What could possibly be the motivating factor of someone, who once enjoyed a good name, reliable reputation and the respect of others, to suddenly trade that all in for worldwide recognition of another type?
This is the puzzling question so many of us are asking as we constantly hear the latest inconceivable statements made by both Tucker Carlson and Candace Owens, two people who often appeared together on the same Fox News network.
Almost daily, an article appears about each, detailing yet another outrageous accusation, always directed against the Jews and their ancestral homeland, Israel.
The latest, as it relates to Tucker, has been the absurd claim that the Chabad organization is the engine behind the Iran war, due to their desire to see the construction of the Third Temple, to then herald the coming of the promised Messiah.
Founded on the baseless claim that some Israeli soldiers have been wearing Velcro Temple Mount patches on their uniforms that were sold by a group called B’yadenu (in our hands), Tucker has embellished one particular story, misquoting an orthodox soldier, and making it sound as if this is the sole motivation for his fight.
Tucker’s crazy theory hinges upon the destruction of Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque – which, he believes, would be replaced by the Third Temple. In a clip, he shares an Israeli soldier speaking about his involvement in the 2023 Swords of Iron operation, saying, “We’re fighting for the rights of the Jewish people to exist, practice their religion and be free, and ‘one day’ our true leader will come, and we will be united, as the whole Jewish nation, so we can build the Beit HaMikdash (the Holy Temple).”
It is from this statement that Tucker builds his damning thesis that Israeli soldiers are battling to destroy the Islamic site to replace it with their own. What he never acknowledges is that “one day” could be a hundred years or even a different millennium, because the soldier never really defines the passage of time.
Tucker then goes on to fantasize an imaginary scenario, as if it is verified and factually established: Since the soldier is wearing an official IDF uniform, Tucker reasons that this must, therefore, be the accepted position of all military participants. Ironically, he then states that this is not the cherry picking of one soldier. But what is it?
Because this is not commonplace among all soldiers. It is, indeed, one lone incident which likely represents a miniscule percentage of them. But it can’t be, according to Tucker, because he found another six soldiers wearing the same patch.
In his attempt to anger Americans, Tucker cleverly connects the dots back to the US, which he says pays for the Israeli military. That way, he can get his fellow citizens to disavow this insidious Third Temple movement, which he identifies as the fuel behind this war.
“Imaginary” aptly describes his theory, which is considered fringe in the State of Israel, where 70% of the population describe themselves as secular and have no connection or affiliation with aspirations to construct the Third Temple.
Then there's Candace Owens, who has made the ultimate cut by becoming the IRGC’s favorite American. According to a recent Jerusalem Post article, “Tehran’s propagandists decided to amplify her anti-Israel extremist message” (March 8, 2026). They ask the question, “What does that say about her?”
IRGC platforms Candece Owen's in Persian
As incredible as it sounds, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps finds Owens’ words compelling enough to platform her in the Persian language, amplifying her wild conspiracy theories which, similar to Tucker, blame Israelis for “manufacturing a pretext for war with Iran, profiting from endless regional chaos.”
Without any solid basis, she asserts the belief that “Zionism is an ideology that justifies murder, taking and stealing whatever they want in the name of divine chosenness.” It must be true, because she said it, and that should be sufficient!
What’s not to like if you’re a member of the IRGC? Here is a well-known American podcaster, who is cheering on your side, advocating for your victory by recasting Zionists as the immoral enemy who will stop at nothing to win. In fact, their evil is light years beyond that of Iranian soldiers who merely mass murder their citizens just for taking to the streets to protest the regime.
By Owens’ twisted reckoning, no one could top the Jewish state when it comes to the level of depravity that she insists is being committed by these demonic souls who are the worst of the worst.
And so, Tehran happily runs with her meticulously crafted version, giddy that they have such a useful moron to take up their cudgels.
Which leads us all to ask the question – why are Tucker and Candace engaging in such self-destructive behavior, knowing that most sane people are aghast at the refuse which is being spewed by both of them? After all, it’s not as if Jews are an unknown commodity.
The Jews have been living alongside Americans, Europeans, and every other culture and civilization for thousands of years. In almost every case, they have significantly added to the betterment of those societies through life-saving discoveries, treasured literature, inventive technology, and just about all segments of business, commerce, and humanities.
Those advances are utilized globally, and their desire to help anyone in need continues, despite many who are quick to depict them as the little Satan. But for clear-thinking people who know better, they ask themselves: Why are these libelous conspiracies being peddled by the likes of two individuals who were once at the top of their game, enjoying the respect of so many?
Could it be that in order to get those coveted clicks, they have to resort to a sensationalized hypothesis of who they claim the Jews really are? As they’ve discovered, there certainly is a huge appetite for such a distorted philosophy, and a willing audience to ingest all of the defamatory and vilifying characterizations that are being hurled at the Jewish people and Israel.
But is it worth the heavy price that accompanies the damage being done to their reputations? Fame is a very tempting stimulant, but how far will one go in order to continuously keep their persona in front of the public? Apparently, whatever it takes – because to these two, those clicks are worth more than a good name!
Cookie Schwaeber-Issan is a former principal of Jerusalem elementary and middle schools, and was a member of Kibbutz Re’im from 1994-1999. She is the author of Mistake-Proof Parenting, based on the time-tested wisdom found in the Book of Proverbs, available on Amazon.