Charlie Kirk: Criticizing Israel carries an incalculable penalty.
In recent months, the political landscape of the United States has been filled with events that are filled with uncertainty, fear, and open internal confrontations. The assassination of Charlie Kirk, a well-known figure among American conservatives and one of the closest allies of the Trumpist movement, brought the crisis in the structure of the United States to a new level; an event that not only shocked his supporters, but also raised deep questions about the role of foreign actors and their influence in the power structure of Washington. Kirk, who had become one of the most influential leaders of the right-wing youth in America from a teenager with financial assistance and political support from Zionist networks, has chosen a different path in recent years; a path that has gradually distanced him from his long-time friends in Tel Aviv and powerful allies of the Israeli regime.
What adds to the significance of this transformation is the change in the public atmosphere among the young Republican base, where sympathy for the Israeli regime has reached an all-time low among the new generation of conservatives. Kirk, observing these changes, while adhering to some traditional positions, gradually became an outspoken critic of the influence of the Israeli regime in American domestic politics. This change of position exposed him to a network of financial, media, and personal pressures exerted by the allies of the Israeli prime minister, which aroused his fear and disgust.
Kirk’s assassination, at the very point when he was raising the most important questions about the Israeli regime and its role in the White House, only added to the uncertainties and speculation. The wave of reactions and contradictory narratives shows that the incident is more than a simple political assassination. Now, in the midst of these developments, the main question is whether Kirk’s murder will be a turning point in relations between Washington and Tel Aviv or simply become another chapter in the hidden history of pressures and silences.
The American magazine Newsweek has written a report titled “Charlie Kirk’s Israel Views Are Causing a Divide Among Conservatives,” which we will publish in two parts. The first part of the report has already been published. The second part of the report, which forms the third part of the related news file, is as follows:
“One of the concerns that Charlie raised, and I think he had expressed publicly, was the issue of free speech. He felt that criticism of Israel [the regime] was being so repressed and punished that we were practically not free to express it.”
On Wednesday, Ekman posted a screenshot of a WhatsApp conversation with Kirk, in which he wrote that “I really enjoyed the time we spent together last week” and that “it would be great” if they had dinner together in New York in the fall. “I’m sure some of the Israeli [regime] supporters at TPUSA were upset with Charlie because he told me so,” Ekman wrote in the caption. “He complained that some Israeli supporters would see any criticism as anti-Semitic, and we both agreed that was wrong.”
Carlson didn’t address the Hamptons meeting directly, but he did say that “a lot of people lie about Kirk’s foreign policy views.” “His views had really changed, and no one knows why he came to those conclusions,” he said on last week’s podcast. “I think his Christian faith had the biggest impact, as well as his experience talking to young people. His views had become very similar; he believed that the war on terror was a total loss for America and had done irreparable damage. That last war was bad and we didn’t gain anything; we just got hurt, and he didn’t want to see that happen again, and he was very vocal about it.”
Carlson claimed that “some people harassed Kirk and made him very nervous” before his speech at the USA Summit in July. He also criticized Netanyahu, saying the prime minister “made everything about himself and his country.”
Kelly, who describes himself as “a total Zionist,” appeared on Carlson’s podcast and claimed that he and Carlson had both been “threatened to have their relations severed” or “debarred from the podium” after taking more outspoken positions on Israel. Kelly had previously said he had never heard of the Hamptons summit until Owens brought it up.