The Charlie Kirk Litmus Test

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Most of the people I know including many members of the congregation where I worship on a regular basis have no clue who Charlie Kirk was. One even went so far as to call him an antisemite.

So let me educate those of you who just heard his name following his assassination.

I’ll begin by stating that Charlie Kirk was an outspoken supporter of Israel. He did more for Israel than most Jews. It would have been easier for him to just avoid talking about Israel at all. But that wasn’t the kind of person he was. If anything, he was a brave person and a man of conviction and a man of faith.

Kirk believed that liberals and progressives and socialist should not have an exclusive lock on debate and expression of views. He believed that students with more conservative views had the same right to express their views as did liberal students. You would think that that is a view that all Americans would share, at least all who believe in the First Amendment, but you would be wrong.

In today’s almost exclusively liberal universities, students who don’t buy into the leftwing doctrine are demonized, looked down upon, and made to feel that their point of view should not be voiced. And it’s very important for Jews to realize that this stifling atmosphere on college campuses has disproportionately affected Jewish students who are considered colonialists, racists, proponents of genocide, oppressors and worse.

In a world where Jewish students are afraid to wear kippot, afraid to wear Jewish Stars, afraid to speak out, or otherwise identify as Jewish, Charlie went out of his way as a Christian to demonstrate his support of Israel.

Here are just a few examples:

He visited Israel twice and said,“The greatest trip I ever took was to Israel. And the second greatest trip I ever took was to Israel.”

“The world’s a better place because of Israel.”

“I’m a huge supporter of the Holy Land,  of Judea and Samaria.”

“All three monotheistic religions are represented in the Israeli government and supreme court.”

Does that sound like an antisemite to you?

He’s spoken at more college campuses than any other Christian conservative. He was all about dialogue and freedom to express opinions that are not “approved” by the woke system.

I just went on Facebook, which I try to avoid, and saw a message from the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which called him “a steadfast friend of Israel and a true ally of the Jewish people. He stood proudly for the Judeo-Christian values that bind Israel and America.”

I noticed that there were many supportive comments and just as many heinous comments written about this wonderful, true friend of Israel. I also noticed that most of them were written by people with Muslim surnames. I won’t repeat the hateful things they said other than to reflect that these people (possibly bots) were intent on smearing his reputation just because he supported Israel.

I also noted that these Muslims (mostly) were trying to suggest that the Jews were behind his demise. They allege that Kirk was changing his opinion of Israel and for that the Jews wanted him dead.

Apparently at least one Jew in my synagogue apparently believed this lashon hara. (speaking ill of people or besmirching their reputatioin, a sin).

I was shocked, how was this possible?

So I searched on the internet and found what was likely one of the sources for her belief that Kirk was the exact opposite of what all his actions indicated and what he dedicated his life to and what he said over and over again despite overwhelming opposition.

I believe she was convinced by messages such as those that the Turkish news service, TRT Global spread, and was picked up by left wing media. Their goal is clearly to appeal to left-leaning people eager to find a way to discredit a man who didn’t share their liberal views. As I suspected they took portions of remarks he made, left out others and massaged it to convey a negative view. Here’s one example:

Shortly after Israel began its attack in Gaza in October 2023, Kirk claimed that Jewish philanthropy funding American universities was effectively “subsidising your own demise by supporting institutions that breed anti-Semites and endorse genocidal killers” — a framing that shifted blame onto Jewish donors themselves.

Let me translate. Kirk was deriding those Jews and we all know there are way too many, who are donating money to those same universities that are teaching students to hate Israel and Jews. He was stating the obvious. Jewish donors who give money to those who are out to destroy Israel’s image should be called out. I agree. I guess that must make me an antisemite too.

Here’s what else the Turkish news agency (TRT Global) claimed:

He even labelled “elite Jewish culture” a main funding source for schools that “breed Jew hatred.

Almost the same as number one. Also exactly true.

Here’s one more “piece of evidence” that the TRT used to brand Kirk an anti-Semite.

Kirk argued that accusations of anti-Semitism and racism were increasingly being weaponised to restrict debate.

The proof that Kirk was right is what happened in my synagogue. He was accused of being an antisemite and it did serve to silence debate.

So if you are going to use arguments being given by Turkey, not a friend of the Jewish state, to form your view of Kirk, then you might want to reconsider.

I’ve read that Kirk was a better “Jew” than most. Every Friday night at sundown, Charlie would turn off his smartphone and put it in a drawer until Saturday sundown, according to Rabbi Pesach Wolicki, who said he had spoken to Kirk online from Israel the day before he died. (NY Post, Courageous Kirk: Rabbi on friend’s defense of Israel, Sept. 14, 2025)

Another person attending the kiddish, said, wasn’t he an Evangelical? Turns out he was. Does that make him suspect?

I’ve been to Israel four times since the Oct. 7 war began, and some of the most dedicated, resolute and truly committed people I met were Christians. They took time off from their jobs and families and spent considerable money in order to volunteer in Israel because they felt strongly that Israel needed them. Several of them also brought their children with them because they wanted their kids to be able to understand what was happening in the Holy Land.

Maybe it’s about time we truly accepted that Christians can and are our friends. Maybe we should embrace them instead of being skeptical of them because they are Evangelicals. Maybe we should take a good look at the pro-Hamas, Anti-Israel crowd on college campuses and in our streets and notice that these people are not Christians or at least don’t take their faith seriously. People of faith realize that Israel and the Christian world share the same values and they want us to succeed. We can’t do that unless we, not only stop the unfounded negativity, but truly embrace them as our friends in the fight for our Jewish lives.

May Charlie Kirk’s fight serve to remind us all of the importance of speaking out and turning the tide of anti-Americanism that has engulfed our colleges and our country.