(José Niño, Headline USA) World Jewish Congress President Ronald S. Lauder just drew a line in the sand for American politicians. Speaking at the Israel Hayom Summit in New York last Tuesday, the cosmetics billionaire delivered an unmistakable threat to congressional and Senate candidates.
Any politician whose platform includes what he characterizes as antisemitism will face organized, well funded opposition campaigns bankrolled by his organization.
“Any candidate running for a seat in this building, whether for Congress or Senate whose platform includes anti-Semitism, we will target them as they target us,” Lauder declared, per a press release by the WJC. “Accordingly, we will start a fund to help their opponents. We cannot passively sit by and let anti-Zionists determine our future.”
This represents an escalation of Lauder’s previous electoral intervention efforts. In 2019, the New York Times reported that he pledged $25 million to launch the Anti-Semitism Accountability Project, a hybrid non-profit and super PAC designed to oppose candidates from both parties who “traffic in anti-Semitic language and tropes,” as the NYT reported. He hired pollsters, strategists, and researchers to track comments by candidates nationwide, retaining final authority over which politicians would be targeted for defeat.
Lauder made clear in his recent announcement that the World Jewish Congress would target not only candidates whose platforms include antisemitism but also stated they “cannot passively sit by and let anti-Zionists determine our future.” Throughout his address, Lauder characterized criticism of Israel as inherently antisemitic, declaring “This is not normal. It’s not accidental. And it’s not just criticism of Israel. It is the world’s oldest hatred. Once again, wearing political clothes.”
Lauder specifically condemned phrases like “from the river to the sea” as calls for “the elimination of the Jewish state” and attacked politicians who were “elected by attacking Jews, by glorifying violence against Jews, but making no excuse for by building entire campaigns around a single foreign policy issue and weaponizing it against Jewish communities right here at home.”
Following Lauder’s remarks, he introduced Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick as “a strong supporter of Israel.” Lutnick, who was confirmed as Commerce Secretary in February 2025 after Trump nominated him in November 2024, subsequently pledged that “President Trump has Israel’s back.” The 63-year-old CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald served as co-chair of Trump’s transition team and has been a prominent supporter of Israel focused causes including United Hatzalah and Birthright.
At the Jerusalem Post Washington Conference in December 2025, Lutnick stated that Trump’s Israel policy is “clear and firm” and that the administration anchors its approach “in the reality of October 7” while planning deeper regional economic partnerships. His appointment places a vocal Israel advocate in a key economic policy position.
Lauder framed his announcement within what he characterized as a “full-scale assault on the truth, on democracy, and on the safety of the Jewish people everywhere.” He drew historical parallels to the 1930s, comparing contemporary media figures such as Tucker Carlson to Father Charles Coughlin, the antisemitic radio preacher.
The Forward reported in February 2025 that it remained unclear where Lauder’s original $25 million ASAP commitment had been deployed, with Lauder having told the Jewish Chronicle in 2020 that he intentionally created ASAP as separate from the World Jewish Congress.
