By Howie Silbiger, Editor-in-Chief
Charlie Kirk wore his evangelical Christianity openly and he wrapped Israel inside it. He told anyone who would listen that visiting Israel “changed my life” and “made the Bible pop into reality.” After his assassination in Utah, Jewish groups and political allies remembered him as a friend of Israel, someone who fought hard for what he believed was G-d’s will for the Jewish people and their land.
But Kirk was not just another evangelical pilgrim. He tried to make Israel a cornerstone of populist Christian politics in America. At the same time he sometimes spoke about Jews in ways that were flat out ugly. He said “some of the largest financiers of left wing anti white causes have been Jewish Americans.” He claimed “Jewish communities have been pushing the exact kind of hatred against whites that they claim to want people to stop using against them.” He declared that Jews “control… the colleges, the nonprofits, the movies, Hollywood, all of it.” Those are not stumbles, those are accusations with centuries of blood attached to them.
Yet Kirk also called antisemitism “brain rot” and said that no non Jew of his generation had a clearer record of standing with Israel. This was the contradiction of his life. He showed up when Jews needed support. He also gave voice to tropes that placed Jews in the crosshairs. His friends praised his loyalty. His critics heard something far darker.
None of that justifies his murder. Nothing does. A gunman in Utah did not just silence a man, he struck at the core of freedom of speech in America. You can argue with Kirk, you can despise his words, you can challenge every contradiction, but you cannot kill him for speaking. The moment words are answered with bullets, debate dies and tyranny wins.
Even worse than the killing were the voices that celebrated it. People who cheered, mocked, or danced on his grave proved themselves enemies of democracy. To revel in an assassination is to reveal your own moral rot. You do not defend justice by celebrating murder, you betray it. Every person who took joy in his death stands guilty of the same contempt for freedom as the man who pulled the trigger.
The evangelical love for Israel has always been complicated. Revelation speaks of the tribes of Israel sealed by G-d, of the woman clothed with the sun preserved in tribulation, of the new Jerusalem descending from heaven. Evangelicals see in these passages a reason to bless Israel. Critics see in them a temptation to treat Jews not as people but as end time props. Kirk embodied both sides. He was a true defender of Israel and he was also a man who repeated lies about Jewish power.
That contradiction will remain. But one truth should be simple. In a free society his life should have been argued with, not ended. G-d judges, not an assassin. And those who clap at the sound of a bullet should never again dare to speak of justice or freedom.
Howie Silbiger is the host of The Howie Silbiger Show on Truetalkradio.com and of Political Hitman on Israelnewstalkradio.com
