The meaning of Amalek
In Judaism, Amalek represents the archetype of pure, irrational evil and the ultimate enemy of the Jewish people. The concept operates on three main levels: historical enmity, spiritual cynicism, and the moral necessity to recognize and confront evil.
Throughout Jewish history, the archetype of Amalek has been applied to anyone who attacks the Jewish people without cause, preying on the weak and attempting to destroy Jewish continuity. It represents irrational, baseless hatred (antisemitism) that refuses to negotiate and must be confronted with absolute moral clarity.
On the Shabbat before Purim, many congregations read Parshat Zachor (Deuteronomy 25:17–20). In the three short verses of this parshah, we are commanded not once but twice to recall a dangerous attack on the Jewish people. We are told to remember (Zachor) what the Amalekites did to the Israelites after they left Egypt and not to forget (Lo Tishkach).
The banner from the permanent exhibit at Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial reads in Hebrew: “Remember what Amalek has done to you.”
This is precisely why Prime Minister Netanyahu's use of the term Amalek was so significant, and why Tucker Carlson's interpretation is so profoundly misleading.
For thousands of years, Jews have remembered Amalek not because they seek revenge, but because they understand a timeless truth: evil exists. Evil attacks the innocent. Evil preys on the weak. Evil must be recognized before it can be defeated.
In Jewish philosophy, particularly in Chassidic tradition, Amalek is an internal spiritual force rather than merely an external physical enemy.
Tucker Carlson's dangerous distortion
How dumb can you be and still breathe?
Tucker Carlson took this deeply rooted Jewish concept and transformed it into something it has never meant.
Is it actually possible that Tucker Carlson is completely ignorant of Jewish history and has not made an attempt to learn the facts? It is highly unlikely.
Remembering Amalek has nothing to do with genocide. The accusation itself turns reality upside down. The victims of one of history's greatest genocides are now accused of genocide because they remember their history. The descendants of Holocaust survivors are told that recalling an ancient enemy is proof of murderous intent. Such claims do not illuminate the truth; they obscure it. When the Jewish people remember Amalek during Holocaust Remembrance Day, they are not calling for the genocide of the German people. When they remember Amalek during Purim, they are not calling for the genocide of the Persian people.
For Tucker Carlson to accuse Prime Minister Netanyahu of intentionally targeting the Palestinians of Gaza for genocide is straight out of the Hitler playbook.
Tucker Carlson says:
“Everybody knew from the first week after October 7th that Israel planned to commit genocide, traditionally defined genocide, targeting a population because of their bloodline and trying to exterminate or move them. So when Benjamin Netanyahu describes the Palestinians as Amalek, twice in the first month of the Gaza operation, you don’t need to guess what the point of this is. The point is to destroy every man, woman, child, and infant in Gaza. And they set about doing that. So the aim was genocidal from the very first day. The Israelis announced it. Israel's supporters in the United States seconded it, amplified it. And members of the U.S. Congress on television, the people who are paying for this genocide, announced proudly, ‘That's right. The Israelis have every right to kill civilians, and that's why we are paying them and giving them weapons to do so.’”
The real lesson of Amalek
In Jewish thought, Amalek represents the force that seeks to destroy, intimidate, and erase. The command to remember Amalek is a command to remain vigilant against those forces wherever they appear. The world changes. The faces of evil change. The methods of evil change. But evil itself does not disappear simply because intellectuals refuse to name it.
Remembering Amalek means remembering the attack and the reality of evil in the world. It means eradicating the “Amalek” or cynical tendencies from one's own character. It means reading the Torah portion to publicly reaffirm the commitment to remembering this history and remaining vigilant against those who would repeat it.
The lesson of Amalek is not genocide. The lesson of Amalek is vigilance. It is the recognition that evil is real, that hatred is real, and that those who seek the destruction of the Jewish people should be taken at their word. Tucker Carlson may not understand that lesson. The Jewish people cannot afford to forget it.
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Amalek represents the archetype of pure, irrational evil and the ultimate enemy of the Jewish people
(Illustration: Reuters)
Dr. Mike Evans has written 120 books and is a #1 New York Times bestselling author. He is the founder of the Friends of Zion Museum in Jerusalem, the ten Boom Museum in Holland, and Churches United with Israel, the largest Christian Zionist network in America, with more than thirty million followers.