Richard Hanania Declares "Life Work" is Creating "Israeli Ethnostate" Amidst Renewed Scrutiny

Richard Hanania, a prominent right-wing intellectual and author, recently posted on social media that his "life work is about creating an Israeli ethnostate for myself," adding "I've been owned." The provocative statement, made on August 16, 2025, appears to be a sarcastic retort to ongoing public criticism regarding his controversial past writings and current influence on conservative policy, particularly concerning identity and race. Hanania's comment comes as his past associations with white supremacist ideologies and and his role in initiatives like Project 2025 continue to draw scrutiny.

An ethnostate is a sovereign state in which citizenship and national identity are defined by a specific ethnicity or racial group, often to the exclusion or subjugation of others. The concept is highly controversial and is frequently associated with nationalist or supremacist ideologies. In the context of Israel, the term "Israeli ethnostate" is used by some critics to describe the nation's character as a Jewish state, arguing it inherently prioritizes Jewish identity over its non-Jewish citizens.

Hanania, who holds a J.D. from the University of Chicago and a Ph.D. from UCLA, gained notoriety for his book "The Origins of Woke," which posits that civil rights law is a root cause of contemporary identity politics. However, his public profile has been consistently shadowed by revelations from 2023 that he wrote extensively for white supremacist websites under the pseudonym "Richard Hoste" in the early 2010s. These past writings included advocacy for eugenics and racial segregation.

Despite his partial disavowal of these extreme past views, critics argue that Hanania's current arguments, though framed differently, still echo problematic racial theories. For instance, a May 2023 social media post, made under his own name, called for "more policing, incarceration, and surveillance of black people" to address crime. His recent "owned" remark likely reflects a cynical acknowledgment of persistent accusations linking him to such ideologies, particularly in discussions surrounding his contributions to conservative policy blueprints.

The tweet's specific mention of an "Israeli ethnostate" is particularly charged given Hanania's background and the sensitive nature of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. While some proponents of a strong Jewish national identity might use the term to describe their ideal, it is more commonly employed by critics to highlight concerns about discrimination against non-Jewish populations within Israel or in the occupied territories. Hanania's statement could be interpreted as a deliberate embrace of a highly contentious concept, further solidifying his controversial stance in public discourse.