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What exactly did Candace Owens say about Israel in late 2023 and where were the remarks made?
Executive summary
Candace Owens publicly criticized Israel’s conduct after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack, tweeting “No government anywhere has a right to commit a genocide, ever,” and later made a series of interviews and podcast remarks in November 2023 that many outlets and commentators described as anti‑Israel or antisemitic [1] [2]. Those November remarks circulated widely after she posted on X and appeared on other programs (including Piers Morgan and her own podcast), prompting public rebukes from Daily Wire colleagues and reporting that she later left the Daily Wire amid the dispute [2] [1] [3].
1. What Owens actually wrote and tweeted in early November 2023 — a simple, widely cited line
On or about early November 2023 Owens posted on X that “No government anywhere has a right to commit a genocide, ever. There is no justification for a genocide. I can’t believe this even needs to be said or is even considered the least bit controversial to state,” a line reiterated in multiple accounts of the row that followed and cited as the initial flashpoint of the dispute inside conservative media [1] [4] [2].
2. Where those remarks appeared: social media, her podcast and mainstream interviews
Reporting ties Owens’ November commentary both to social‑media posts (X) and to appearances and episodes of her own “Candace” podcast in November 2023; she also featured in interviews around that period (for example with Piers Morgan later discussed in mid‑2024 reporting), and clips of her comments circulated online and were discussed in videos and at events attended by other conservative figures [2] [3] [5].
3. Immediate conservative backlash and context inside The Daily Wire
Ben Shapiro, a Daily Wire co‑founder and prominent Jewish conservative voice, publicly condemned Owens’ commentary as “disgraceful,” and clips of Shapiro responding to Owens circulated in mid‑November; that dispute is reported as a proximate cause of Owens’ break with The Daily Wire, which she exited later amid continued controversy over her Israel‑related posts and social‑media activity [2] [1].
4. Broader reporting: accusations beyond the November tweet
News outlets and watchdogs record that Owens’ November 2023 remarks were part of a wider pattern of statements in late 2023 and into 2024 that critics characterized as anti‑Israel or antisemitic. Reporting flags other episodes — including liking an antisemitic post about Rabbi Shmuley Boteach and public comments that critics say equate Israeli actions with genocide — as escalating the dispute [1] [6] [7].
5. What critics said and how different outlets framed it
Mainstream and Jewish outlets framed Owens’ November statements as either condemnations of potential Israeli excesses (her explicit “no government…genocide” line) or as veering into antisemitic territory when combined with later actions and remarks; conservative figures like Ben Shapiro described her commentary as “faux‑sophistication” and “disgraceful,” while watchdogs such as the ADL catalogued a series of earlier and later statements that it says show an anti‑Zionist and antisemitic turn [2] [7] [6].
6. Where reporting is limited or contested (what we don’t know from these sources)
Available sources in this packet do not provide a full transcript of every November 2023 interview or a definitive chronology of each remark across platforms; they also do not include Owens’ full responses or defenses in each instance beyond selected quotes, nor do they present a complete list of every venue where she spoke in November 2023 (available sources do not mention a comprehensive list of venues and full transcripts) [2] [1].
7. Why the episode mattered: media, censorship and visa fallout noted later
Reporting links the November 2023 controversy to broader consequences: internal splits at conservative media (Owens’ departure from Daily Wire is reported as connected to the dispute) and later governmental actions or public rebukes tied to other controversial statements (for example, Australian visa denial and other pushback referenced in later pieces), suggesting the November remarks were part of a sequence that amplified scrutiny [1] [8] [5].
Conclusion — what you can reliably say from these sources: In November 2023 Owens explicitly condemned genocide by governments in a widely quoted X post, and in November she participated in podcast episodes and interviews whose content and social‑media fallout prompted sharp criticism from colleagues (notably Ben Shapiro) and later reporting that she left The Daily Wire amid the dispute [1] [2]. Sources here document significant disagreement about whether her broader comments crossed into antisemitism, with watchdogs and Jewish outlets arguing they did while Owens and some supporters framed her as criticizing Israeli policy [7] [6].