The Candace Owens Backlash is About More than Israel

What happened: Right-wing commentator Candace Owens parted ways with The Daily Wire after months of internal feuding over her views on the Israel-Hamas war and antisemitism.

• Immediate reactions: Owens declared she is “finally free” to express herself going forward. Daily Wire host Andrew Klavan accused her of spreading “race hatred” against Jews and said he felt “a personal weight taken off my shoulders” after her departure.

• The narrative: Some on both the right and the left say Owens was ousted purely for disagreeing with Jewish Daily Wire co-founder Ben Shapiro on Israel’s treatment of Palestinians and U.S. support for the war in Gaza.

The facts: Owens also drew controversy for several statements seen as downplaying antisemitism or fully antisemitic.

• It started with Kanye: Owens has defended rapper Kanye West since he espoused antisemitic, pro-Adolf Hitler views in 2022. When West posted on X about “going death con 3 on Jewish people,” Owens said any “honest person” wouldn’t see the post as antisemitic. She continued to defend West throughout the drama.

• A “ring” of Jews: Owens suggested there may be “specific” Jews in Hollywood and “potentially in D.C.” controlling and harming others. She has also alluded to “a small, fringe faction” of “political Jews” who are “vile, dishonest, manipulative people.”

• Blood libel: Owens liked an X post by a user who asked a rabbi, “Are you drunk on Christian blood again?” — echoing centuries-old blood libel. She claimed she wasn’t endorsing part of the two-sentence post. This happened after weeks of Owens feuding with Jewish accounts on X.

Credibility: Candace Owens’s controversies and theories — like staking her “entire professional reputation” on French First Lady Brigitte Macron actually being a man — have tested The Daily Wire’s goal of becoming a more trusted source of political news.

Why it matters: Many are struggling to understand the right-wing media star’s rhetoric and the direction she is taking with her career. What’s clear is that discussions of Israel and antisemitism are dividing people — but not along the usual partisan lines.