Washington, DC – Mere minutes after news broke out that American right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk was shot, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shared a social media post expressing his sympathy.
As Kirk was declared dead on Wednesday, Netanyahu and other Israeli officials rushed to eulogise the 31-year-old activist and emphasise his support for Israel.
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“A lion-hearted friend of Israel, he fought the lies and stood tall for Judeo-Christian civilization,” the Israeli prime minister wrote on X. “I spoke to him only two weeks ago and invited him to Israel. Sadly, that visit will not take place.”
That push, to portray Kirk as a fallen champion of Israel as much as of the US conservative movement, comes as many influential right-wing commentators have been increasingly critical of Washington’s unconditional support for its Middle East ally.
Israeli Prime Minister Gideon Saar called Kirk an “incredible friend” of Israel.
“Charlie represented the Judeo-Christian values that unite Israel and America,” he said in a social media post. “Above all, he was a fearless warrior for truth and freedom. He was murdered for that.”
No suspect has been detained for the killing of Kirk, a close ally of United States President Donald Trump, and the motives behind the killing remain unclear.
Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir paid tribute to Kirk on Wednesday, sharing a photo of the right-wing activist with an Israeli flag outside the Ibrahimi Mosque, one of Islam’s holiest sites, in the occupied West Bank.
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“The collusion between the global Left and radical Islam is the greatest danger to humanity today,” Ben-Gvir said.
“Charlie Kirk saw the danger and warned about it. But the bullets of the despicable murderer struck him.”
In some of his final public appearances, Kirk – who regularly bashed Islam and Muslims – promoted the unfounded conspiracy theory that Islam and the political left are working together to undermine the US and Europe.
“Islam is the sword the left is using to slit the throat of America,” he wrote in a social media post on Tuesday, a day before he was shot.
Several Israeli politicians underscored Kirk’s ties to Israel while lauding his views.
For example, former Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz described Kirk as a “voracious defender of Judeo-Christian values, America & the State of Israel”.
The term “Judeo-Christian values” appeals to mainstream US conservatives, but critics say it aims to exclude Muslims and other religious groups from Western societies.
They also argue that it is ahistorical, given the hostility and anti-Semitism Jewish communities have faced in Christian societies in Europe over the past centuries.
But “Judeo-Christian values” were a recurring theme in the Israeli eulogies for Kirk.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich joined other Israeli officials in calling Kirk a “true friend of Israel”.
Kirk was indeed a staunch supporter of Israel – but not without occasional misgivings.
Last month, he denied the well-documented Israeli-imposed starvation in Gaza, echoing Israeli officials’ falsehoods that the United Nations-declared famine in the territory is “pure visual warfare”.
Still, despite his years of pro-Israel advocacy, he was not immune to the ideas of the growing “America First” movement that has been questioning the benefits of Washington’s devotion to its Middle East ally.
As Israeli leaders lobbied Trump to bomb Iran in June, Kirk warned that the US president’s “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) base was opposed to the war.
“I can tell you right now, our MAGA base does not want a war at all whatsoever,” Kirk said on his podcast. “They do not want US involvement. They do not want the United States to be engaged in this.”
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Kirk supported Trump’s crackdown on Palestinian rights campus advocacy, including efforts to deport Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil, which activists say violated free speech rights.
However, he sometimes spoke out against overreaches by pro-Israel advocates to censor the country’s opponents.
In May, he voiced opposition to a proposed law to penalise boycotting Israel.
“In America you are allowed to hold differing views. You are allowed to disagree and protest,” Kirk wrote on X at that time.
“We’ve allowed far too many people who hate America move here from abroad, but the right to speak freely is the birthright of all Americans.”
In July, he hosted a panel of young conservatives sceptical of the US-Israel alliance and appeared to express frustration with accusations of anti-Semitism against any criticism of Israel.
“I’m told by some people that if I criticise AIPAC, I’m anti-Semitic,” Kirk said, referring to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.
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