internal fault line: Israel, loyalty, and antisemitism.
A Movement Turning on Its Own
Prominent MAGA voices erupted with outrage. Activist Mike Cernovich blasted Huckabee, calling the meeting “completely indefensible,” while Steve Bannon declared on his broadcast that Huckabee was “totally out of control.” Jack Posobiec, echoing the hard-right’s growing suspicion of pro-Israel conservatives, warned that leaders “cannot sit down with traitors.”
For many in Israel, Pollard remains a symbol of sacrifice and loyalty; for the MAGA skeptics, he is a reminder of an outdated narrative they wish to challenge. The tension exposes an uncomfortable truth: a rising faction of the American right is distancing itself from traditional pro-Israel alignment, often influenced by fringe commentators who openly flirt with antisemitic rhetoric.
Pollard Speaks, Conspiracy Theorists Amplify
Pollard told The New York Times the meeting was “friendly,” adding nothing was requested or exchanged. But his past comments—acknowledging that Jews may feel both American and Jewish loyalty—were quickly seized upon by conspiracy theorists who used the meeting to revive corrosive “dual loyalty” slurs.
This toxic discourse aligns closely with the rhetoric emerging from extremist pockets of the right—ironically echoing propaganda long used by anti-Israel activists and pro-Palestinian agitators.
A Movement at War With Itself
The timing is especially volatile. MAGA’s internal debate over support for Israel has escalated amid:
- Israel’s war against Hamas,
- U.S. strikes on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, and
- The growing influence of far-right personalities like Nick Fuentes, who openly praises Hitler and traffics in Holocaust distortion.
The result is a movement now locked in a philosophical civil war—some committed to America’s historic and strategic alliance with Israel, others parroting narratives that mirror anti-Israel sentiment emanating from Arab regimes, Iranian propagandists, and pro-Palestinian networks.
The White House Responds
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said President Trump was not briefed on the meeting beforehand but “stands by Ambassador Huckabee and all that he’s doing for the United States and Israel.” The message was clear: Trump is not abandoning allies who maintain strong pro-Israel positions, regardless of growing dissent within his base.
As this internal feud intensifies, one thing is unmistakable: the debate within the American right over Israel is no longer a whisper—it is a full-scale identity struggle, with major implications for U.S. policy in the Middle East and beyond.
