Or, as my “Anyu” said: “Fight.”

Peloni:  A very meaningful argument by Prof. Jeffrey Lax on the importance of Jews appearing on Piers Morgan’s show to counter the insane characters that appear on that show spouting the rankest form of antisemitism available today.  He also explains why he would likewise accept an invitation from Tucker Carlson, “in a heartbeat” as he states, even as he sees Carlson as being clearly antisemitic whereas he explains that Morgan is not.  The punchline in this commentary is offered by Lax’s lovely holocaust-survivor grandmother, of Blessed Memory, from an interview from thirty years ago, so be sure to watch the video last.

This post gets very personal, in a way that is rare for me on X. So I hope you will take a few moments to read it and to watch the very short video clip from my Holocaust-survivor grandmother which has informed many of the things I say below and my approach to ALWAYS speak out when I am given the opportunity to make sure that never again MEANS never again.

I knew what I was getting into when I once again defended @piersmorgan from allegations of antisemitism on the very day that he completely shredded “I won’t work for a Jew” Austin Franco to pieces.

This has happened several times before, so I knew that many of my own followers and supporters would criticize me. Most have been polite (thank you), some have been harsh.

Either way, I obviously don’t enjoy upsetting my own supporters. We are on the same side.

So allow me to explain my position in a bit more detail. And listen to my grandmother!

All of this first started when prominent Israel-supporting Jews began publicly posting declinations to appear on Piers’ show.

This bothered me very much even though I agreed with them that Piers’ positions on Israel were dead wrong.

It bothered me because I feel that we have a profound obligation to voice the truth when we are given the opportunity to do so. And to his credit, Piers always gives Jewish Israel supporters the opportunity to do so. Always.

Based on just that alone, to put Piers in the same category as Tucker Carlson, Nick Fuentes, Candace Owens, Megyn Kelly and others like them is unfair morally and lacks any semblance of critical analysis.

Those pseudo-journalists and so many others like them don’t give air time to pro-Israel Jews.

That should bother everyone A LOT more than what Piers does on his show.

Whenever I saw someone publicly reject an invitation from Piers, I tried to privately message them urging them to change their mind.

And Piers wasn’t inviting second-rate Jewish pro-Israel voices on to ensure a “debate loss” for our side. He always invited the best of the best.

On more than one occasion, I would tell these brilliant and powerful pro Israel Jewish voices that refusing to argue our side would only lead to Piers getting someone not quite as good as them to argue our case. I joked that if this kept happening, it could get all the way down to someone like me. Little did I know that this would actually really happen one day.

And… I must say, on the one occasion that I joined the show, Piers was incredibly fair to me. Not only did he let me say my piece, but he even conceded that at least some parts of my arguments were compelling to him. On the air, he even gave thanks for teaching him things that he did not know.

My grandparents had no voice when they were hauled off by the Nazis. So when our generation is given a voice, I feel we have an absolute obligation to use it.

If @TuckerCarlson invited me on, I would do it in a heartbeat and would throw everything I had at him to show the world the truth.

I know others on my side will be furious to read that. Respectfully, you are wrong.

Not speaking out is NOT an option if you believe in NEVER AGAIN.

In 1996, my grandmother (my “Anyu”), Helena Lebovits Z”L did an interview for the Spielberg Holocaust survivor project. Every few years I try to watch it but I just can’t get through it. I end up bawling inconsolably on my keyboard and just cannot go on. It’s so deeply painful.

A few years ago, my mother called me, knowing all about my inabiity to get through it, but she urged me to at least skip to the last few minutes of the interview and listen to what my grandmother said. So I did.

And what she said in 1996 –perhaps the greatest “golden years” for diaspora Jews in world history– shook me to my core.

The interviewer asked if there was anything my grandmother wanted to add before they ended the interview. My grandmother said yes.

Anyu was speaking directly to me, my sisters, and my first cousins when she implored us to speak out and fight antisemitism wherever we had the occasion to fight it. Three times she said to “fight” it wherever we could.

Fight.

And so that is what I do. Although she is long since passed and sorely missed, my grandmother no longer has no voice like she did during the Holocaust. Part of her is in me and her voice is echoed through mine whenever I speak.

Back to Piers Morgan.

Not only did he rip antisemite Austin Franco to pieces yesterday, but he was also the only major journalist I saw who completely tore apart Nick Fuentes. I think he singlehandedly ended Fuentes in that interview.

I know that none of this will change anyone’s mind about Piers Morgan.

But I hope it will at least give some a bit of insight into why I approach things the way that I do (and why Piers giving us a voice is such a big deal to me). And I hope it will give insight into why I debated @PeterBeinart
(so many friends yelled at me not to do so). And why I would debate Tucker. And why I would go on Piers’ show to do everything in my power to destroy the blood libels, falsehoods, and ignorance spewed by so many of his guests, many of whom are certainly antisemites.

I also hope this might encourage some of you to do the very same. Speak out, or speak out more.

Or, as my “Anyu” said: “Fight.”

July 31, 2026 | Comments »

Leave a Reply