Former prime minister Naftali Bennett slammed conservative media personality Tucker Carlson following Carlson's brief visit to Israel, calling him "a chickens***" and saying that he has been "spouting lies about Israel."
In his remarks, shared late Wednesday on X/Twitter, Bennett accused Carlson of lying and of trying to portray a false image of his visit to Israel.
Bennett wrote that Carlson, "who’s been spouting lies about Israel for the past two years...took a quick picture" at Ben Gurion Airport's logistics zone after landing, then posted the image on X and promptly departed the country, so that the personality could "later claim that he’s a serious reporter who toured Israel."
Bennett continued, arguing that Carlson "didn’t even step foot in the country" yet "made up a story that he’s being supposedly harassed by our security."
Finally, Bennett said, Carlson "whined" about his experience before flying off in his private jet.
"Next time he talks about Israel as if he’s some expert, just remember this guy is a phony!" Bennett concluded.
Statistics challenge Carlson's claims
Carlson was reportedly visiting Israel to meet with US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee to discuss the treatment of Christians in Israel and the wider region.
Carlson conducted the conversation inside Ben Gurion Airport and did not travel beyond the airport complex, sources have told The Jerusalem Post. He departed Israel at around 3 p.m., ending a trip that lasted only a few hours.
The unusual in-and-out visit followed a public back-and-forth between the two former Fox News hosts after Carlson published an episode in early February, filmed at the Jordan River baptism site and titled "Christian Persecution."
Carlson has repeatedly argued that Israel mistreats its Christian population and that American Christians are unknowingly funding that mistreatment through US aid.
His often harsh rhetoric has drawn pushback from mainstream Republicans and pro-Israel conservatives.
Speaking to The Jerusalem Post on Wednesday, the founder of the Israeli Christian Aramaic Association NGO, Shadi Khalloul, said Carlson was “totally wrong” in his claims.
Data from Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics, most recently published on Christmas Eve 2025, shows that the Christian population in Israel has grown from approximately 34,000 in 1949 to around 185,000 today, making it one of the few growing Christian communities in the Middle East.
The Jerusalem Post Staff and Danielle Greyman-Kennard contributed to this report.