JTA — Some Israelis have paid tribute to Charlie Kirk, renaming a traffic circle and painting a mural in honor of the American conservative activist assassinated this week in Utah.
In at least one case, according to pictures circulating on social media, an Israeli tank shell was inscribed with the message “In memory of Charlie Kirk,” reflecting a recurring and at times divisive practice in the Israeli army.
“Direct from Gaza. He’d be so proud,” the right-wing influencer Hillel Fuld tweeted as he shared the picture.
The practice of some soldiers writing names and messages on munitions is against IDF protocol but often goes unpunished.
Kirk, the CEO and co-founder of the youth organization Turning Point USA, visited Israel multiple times and defended it against right-wing critics, including during the current Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
Israeli leaders including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were among the first voices to respond to his shooting on Wednesday, calling for prayers on his behalf.
Following his death, a traffic circle in the city of Netanya will be renamed in Kirk’s honor, the city’s mayor announced on Thursday.
“On behalf of the Municipality of Netanya and all its residents – I have decided to commemorate Charlie’s memory in a square that will bear his name,” Mayor Miriam Feirberg-Ikar said on Instagram, adding that those who visit will “remember Israel’s great friend.”
“Charlie was a courageous and powerful voice for Israel,” she continued. “He dedicated his life to the struggle for truth, to exposing lies, and to standing up against the recurring waves of antisemitism.”
A mural of Kirk with angel wings went up in the city of Ashdod less than 24 hours after his death, painted by the graffiti artist Dudi Shoval.
“If the world is divided into good and evil, then we lost a very important person today on the side of the good. I still can’t believe they managed to shut your mouth,” Shoval posted on Instagram. “May we continue Charlie’s path and never allow the insane anarchists to use violence to silence us and throw us off the map. We literally need you to keep watching over us from above. May his memory be a blessing.”