In his remarks Wednesday, at the Israel Hayom Forum—a high-profile conference hosted in New York City by the pro-Israel newspaper Israel Hayom (owned by casino mogul Miriam Adelson)—former U.S. Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism, Elan Carr urged Jewish communities in the U.S. to adopt a more aggressive stance against perceived "enemies" at home, drawing direct parallels to Israel's brutal military actions against its neighbors.
Israel Hayom Forum brought together prominent and controversial pro-Israel figures to discuss U.S.-Israel relations, antisemitism, and media narratives amid ongoing global revulsion at the Jewish nation's genocial war against Palestinians in Gaza. The event featured panels on countering anti-Israel sentiment, with speakers including former U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman, ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt, and others.
However, remarks by Carr and Hillary Clinton drew sharp backlash for their inflammatory tones toward critics of Israel and social media platforms like TikTok.
"We need to do to our enemies here what Israel did to its enemies there," Carr said. "No mercy, no hesitation. We've been too polite for too long—it's time to fight fire with fire, to dismantle the networks spreading hate against us on campuses, in media, and in the streets."
Carr framed this as a call for "unyielding defense" against rising antisemitism, citing incidents like campus protests and online anti-Israel sentiment, but critics interpreted it as advocating vigilante-style retaliation or suppression of dissent, evoking Israel's operations in Gaza and Lebanon.
Following backlash against him online, Carr later backtracked in a post on X, saying that he meant "legal and strategic countermeasures," not violence, but the damage was done.
Progressive and Palestinian Advocacy Groups like Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) and IfNotNow condemned Carr's words as "inciteful rhetoric that blurs the line between self-defense and authoritarian crackdowns," accusing him of importing "occupation tactics" to U.S. soil. Carr's call for 'no mercy' mirrors the very dehumanization he claims to fight—it's a blueprint for silencing Palestinian voices here," JVP wrote on X.
Other critics labeled it a "dog-whistle for extremism," noting Carr's history with the Israeli American Council (IAC), which has ties to hardline Zionist policies.
The clip of Carr's remarks went viral on X within minutes, sparking #NoMercyCarr trends.
Reform Jewish leaders expressed alarm, with Rabbi Sharon Brous stating in a Haaretz op-ed: "This isn't leadership—it's escalation that endangers us all by fueling conspiracy theories about Jewish power."
Appearing via video link on a panel moderated by Israel Hayom editor Boaz Bismut, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton blamed social media—particularly TikTok—for eroding support for Israel among young Democrats. In her 10-minute address, she argued that algorithms amplify "totally made up" content and "pure propaganda," leading to a "distorted" understanding of history.
"Where were our smart young people getting their information from? Social media—especially TikTok," Clinton said. "It's a problem for our democracy. These kids don't know Israel's history well; they missed the context. They're seeing videos of powerful Israelis hurting weak, skinny Palestinians, and they think the lesson of the Holocaust is to fight big, powerful people hurting the weak and powerless. That's not it—it's totally made up narratives promoted even by the Chinese Communist Party to undermine us."
Clinton called for a "counter-offensive" through education and traditional media to "pull youth back under reliable influences," admitting the establishment's failure to engage Gen Z effectively. She cited polls showing Democratic support for Israel dropping to 38% among under-30s (Pew Research, 2025), attributing it partly to TikTok's ownership by ByteDance.
The summit highlighted deepening divides over how to address shifting public opinion on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, particularly among younger Americans.
