Antisemitism tensions rise as NYC Young Republicans host white supremacists, Germany’s AfD

JTA — The guest list at the New York Young Republican Club’s annual gala in the US on Saturday included white nationalists, antisemitic conspiracy theorists and a Jewish member of the City Council, who ultimately decided not to attend.

Inna Vernikov, a Jewish City Council member who represents a south Brooklyn district with a large Russian Jewish population, did not attend despite being promoted as an “honored guest.” Vernikov, who was one of a few politicians to back out, later suggested on social media that her absence was connected to antisemitism on the right.

Those who did attend the gala included a NYYRC member and former George Santos staffer who had posted a video depicting Jews as cockroaches, costing him his job on Matt Gaetz’s news show; politicians from Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which the country officially labeled an extremist group; Jared Taylor, the editor of a white supremacist website called American Renaissance; and Sneako, the streamer who posts antisemitic content and has said “people are sick of hearing about the Holocaust.”

Meanwhile, avowed antisemite Nick Fuentes said he received an invite and made the trip to New York — even though the New York Young Republican Club said by email on Monday that he “was never formally invited.”

Fuentes was seen lingering outside Cipriani, the upscale restaurant where the gala took place, Politico reported, but did not attend the event itself. He recorded a stream with Sneako following the black-tie affair, saying his invite had been rescinded at the last minute to avoid a potential “revolt.”

Saturday’s gala was held during a moment of growing debate about antisemitism on the right, and as Fuentes’s seemingly ascendant role within the Republican Party has emerged as a source of anxiety among more mainstream Republicans.

The New York Young Republicans Club has generated some of the angst. Just weeks ago, the club’s statewide counterpart disbanded in the wake of leaked group chats in which officials joked about gas chambers, praised Adolf Hitler and used racist, antisemitic and homophobic slurs. (Attendees seemingly referenced those texts on Saturday, according to the publication Talking Points Memo, joking with each other that they were “neo-Nazis.”)

The debate on the right has centered largely around how to deal with figures like Fuentes, a Holocaust denier who calls Hitler “cool” and has been interviewed by major personalities like Tucker Carlson and Piers Morgan.

Republican politicians, including non-Jewish ones such as Ted Cruz and Lindsey Graham, have scorched Carlson for his friendly interview with Fuentes. Vice President JD Vance, meanwhile, has drawn scrutiny for not condemning Carlson or Fuentes, and for previous instances of not pushing back against antisemitic conspiracies. Vance also downplayed the leaked texts as “jokes” and said critics should “grow up.” (On Monday, Vance posted on X that “the single most significant thing you could do to eliminate anti-semitism” is reducing immigration to the United States.)

Trump, meanwhile, defended Carlson, saying: “You can’t tell him who to interview.” (He also dined with Fuentes and rapper Kanye West in 2022, but later said he didn’t know who Fuentes was.)

On Sunday, the day after the gala, Vernikov took to X to post about the Republicans’ growing antisemitism problem, saying, “I will DISASSOCIATE myself from any event, individual, or organization whether Democrat or Republican, that welcomes these vile bigots into their mist, defends them or amplifies their voices,” referring to figures like Fuentes, Carlson and right-wing commentator Candace Owens, who has also embraced antisemitism.

Antisemitic rhetoric “has fully infiltrated the Democratic Party,” Vernikov wrote on X, adding, “Unfortunately, today the same venom has entered corners of the conservative movement and the hard RIGHT WING of the Republican Party.”

She named names, writing, “Lunatics like Nick Fuentes, Candace Owens and Tucker Carlson, who spew bigoted, racist and antisemitic rhetoric, should be condemned and excommunicated from the Republican Party never to be welcomed again.”

Vernikov declined to comment further on the event.

The gala was hosted by Matan Even, an 18-year-old Israeli-American YouTuber known for his pranks, such as crashing a 2022 Game Awards speech to thank his “Reform Orthodox rabbi, Bill Clinton.” Even’s humor, which involved singing the “SpongeBob SquarePants” theme song onstage, seemingly did not land. Even is Jewish but has recorded streams with Sneako despite the latter’s use of antisemitic conspiracy theories.

Right-wing pundit and activist Jack Posobiec was the event’s keynote speaker, and delivered a fiery speech in which he spoke about Charlie Kirk’s death while holding a rosary.

Germany’s AfD was represented at the gala by about 20 lawmakers at the state, federal and EU levels. The AfD has drawn criticism for using slogans similar to the Nazi party’s and was classified this year as a right-wing extremist organization by Germany’s domestic intelligence agency.

Rep. Dan Goldman, the Democratic congressman whose district includes Lower Manhattan, where the gala was held, wrote earlier on Saturday that the NYYRC was “rolling out the red carpet for leaders of Germany’s Nazi-cosplaying AfD party.”

“I condemn it in the strongest of terms, as should my New York Republican colleagues,” he wrote. “The AfD and their bigotry are not welcome in NY-10.”

At the gala, a protester wearing a Nazi armband was removed after popping up from his seat and reportedly yelling “I guess we’re all Nazis!” In a video recorded outside after his removal, the protester, who later said he was Jewish, pointed to the Nazi symbol and said, “This is what this event represents,” naming specifically the invitations of Vish Burra — the man who posted a video depicting Jews as roaches — and of AfD officials.

The NYYRC’s Twitter account countered accusations of being “Nazis” by writing that “the only swastika in the room was held by a left-wing freak protester who we forcefully booted from the premises.”

The protester was told to “go back to Israel” by an attendee, who then accepted the swastika banner from the protester and left with it after being smacked across the face by another guest.

Stefano Forte, the club’s president, spoke defiantly about the NYYRC’s partnership with the AfD.

“You want us to denounce the AfD? You want us to denounce our allies? You want us to denounce those that stand with us?” he asked.

“Well here’s a denunciation. We unequivocally denounce the fake news media that distorts the truth to put us in danger,” he said, saying right-wingers being labeled “Nazis” led to the assassination attempts on Trump and Charlie Kirk.

Forte also declared that the club was “prepared to endorse” Trump for a third presidential term in 2028, which the president is constitutionally barred from seeking, drawing loud applause.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.