NEW YORK (VINnews) — Conservative commentator Tucker Carlson ignited severe backlash during a February 20, 2026, interview with US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee by suggesting widespread DNA testing for residents of Israel to verify biblical ancestry claims tied to land rights.

In the podcast episode titled “Tucker Confronts Mike Huckabee on America’s Toxic Relationship With Israel,” Carlson proposed genetic screening as a means to determine “who Abram’s [Abraham’s] descendants are,” referencing promises in the Book of Genesis. “Why don’t we do genetic testing on everybody in the land and find out who Abram’s descendants are? … We’ve cracked the human genome. We can do that,” Carlson said.

9/
Then the DNA obsession.

Carlson floats the idea that Jews in Israel should take DNA tests to prove they are “descendants of Abraham.”
He even questions whether today’s Jews are the same people described in the Bible.

Huckabee responds:
“If they speak the same language,… pic.twitter.com/hfL4hvwlda

— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) February 21, 2026

The remarks came amid a broader discussion on Jewish identity, historical claims to the land and comparisons to Palestinian ancestry. Carlson argued that some Palestinians may have deeper genetic roots in the region than certain Jewish immigrants from Europe, questioning the basis of Israel’s demographic policies if ancestry is invoked theologically.

Huckabee pushed back, expressing unease with basing rights on “blood” and stating, “I have no idea what that would prove… I’m comfortable with secular nation states where it’s none of this is done on the basis of blood. I’m uncomfortable with that.” He defended Jewish historical continuity through archaeology, scripture and faith, without supporting the testing idea.

Critics, including pro-Israel activist Laura Loomer, accused Carlson of promoting eugenics-like concepts and antisemitism, claiming the proposal amounts to forcing “every single Jew to take a DNA test.”

Loomer described Carlson as a “rabid Jew hater” in social media posts. Others linked the comments to Carlson’s past statements, such as a December 2025 interview where he noted restrictions on commercial DNA testing in Israel due to privacy and identity concerns, though such tests are regulated, not banned, in the country.

Carlson has not directly addressed the eugenics allegations but has faced broader scrutiny for the interview, which also included now debunked claims of brief detention at an Israeli airport, a detail Huckabee dismissed as routine security.