Prior to his death, slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk sent a letter to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warning the leader that Israel was losing support within the “conservative MAGA community” and exhorting him to do a better of job of making Israel’s case to the world.
Netanyahu teased the existence of a supportive letter from Kirk soon after the Turning Point USA co-founder’s assassination in Utah earlier this month. Now, the New York Post has obtained and published the letter, dated May 2.
In it, Kirk espouses his own staunch support for Israel but told Netanyahu he felt he was “defending Israel in public more than your own government.”
“I’m accused of being a paid apologist for Israel when I defend her; however, if I don’t defend Israel strongly enough, I’m accused of being anti-semitic,” Kirk wrote. “I know you’ve got a 7 front war and my kvetching pales in comparison. But I’m trying to convey to you that Israel is losing support even in conservative circles. This should be a 5 alarm fire.”
Indeed, support for Israel among Republicans has significantly waned over the course of Israel’s war in Gaza. A June poll by Quinnipiac University found that sympathy for Israelis had dropped by 14 points among Republicans over the last year. The drop has been sharper among younger conservatives like those targeted by Turning Point USA.
Netanyahu appeared to cite the letter in a preemptive denial of Israel’s involvement in Kirk’s death earlier this month. Conspiracy theorists on the far right speculated that Israel had played a role in the assassination because Kirk’s support for Israel was softening.
Kirk had long considered himself a defender against antisemitism and anti-Israel sentiment in the United States and emphasized that in his letter to Netanyahu.
“Everything written here is from a place of deep love for Israel and the Jewish people,” he wrote. “I think it’s important to be brutally honest with those you love. In my opinion, Israel is losing the information war and needs a ‘communications intervention.’”
To remedy Israel’s drastically falling support in the United States, Kirk proposed seven potential solutions: a rapid response media team to push back on criticism, a team of “pro-Israel experts” who can “fact-check misinformation,” an “Israel Truth Network” website to debunk “negative Israel questions,” a speaking tour in the United States of released Israel hostages, a PR campaign featuring interviews with Israelis, more efforts to explain the “Iranian threat” and marketing Israel as a “political candidate.”
Some of the strategies he suggested reflect elements of the media practices adopted by the American right wing.
“The question is whether Israel has the willpower to step up its game in this information war,” wrote Kirk. ‘From my vantage point, the status quo is not working. Israel is getting CRUSHED on social media and you are losing younger generations of Americans, even among MAGA conservatives.”
Kirk appeared to have taken his own advice. Last month, he hosted a discussion with Gen Z students from Turning Point USA in which they discussed lessening support for Israel and increasing antisemitism.
“The Holy Land is so important to my life, and it pains me to see support for Israel slip away,” Kirk concluded before encouraging Netanyahu to call him at his private number. It was unclear if Netanyahu took him up on the offer.
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