Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Newsmax on Thursday he was personally shaken by the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, revealing he had invited the late Turning Point USA co-founder and CEO to Israel just weeks before his death.
Netanyahu told “The Record with Greta Van Susteren” that Kirk was more than a voice for conservatism — he was also “a great friend of Israel” and a “champion of Judeo-Christian civilization.”
“I want to say farewell to a great human being, a great champion of free speech, free debate, freedom,” Netanyahu said. “Charlie Kirk, his loss is terrible. And we grieve for him, for his wife, Erika, for his two beautiful children.”
Kirk, 31, was shot in his neck during a forum Wednesday with students at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. A video from the event showed Kirk bleeding heavily from an apparent gunshot wound to his neck. He is survived by his wife of four years, Erika, and children Mia Grace, 3, and James Charles, 1.
The prime minister disclosed that he had spoken with Kirk earlier this summer and extended a personal invitation.
“I called him a few weeks ago and I said, ‘So, Charlie, why don’t you come and visit us?’ And he said, ‘Well, I’m going to, and we were going to fix a date.’ And that’s not going to take place,” Netanyahu said.
Netanyahu highlighted Kirk’s consistent defense of Israel at a time when international criticism of the Jewish state has grown more intense. Netanyahu read from a May letter in which Kirk wrote: “One of my greatest joys as a Christian is advocating for Israel and forming alliances to defend Judeo-Christian civilization.”
Kirk’s assassination, Netanyahu said, underscores the dangerous climate for outspoken defenders of democracy.
“They’re trying to basically snuff out democracy, snuff out free speech, kill those who speak like Charlie,” Netanyahu said. “He didn’t say bring a rifle, he said bring your arguments. I’ll defeat your arguments with facts and logic. That’s what Charlie stood for.
“And these people are the exact opposite. They speak of human rights, but they trample all human rights to the dust. And the first right that we have is the right to live. They want to kill us. They try. And I think that could have a very, very negative effect unless Americans like Israelis stand up to this and say, no way, no way, we’re not going to surrender to this barbarism and to this murderous attempt to wipe out our civilization and our freedom.”
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