The sniping among right of center media personalities in the United States in recent months has been a non-stop exchange of barbs and insults. And it has become very, very ugly of late. A central figure in this weird ecosystem is Tucker Carlson, former Fox News host, now a successful independent podcaster with millions of followers and extensive reach. Carlson has sparked controversy and outrage for many reasons, but we focus in this podcast on his comments on Israel, wealthy American Jews, AIPAC, the Republican Jewish Coalition and his very strong suggestion that Israel and Jews control the White House and, therefore, America. Carlson is outraged that President Trump chose to go to war against Iran and asserts boldly and often that he was bullied into doing so by Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu. Even worse, in acting in this way, Carlson maintains that Trump put the national interest of Israel ahead of America’s.
On Tuesday, May 16, one of Israel’s top television anchors, Udi Segal, interviewed Carlson to challenge many of his claims. It was a feisty exchange, to put it mildly. I spoke with Udi Segal the following morning about why he felt it was important to give Tucker oxygen (as I like to say)? Why amplify his voice?
It’s not an everyday thing - to interview a top journalist about his interview with another journalist. Talk about inside baseball! But this was important. Udi challenged Carlson for defending Putin’s attack on Ukraine as being defensive and eminently justifiable, while insisting that Israel is a terrorist state. Genocidal. We all need to know what Tucker Carlson and those of his ilk are saying and doing because their simplistic demagoguery is mesmerizing a large segment of the population. And that is dangerous. His ideas and views are also dangerous - and based in a malevolent agenda. Carlson loves to bellow that he asserts facts, when he does nothing of the sort. He peddles gutter prejudice and bitterness but manages to present himself as a thoughtful, analytical, compassionate man with laudable values. He is anything but.
I spent more time than I care to admit in the last week studying Carlson’s interviews and monologues, especially those pertaining to Israel and the war. Some say he’s an apologist for Islamists. Have a listen (or watch). You decide.
The emergence of a robust independent media sector that is openly hostile to Israel Jews and promotes deeply concerning ideas (facts, as Carlson calls them) is a harsh reality. This increasingly influential cohort asserts that Jews are disloyal, evil, violent. Immoral, and subversively controlling and manipulating America and other nations with their money and wily ways. We have a serious problem.
And we should really pay careful attention to this. It’s not just a Jewish issue. It’s a threat to democracy and liberal societies.
Show your support for STLV at buymeacoffee.com/stateoftelaviv
Podcast Notes
15-minute edited interview with Tucker Carlson that aired on Israel’s channel 13 on Tuesday May 16
Full unedited 45-minute interview with Tucker Carlson and Udi Segal
Unedited clip of Tucker Carlson appearing at the Doha Conference, December 6, 2025.
“Brothers in Arms”, article by Udi Segal published in the launch edition of State of Tel Aviv, May 17, 2022.
Website of Israeli artist Yoram Gal, who painted the original artwork for the launch edition of STLV.
Links to State of Tel Aviv and Beyond podcasts looking at how pro-Israel guests were treated on Piers Morgan’s show “Uncensored”
Article in State of Tel Aviv published June 5, 2025, titled, “Joe Rogan, Dave Smith, Douglas Murray, Piers Morgan and Natasha Hausdorff: So much fuss over talk shows. Why?
About Udi Segal
Udi Segal is the senior anchor and analyst of the evening news of Israel’s TV channel 13.
Previously, he was the diplomatic correspondent for another major TV station. He has worked as the New York bureau chief for the newspaper, Ma’ariv, and began his journalism career as a correspondent at IDF radio, “Galei Tzahal.”
He teaches journalism and television reporting in the Riechman University.
Segal is married and has 4 children. He lives in a moshav near Netanya, not far from the sea where he practices his favorite sport of rowing a SUP (stand up paddleboarding).
