{"id":2704,"date":"2025-09-12T00:40:34","date_gmt":"2025-09-12T00:40:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2025\/09\/12\/israeli-leaders-heap-praise-on-charlie-kirk-as-a-staunch-ally-of-israel\/"},"modified":"2025-09-12T00:40:34","modified_gmt":"2025-09-12T00:40:34","slug":"israeli-leaders-heap-praise-on-charlie-kirk-as-a-staunch-ally-of-israel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2025\/09\/12\/israeli-leaders-heap-praise-on-charlie-kirk-as-a-staunch-ally-of-israel\/","title":{"rendered":"Israeli leaders heap praise on Charlie Kirk as a staunch ally of Israel"},"content":{"rendered":"<div aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\">\n<p><strong>Washington, DC \u2013<\/strong> Mere minutes after news broke out that American right-wing influencer <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/liveblog\/2025\/9\/11\/live-charlie-kirk-killing-stokes-fears-of-rise-in-political-assassinations\">Charlie Kirk<\/a> was shot, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shared a social media post expressing his sympathy.<\/p>\n<p>As Kirk was declared dead on Wednesday, Netanyahu and other Israeli officials rushed to eulogise the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2025\/9\/11\/who-was-charlie-kirk-what-we-know-about-the-shooting-and-the-suspect\">31-year-old activist<\/a> and emphasise his support for Israel.<\/p>\n<section>\n<h2>Recommended Stories <\/h2>\n<p><span>list of 3 items<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span>list 1 of 3<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/video\/newsfeed\/2025\/9\/11\/what-we-know-about-us-conservative-activist-charlie-kirk-shooting\">What we know about US conservative activist Charlie Kirk shooting<\/a><\/li>\n<li><span>list 2 of 3<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2025\/9\/11\/how-charlie-kirk-and-turning-point-usa-helped-trump-and-maga-win\">How Charlie Kirk and Turning Point USA helped Trump and MAGA win<\/a><\/li>\n<li><span>list 3 of 3<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/video\/newsfeed\/2025\/9\/11\/fbi-releases-photos-of-person-of-interest-in-charlie-kirk-shooting\">FBI releases photos of person of interest in Charlie Kirk shooting<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span>end of list<\/span><\/section>\n<p>\u201cA lion-hearted friend of Israel, he fought the lies and stood tall for Judeo-Christian civilization,\u201d the Israeli prime minister wrote on X. \u201cI spoke to him only two weeks ago and invited him to Israel. Sadly, that visit will not take place.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>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 <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2025\/6\/14\/drop-israel-how-military-escalation-with-iran-divides-trumps\">increasingly critical<\/a> of Washington\u2019s unconditional support for its Middle East ally.<\/p>\n<p>Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar called Kirk an \u201cincredible friend\u201d of Israel.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCharlie represented the Judeo-Christian values that unite Israel and America,\u201d he said in a social media post. \u201cAbove all, he was a fearless warrior for truth and freedom. He was murdered for that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>No suspect has been detained for the killing of Kirk, a close ally of United States President <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2025\/9\/11\/trump-response-to-israels-qatar-attack-undermines-us-credibility-analysts\">Donald Trump<\/a>, and the motives behind the killing remain unclear.<\/p>\n<p>Israel\u2019s 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\u2019s holiest sites, in the occupied West Bank.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe collusion between the global Left and radical Islam is the greatest danger to humanity today,\u201d Ben-Gvir said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCharlie Kirk saw the danger and warned about it. But the bullets of the despicable murderer struck him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In some of his final public appearances, Kirk \u2013 who regularly bashed Islam and Muslims \u2013 promoted the unfounded conspiracy theory that Islam and the political left are working together to undermine the US and Europe.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIslam is the sword the left is using to slit the throat of America,\u201d he wrote in a social media post on Tuesday, a day before he was shot.<\/p>\n<p>Several Israeli politicians underscored Kirk\u2019s ties to Israel while lauding his views.<\/p>\n<p>For example, former Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz described Kirk as a \u201cvoracious defender of Judeo-Christian values, America &#038; the State of Israel\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>The term \u201cJudeo-Christian values\u201d appeals to mainstream US conservatives, but critics say it aims to exclude Muslims and other religious groups from Western societies.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>But \u201cJudeo-Christian values\u201d were a recurring theme in the Israeli eulogies for Kirk.<\/p>\n<p>Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich joined other Israeli officials in calling Kirk a \u201ctrue friend of Israel\u201d.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The murder of Charlie Kirk is a tragic and devastating blow.<\/p>\n<p>Charlie was a true friend of Israel, but beyond that, he was a man who engaged in genuine dialogue with his opponents as a way to promote his values.<\/p>\n<p>A dialogue in which he defended the morals and principles he\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Ta4wncQr9G\">pic.twitter.com\/Ta4wncQr9G<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 \u05d1\u05e6\u05dc\u05d0\u05dc \u05e1\u05de\u05d5\u05d8\u05e8\u05d9\u05e5&#8217; (@bezalelsm) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/bezalelsm\/status\/1965989212257153492?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 11, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h2 id=\"kirk-s-israel-views\">Kirk\u2019s Israel views<\/h2>\n<p>Kirk was indeed a staunch supporter of Israel \u2013 but not without occasional misgivings.<\/p>\n<p>Last month, he denied the well-documented Israeli-imposed starvation in Gaza, echoing Israeli officials\u2019 falsehoods that the United Nations-declared <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2025\/8\/27\/un-warns-gaza-famine-expanding-as-aid-groups-decry-israeli-siege\">famine in the territory<\/a> is \u201cpure visual warfare\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Still, despite his years of pro-Israel advocacy, he was not immune to the ideas of the growing \u201cAmerica First\u201d movement that has been questioning the benefits of Washington\u2019s devotion to its Middle East ally.<\/p>\n<p>As Israeli leaders lobbied Trump <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2025\/7\/3\/us-says-its-strikes-degraded-irans-nuclear-programme-by-one-to-two-years\">to bomb Iran<\/a> in June, Kirk warned that the US president\u2019s \u201cMake America Great Again\u201d (MAGA) base was opposed to the war.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI can tell you right now, our MAGA base does not want a war at all whatsoever,\u201d Kirk said on his podcast. \u201cThey do not want US involvement. They do not want the United States to be engaged in this.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Kirk supported Trump\u2019s crackdown on Palestinian rights campus advocacy, including efforts to deport Columbia University student <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2025\/6\/20\/us-judge-orders-release-of-palestine-advocate-mahmoud-khalil\">Mahmoud Khalil<\/a>, which activists say violated free speech rights.<\/p>\n<p>However, he sometimes spoke out against overreaches by pro-Israel advocates to censor the country\u2019s opponents.<\/p>\n<p>In May, he voiced opposition to a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2025\/5\/5\/us-bill-to-ban-israel-boycotts-faces-right-wing-backlash-over-free-speech\">proposed law<\/a> to penalise boycotting Israel.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn America you are allowed to hold differing views. You are allowed to disagree and protest,\u201d Kirk wrote on X at that time.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ve allowed far too many people who hate America move here from abroad, but the right to speak freely is the birthright of all Americans.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m told by some people that if I criticise AIPAC, I\u2019m anti-Semitic,\u201d Kirk said, referring to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Washington, DC \u2013 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. Recommended &#8230; <a title=\"Israeli leaders heap praise on Charlie Kirk as a staunch ally of Israel\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2025\/09\/12\/israeli-leaders-heap-praise-on-charlie-kirk-as-a-staunch-ally-of-israel\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about Israeli leaders heap praise on Charlie Kirk as a staunch ally of Israel\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2705,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2704","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-travel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2704","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2704"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2704\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2705"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2704"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2704"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2704"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}