James Fishback, a fierce critic of Israel and a far-right politician, offered scathing remarks about the Jewish state and likened abortion to the Holocaust during an address at the University of Mississippi on Tuesday evening.

Fishback, a former GOP gubernatorial candidate in Florida, recalled that earlier this summer the Combat Antisemitism Movement flagged as antisemitic one of his X/Twitter posts describing abortion as a holocaust.

“Abortion is a holocaust, and by every single historical metric available, it was worse than the other one,” Fishback said, claiming that “61 million children have been killed in the womb since Roe v. Wade was wrongly decided in 1973.”

He also had harsh words for the state of Israel. “It is time for [US] President [Donald] Trump to call [Prime Minister] Benjamin Netanyahu and cut him off. We must decouple from Israel to save America,” he added.

Fishback was speaking at a Turn Up the Mic forum arranged by members of the University of Mississippi chapter of Turning Point USA, the organization founded by the late Charlie Kirk.

James Fishback, Republican nominee for governor of Florida, addresses an audience at the University of Central Florida in University, Florida, April 23, 2026.
James Fishback, Republican nominee for governor of Florida, addresses an audience at the University of Central Florida in University, Florida, April 23, 2026. (credit: SCREENSHOT VIA YOUTUBE)

'If you're really bad they'll call you an antisemite'

Slamming immigration policies on both sides of the aisle - Republicans for too few mass deportations and Democrats for an influx of foreign workers - Fishback declared, “It’s time to stand up and tell both parties that no, American jobs are for Americans only.”

He noted, however, that making such demands could result in a person being labeled a racist or misogynist, and that “if you’re really bad they’ll call you an antisemite.” Stressing that he condemns “all forms of religious hatred,” he maintained that “the most virulent” type is the hostility “against Christians in this country.”

Fishback blamed Israel and the inability of the US to “tell them no” for drawing the country into the war with Iran. That war, he argued, has pushed gas prices and Treasury yields higher.