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(LifeSiteNews) — Within a broader discussion regarding threats to free speech across the Western world on Thursday, Tucker Carlson focused on Florida’s “antisemitism” law that criminalizes criticism of Israel or its advocates in the United States.
During an interview with fellow former Fox News hostess and podcaster Megyn Kelly, Carlson expressed amazement on how “a bunch of different states, including Florida,” have “codified antisemitism as a crime. They’ve defined it in a way that is so expansive that criticism of Israel is (considered) ‘antisemitic.’ The claim that someone is ‘Israel first’ is a crime in the state of Florida,” he said with amazement.
Expressing how many of these laws seemed to go unnoticed, he lamented, “I think we’re going to wake up one morning with European hate crimes laws written in a way that is not fair at all, that doesn’t affect justice.”
READ: How the ‘antisemitism industry’ became the biggest threat to freedom in the West
In a Friday interview with Florida gubernatorial candidate James Fishback, he recalled his admiration for Gov. Ron DeSantis but how his foreign policy priorities made him question the level of influence Zionist donors had over his policies.
“Then he had this moment where he … flew to a foreign country, Israel, to sign a hate speech law for Florida,” the former Fox News flagship host recalled. “This is obviously unconstitutional, it’s immoral, but it’s also part of an elaborate humiliation where you have to go, (and) not just enslave your own people with a hate speech law — which that is, it’s slavery — but you have to go kiss someone else’s wall to show your obedience.”
At this point, he indicated DeSantis lost his support.
In his Thursday monologue raising alarm regarding the loss of free speech, Carlson highlighted a clip of Florida Lt. Gov. Jay Collins, who stated in a recent interview after a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu:
You have a right to free speech, but you don’t have the right to harm other people with your words. And you don’t have the right to say things that have really negative, really horrible meanings. When you want people to destroy Israel, that matters.
Carlson lampooned, “Oh, you don’t have the right to say things that people in charge don’t like. You don’t? That’s the whole point (of free speech)! If you don’t have that right, you are a slave and Jay Collins is your master.”
“Notice, by the way, he didn’t say you can’t attack America. That’s totally fine,” he continued. Instead, this former military officer asserts, “you can’t attack Israel. You can’t call for the destruction of Israel.”
“Of course, you can call for the destruction of any (other) foreign country you want. It’s a staple on Fox News. Lindsey Graham does it every single day. You just can’t call for the destruction of Israel. That’s a crime,” Carlson mocked.
Affirming it is not a crime to make such statements, the pundit said that “it may be an ugly opinion. It may be an unsustainable argument. You may be an idiot, but you have a God given right to that opinion and a God given right to express it.”
“And again, if they try and take that away, you need to have an insurrection against the government because you’re done at that point,” Carlson warned. “An insurrection against the government (is necessary) if they try and take away your right to say what you think, (and) your right to your own conscience. Period.”
“It’s fine to attack America, but you can’t attack Israel,” he lampooned again.
Kelly, who is also an attorney, affirmed Carlson, saying he was “spot-on” and then went on to respond directly to Collins’ statement “you don’t have the right to harm other people with your words.”
On the contrary, “I absolutely do!” Kelly celebrated with laughter. “And it’s actually what makes us fundamentally American. It’s awesome! I have every right to insult you, to speak hatefully about you. And it’s glorious! It’s what makes it wonderful to live here.”
“The First Amendment, of course, is there to protect hate speech. Hate speech is not only constitutional. It’s written right in there that you can say the most hateful things possible,” she confirmed. “Sorry, but I can. And if you don’t like it, you’re the one who needs to move … out of the United States of America. That’s my fundamental (legal) right to say things that offend.”
Regarding Florida’s antisemitism law, Kelly highlighted the irony that such legislation will actually result in significant increases in antisemitic attitudes.
“So the Jews who push those laws, and there’s a lot of Jews down in Florida … they think that the answer to antisemitism — which is a problem to some extent, of course — is to get themselves recategorized as one of the protected DEI groups. And of course it’s not. The answer is to demolish DEI. The answer is to stop separating us by group,” she said.
“The more you start cracking down on people’s thought crimes against Israel, or even their antisemitism — truly, like this is America, you’re allowed to be a racist, you’re allowed to be a misogynist, (and) you’re allowed to be an antisemite,” Kelly explained. “You’re not allowed to make hiring and firing decisions based on that, but that’s not what we’re arguing over here. We’re talking about what’s in your head and your heart.”
“The more you try to criminalize that or ruin someone’s life over those thoughts, the more you engender the very hatred you say you’re objecting to,” Kelly concluded.
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