The conservative policy world was again rocked Thursday as the Heritage Foundation’s marquee affinity group to fight antisemitism — the National Task Force to Combat Antisemitism (NTFCA), also known as Project Esther — announced it is breaking formally from Heritage.
The announcement comes amid a widening controversy over Heritage President Kevin Roberts’ handling of the Tucker Carlson–Nick Fuentes interview, and a surge of resignations from the task force by members who say the institution has failed to hold Roberts or Heritage sufficiently accountable.
According to the letter distributed to NTFCA members on Thursday—signed by co-chairs Pastor Mario Bramnick, Dr. Victoria Coates, Ellie Cohanim and Pastor Luke Moon — the task force will “continue the work … outside the Heritage Foundation for a season.”
The letter says: “While we are encouraged with the direction that Heritage Foundation has taken thus far, it is, however, important for us to continue the work of the NTFCA outside the Heritage Foundation for a season. … All four co-chairs will remain active to ensure we do not lose the momentum we have gained…”
It goes on to state that NTFCA “will expand our work to fight the rising scourge of antisemitism on the Right, beyond our previous work combatting the pro-Hamas movement on the Left.”
The letter notably does not call for Roberts’ removal or Heritage’s termination of its relationship with Carlson — a key point of contention for several task-force members.
One of those members, Daryl Hedding, head of the Shai Fund, an international relief organization, penned a pointed resignation letter that circulated publicly this week.
He wrote that Heritage’s response to the controversy “has been woefully inadequate.”
He noted that Heritage’s “continued unwillingness to address the growing problem of antisemitism from the right in a serious manner” left him with no option but to quit the task force.
Hedding argued that “Tucker Carlson has become the tip of the spear in an insurgency among the conservative movement …”
In a pointed reference to Roberts, who continues to claim a close relationship with Carlson, Hedding stated: “ He may be a friend to many in the movement on a personal level, but he is no longer a friend to the movement itself. In fact, he has become an enemy to Israel and the Jewish people.”
Hedding emphasized that fighting antisemitism will “fail if it includes exemptions for people with whom we like to go to dinner parties.”
“The growing antisemitism on the right poses one of the largest threats to the future of this nation, to the safety and prosperity of Jewish Americans, and to the special relationship we have with Israel,” Hedding wrote. “I will not remain a bystander to this atrocity.”
Hedding’s departure reflects mounting frustration not only with Roberts but with what many view as a lack of structural change within Heritage.
Former congresswoman and presidential candidate Michele Bachmann, a long-time advocate of U.S.–Israel relations, also announced she will be quitting the task force, citing Heritage’s posture toward Carlson and Fuentes.
Staff and insiders tell Newsmax that some within the task force believe the move to separate from Heritage is largely symbolic and an effort to stop the public relations hemorrhaging.
One senior member, speaking off the record, said: “This was done for show, to insulate Heritage from seeing the flak from the task force as members quit ‘Heritage.’ Now, when people resign it’s no longer from Heritage.”
Roberts has publicly apologized — but it remains unclear what the apology is for.
To date, he has refused to apologize for platforming and promoting Carlson despite his antisemitic claims as well as promoting wild conspiracy theories.
After defending Carlson’s decision to host Fuentes and rejecting calls to distance Heritage, Roberts later acknowledged that he “made a mistake” in his initial remarks.
He did not, however, renounce Carlson for promoting antisemitism, nor did he end his personal association with Carlson.
Within Heritage itself, unrest has grown sharp.
Staffers at a town-hall meeting criticized Roberts’ handling of the crisis, including his use of the phrase “venomous coalition” to describe Carlson’s critics — a phrase decried by some as invoking antisemitic tropes.
A number of senior fellows asked him to resign and said he should no longer be running the think tank.
One member said, “. . . We, as an organization, have been unable to utter the words … if you want to cut through it, Tucker [Carlson] is an antisemite — as we, as Heritage, do not want to associate with him. And we still do not have a statement about that.”
Approximately a dozen senior fellows and task-force members have resigned from Heritage.
It was reported Thursday that Stephen Moore, a respected economist with close ties to the Trump administration, resigned, joining noted legal scholar Chris DeMuth, who had quit earlier.
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