Conservative commentator Tucker Carlson and the Republican Texas senator, Ted Cruz, are publicly quarreling after Mr. Cruz called out Mr. Carlson for comparing the Israeli Defense Forces leadership to Adolf Hitler — just weeks after the fired Fox News star had conducted a chummy, in-studio interview with the Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes.

The contretemps began when, in his Thursday evening newsletter, Mr. Carlson criticized American support for Israel by claiming that the “IDF’s leaders” believe in “blood superiority” and thus have “more in common with Adolf Eichmann than Jesus.”

“Remembering that American taxpayers fund this lunacy is enraging enough to cause a blood pressure spike,” he wrote. “The United States government needs to grow a spine and free itself from this venomous ‘special alliance.’ And that’s a moderate stance. The other side is the radicals.” 

The message drew swift condemnation from well within the conservative movement. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, who has positioned himself as an outspoken critic of antisemitism on the right, called the assertions “astonishing.”

“Tucker is now — literally — calling Jews … Nazis,” Mr. Cruz stated on X Thursday evening. “But really, he’s not an antisemite,” he quipped. 

Mr. Carlson responded Friday morning, doubling down. He argued that he never “called Jews Nazis,” writing in his Friday newsletter that, “We didn’t say anything about ‘the Jews.’ We never have. All we did was reject Nazi-style thinking that judges people based on their DNA. Apparently that’s bigoted? Are you serious? Why would you lie, Senator Cruz?” 

Mr. Carlson added at the bottom of his newsletter a link to “learn more about Tel Aviv Ted’s deep commitment to shilling for the Israeli government here.” 

Mr. Cruz fired back on X. “So in today’s newsletter, @TuckerCarlson tries to retreat from his latest antisemitic rant by arguing that ‘the IDF’s leaders’ aren’t ‘Jews,'” he wrote. “What are they…Norwegian?”

The back-and-forth between the two conservative figures represents a deepening rift within the conservative movement over Israel advocacy and antisemitism. Mr. Carlson — with his rejection of U.S. support for Israel, flirtation with the virulently anti-Israel rulers of Qatar and defense of Israel’s arch-enemy, Iran — has become increasingly willing to embrace antisemitic ideas and figures, making him a lighting rod in the debate. 

This latest controversy follows Mr. Carlson’s October interview with Mr. Fuentes, a 27-year-old white nationalist influencer and self-proclaimed admirer of Adolf Hitler. During their friendly conversation, which took place in the cozy environs of Mr. Carlson’s cabin-like Maine studio, Mr. Carlson described Christian Zionists as infected by a “brain virus” and offered no pushback when Mr. Fuentes claimed that “organized Jewry in America” represents a major obstacle to national unity.

That episode sparked speculation about whether the prominent conservative think tank, the Heritage Foundation, would end its relationship with Mr. Carlson, who maintains considerable — if diminished — influence even after his ouster from Fox. Heritage president Kevin Roberts quickly dismissed the rumors in a bizarre video statement, offering his “unequivocal support” and condemning what he called a “venomous coalition” of critics attacking the podcaster and “sowing division.”

Mr. Roberts’ unprovoked video drew fierce backlash from pro-Israel and Jewish conservatives alarmed by his reluctance to condemn allies who embrace antisemitic figures or rhetoric. Several staff members resigned in protest.