Gorka Withdraws From Jerusalem Nationalist Conference Lineup

Jerusalem, Israel, opened a National Conservatism (NatCon) conference today with a speaker list that had advertised Sebastian Gorka, the Trump administration's counter-terrorism official, but the White House told the Guardian he will not attend because of a scheduling conflict, according to the Guardian's report.

The conference's website still listed Gorka as a speaker at the time of publication, the Guardian reported. A White House spokesperson told the outlet that Gorka had condemned Hamas's October 7 attack on Israel, without elaborating on the scheduling conflict cited for his withdrawal.

Who else is on the Jerusalem conference program?

The program lists Bezalel Smotrich, Israel's finance minister, who has described himself as a "fascist homophobe" and is under international sanctions, according to the Guardian. Also listed is Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, who in 2023 called for an atom bomb to be dropped on Gaza and was previously ordered to face disciplinary proceedings over racist incitement against Palestinians, the Guardian reported. The Guardian said it contacted both Smotrich and Eliyahu for comment on their scheduled appearances.

The event also features Christian nationalist and far-right figures from the United States, alongside Israeli nationalists, in what the Guardian described as perhaps the most significant recent gathering to combine those three groupings in one venue.

Why did Gorka pull out of the speaking slot?

The White House's explanation to the Guardian centered on a scheduling conflict rather than the content of the conference itself. Gorka's own anti-terrorism strategy, issued in May, pledged to target and neutralize groups "whose ideology is anti-American, radically pro-transgender, and anarchist," according to the Guardian's reporting on the document. The White House did not address, in its statement to the Guardian, whether the conference's broader speaker list factored into Gorka's withdrawal.

What have the European speakers said or done before?

Hans-Georg Maaßen, former head of Germany's domestic intelligence agency, the Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz, is listed among the European delegation, the Guardian reported. The Guardian's account places Maaßen among "European figures who have faced disciplinary action over alleged antisemitism" on the program, though the outlet's report, as supplied, does not detail the specific disciplinary findings against him.

How does this Jerusalem gathering compare with past NatCon events?

National Conservatism conferences have convened in multiple countries before. A photograph accompanying the Guardian's report shows delegates at a NatCon conference in Brussels on April 16, 2024, indicating the movement's organizing has extended across European capitals in the two years preceding the Jerusalem event. The Guardian's framing of the Jerusalem conference as among the most significant recent gatherings of its kind rests on the simultaneous presence of Israeli nationalist officials, Christian nationalist figures from the United States, and European nationalists tied to antisemitism allegations — a combination the outlet said has not been assembled at this scale before.

By the numbers

• October 6, 2026 — date the Jerusalem NatCon conference opened, per the Guardian.
• May 2026 — month Gorka's anti-terrorism strategy document was issued, according to the Guardian's sourcing.
• 2023 — year Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu called for an atom bomb to be dropped on Gaza, the Guardian reported.
• April 16, 2024 — date of a prior NatCon conference in Brussels referenced in the Guardian's report.

What happens next at the conference?

The Guardian's report does not specify a full agenda beyond the speakers named, and it was unclear from the material supplied whether additional US officials remain on the schedule following Gorka's withdrawal. The White House statement to the Guardian did not indicate whether any other administration figures would appear in Gorka's place. Smotrich and Eliyahu had not responded to the Guardian's requests for comment as of the outlet's last update.

The conference's continuation despite Gorka's exit leaves intact a speaker roster that combines a sitting Israeli cabinet minister, a rabbi previously referred to disciplinary proceedings, and a former German intelligence chief — a lineup the Guardian said underscores the scale of cross-border coordination among nationalist movements now visible in one venue.