Quick summary: Tucker Carlson alleges Israeli officials briefly confiscated his passport and took a crew member for questioning after an interview with U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee at Ben Gurion Airport. Israel's Foreign Ministry says the questions were routine and were conducted privately in a VIP lounge. The encounter followed a public dispute over Carlson's coverage of Christians in Israel and adds to tensions within the Republican Party over views on Israel.
Tucker Carlson Says Israeli Officials Briefly Seized Passport, Crew Member Questioned After Airport Interview
The podcaster, one of the most influential voices of the MAGA movement, has grown increasingly critical of Israel [File: Shawn Thew/Reuters]
Conservative U.S. podcaster Tucker Carlson has said Israeli authorities briefly confiscated his passport and escorted one member of his crew into a side room for questioning after he recorded an interview with U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee at Ben Gurion International Airport, according to reports in The Daily Mail and The New York Post.
Carlson told the outlets that, shortly after the interview, "men who identified themselves as airport security took our passports, hauled our executive producer into a side room and then demanded to know what we spoke to Ambassador Huckabee about." The podcaster said the encounter occurred inside the airport terminal before he returned to the United States.
Israeli response: Israel's Foreign Ministry rejected Carlson's characterization of the encounter. Oren Marmorstein, a ministry spokesperson, said Carlson and his team were "politely asked a few routine questions, in accordance with standard procedures applied to many travellers." Marmorstein added that the discussion took place "in a separate room within the VIP lounge solely to protect their privacy and to avoid conducting such a discussion in public."
Israeli media also reported that Carlson conducted the interview without exiting the airport complex. At the time of publication there were no immediate posts or statements on Carlson's website or social media accounts addressing the differing accounts.
Background
The interview followed a public spat between Carlson and Huckabee after Carlson published an episode criticizing Israel's treatment of Christians. Huckabee then invited Carlson to come to Israel to discuss the matter in person. Carlson, who has become a prominent voice in the MAGA movement and a frequent critic of U.S. foreign policy, has grown increasingly critical of Israel — a stance that has contributed to tensions within the Republican Party over its traditionally unified support for the country.
What remains clear: Two conflicting accounts exist: Carlson's claim of passport seizure and interrogation of a crew member, and Israel's statement that routine, private questioning took place in a VIP area. Independent verification of the full sequence of events has not been published.
Sources: The Daily Mail, The New York Post, statements from Israel's Foreign Ministry and reporting from Israeli media.
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