Assassinated Conservative activist Charlie Kirk wrote a letter to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this year, according to the New York Post. In a freshly unearthed letter, which was penned down in May, revealed that Kirk warned that Israel isn’t just fighting in Gaza—it’s flunking TikTok. With Gen Z scrolling past pro-Israel hashtags faster than a skipped ad, he frets the Jewish state is “losing the information war,” a slip that, he cautions, could cost them America’s thumbs-up.“My team and I have spent months analysing these trends and debating ideas that could help you and your country push back against these disturbing developments,” he said in the letter, reproduced in full below for the first time. “Anti-Israel sentiment can undermine American support for Israel.” “The purpose of this letter is to lay out our concerns and outline potential remedies. Everything written here is from a place of deep love for Israel and the Jewish people,” Kirk added. He has defended Israel when speaking on college campuses as part of his role leading Turning Point USA, one of the nation’s largest conservative youth organisations. “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.’” Netanyahu first referenced the letter in a September 18 video address, eight days after Kirk, 31, was shot and killed during an event at Utah Valley University. Netanyahu disputed “monstrous” falsehoods that Israel was somehow behind the killing. Right-wing pundit Candace Owens and others have asserted that Kirk was being blackmailed into publicly making firm defences of Israel while privately questioning US support for the Jewish state. Pershing Square Capital Management boss Bill Ackman later published private text messages disputing this characterization. In the letter, Kirk urged Netanyahu’s team to cease “subcontracting” rhetorical defences of Israel to American surrogates. He pointed out that, as Turning Point USA’s main voice on American college campuses, he often felt that he was “defending Israel in public” more vigorously than the Prime Minister’s office against accusations and questions, including: “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.” “I know you’ve got a seven 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 five alarm fire.” The late Turning Point USA leader listed seven suggestions for altering public opinion, including establishing a rapid response team on X and other platforms similar to that of President Trump’s White House staff; cultivating pro-Israel experts to fact-check misinformation about the Gaza conflict in real time; and creating an “Israel Truth Network” as a repository of reliable information. “When you don’t push back, anti-Semitism and anti-Israel propaganda fill the void,” he wrote. “A pro-Israel friend recently asked me, ‘Do Israelis even care how the world perceives their country?’” Kirk also proposed sending some of the hostages released from Gaza on a speaking tour across the US as “very effective messaging.” “Also, these hostages and all your spokespersons should be arguing it’s Hamas that is committing genocide on their own people by using civilians as human shields and storing weapons in schools, hospitals etc,” he added. “That information drips out in the regular media but is almost nonexistent on social media.” Additionally, Kirk advocated for promoting social media posts about everyday life in Israel, where citizens are asked “what they love about their country.” “I’ve seen your IDF spokesman defend Israel standing at a dimly lit podium,” he continued. “This looks like a scene out of the 1970’s – like some old Walter Cronkite clips of the TV news. You need to tear down your old ways of communicating and start over from scratch.” “In my opinion, you are losing the information war which will eventually translate into less political and military support from America,” he concluded. “The Holy Land is so important to my life, and it pains me to see support for Israel slip away.” Kirk’s alleged assassin, Tyler Robinson, 22, was apprehended the day after the activist’s murder and faces the death penalty on a charge of aggravated murder. Robinson appeared remotely during a brief court hearing on Monday morning, where his defence team requested a preliminary hearing to determine whether sufficient evidence exists to proceed to trial. The next hearing in the case is scheduled for October 30.
