Israeli leaders mourned Charlie Kirk as a cherished friend of the Jewish state after the leading voice of the pro-Trump right was shot Wednesday during an appearance in Utah.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir warned of potential copycat shootings amid Israel’s internal political strife. And US Jewish groups also reacted with alarm over the assassination, decrying political violence.
“Charlie Kirk was murdered for speaking truth and defending freedom,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu posted on X. “A lion-hearted friend of Israel, he fought the lies and stood tall for Judeo-Christian civilization.”
The prime minister said he had spoken with Kirk just two weeks ago and invited him to visit Israel. “Sadly, that visit will not take place,” Netanyahu wrote. “We lost an incredible human being. Rest in peace, Charlie Kirk.”
The 31-year-old American conservative activist and founder of Turning Point USA was shot while speaking to a crowd of thousands at Utah Valley University on his latest tour of US campuses.
Video from the scene showed a single gunshot striking Kirk in the head or neck, causing panic among attendees. He was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead. A suspect who was taken into custody has since been released, and law enforcement is still searching for the killer.
Netanyahu’s far-right partners said that the assassination portended similar dangers in Israel. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich mourned Kirk as “a true friend of Israel” and “a man who engaged in genuine dialogue,” and added: “The other side did not want to engage in dialogue.”
“They wanted to murder the messenger of a different opinion,” he posted on X. “And that is dangerous. Dangerous for Israel, dangerous for the United States, and dangerous for the free world.”
Ben Gvir, meanwhile, suggested that the assassination could inspire violence against the right in Israel and elsewhere.
“The left in the US murdered a man of the right,” he wrote on X. “We hope that their imitators in Israel won’t succeed. Words can kill.”
Earlier, Ben Gvir wrote, “The collusion between the global Left and radical Islam is the greatest danger to humanity today. Charlie Kirk saw the danger and warned about it. But the bullets of the despicable murderer struck him.”
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said Kirk was “an incredible friend of Israel.”
“Charlie represented the Judeo-Christian values that unite Israel and America,” he wrote on X. “Above all, he was a fearless warrior for truth and freedom. He was murdered for that.”
Referring to the white T-shirt Kirk was wearing when he was shot, Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli wrote, “His will was inscribed in black letters on his white shirt, stained with blood: Freedom.”
Leaders from the political oppositon also condemned Kirk’s murder and praised his pro-Israel activism.
“The vile and despicable shooting of Charlie Kirk, unwavering friend of Israel, in Utah is a harrowing reminder of how violence threatens democracies,” tweeted MK Benny Gantz, leader of the centrist National Unity party.
Avigdor Liberman, leader of the hawkish Yisrael Beytenu party, called the killing of Kirk “a tragic and painful loss.”
“Charlie was a true fighter for justice, unafraid to raise his voice, and a man who deeply loved Israel,” he posted. “He was a loyal friend of the Jewish people, who defended Israel’s right to exist in security and freedom.”
The American Jewish Committee, the American Jewish Congress and the Jewish Federations of North America all said they were “horrified” by the shooting of Kirk.
“This disturbing act of political violence has no place in our society and must be condemned across the political spectrum,” the American Jewish Committee tweeted.
“Political violence has no place in our democracy,” said the Jewish Federations of North America.
“The murder of Charlie Kirk is terrifying and we condemn the violence,” tweeted Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt.
“Whatever our politics or leanings, this tragedy should shake every American to the core, and it must be condemned without hesitation across the political spectrum,” wrote the American Jewish Congress.
And Shabbos Kestenbaum, a right-wing American Jewish activist, urged his followers, “Please stop what you’re doing and pray for our friend Charlie Kirk. Many in the Jewish community are reciting chapters from the Book of Psalms, and I ask you do the same. Something is deeply broken in America. The political violence must END. GOD HELP AMERICA.”
Prominent US politicians from both political parties quickly condemned the violence. US President Donald Trump, who has counted Kirk as one of his most loyal surrogates, called him “a great guy” and urged supporters to “pray for Charlie.”
Kirk founded Turning Point USA in 2012 while still a teenager. The organization has grown into a powerful American platform for conservative youth activism, hosting major conferences and expanding into high schools and churches. Kirk became a regular commentator on Fox News and other right-wing outlets, building a reputation as an outspoken critic of higher education, liberal policies and what he calls “woke culture.”
Turning Point USA has maintained ties with pro-Israel organizations and regularly hosts pro-Israel speakers at its conferences. Kirk himself has traveled to Israel and praised Trump’s policies there, including the 2018 move of the US embassy to Jerusalem.