"Charlie Kirk worked tirelessly against the movement on behalf of Israel. What did it get him? A bullet, because Jews are radicalized people in America and across Europe."
"Pretty obvious that Israel ordered the hit after Charlie started noticing."
"He was their friend. He basically dedicated his life to them. And they murdered him in front of his family. Israel just shot itself."
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has just published a report showing a sharp surge in antisemitic conspiracy theories online following the assassination of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk. Almost immediately, while the manhunt was still underway and no suspect had been identified, antisemites flooded social media with conspiracy theories and claims blaming Israel for the assassination or targeting Jews in general. Within two days of Kirk's shooting, more than 10,000 posts on X had appeared blaming Israel for his death.
Throughout history, a strong indicator of societal collapse is when Jews become the target and scapegoat during times of crisis or social unrest. After Tsar Alexander II was assassinated in 1881, pogroms broke out across the Russian Empire. During the Black Plague, Jews were falsely accused of poisoning the wells, which led to violent attacks, massacres, and expulsions in many European cities. During political instability in France, a Jewish army officer, Alfred Dreyfus, was falsely accused of treason in what became known as the Dreyfus Affair, sparking a wave of antisemitic hysteria across the country. And in Germany, as the economy collapsed after World War I, people latched onto the rumor that Jews controlled the banks, a lie that laid the groundwork for the antisemitism that eventually fueled the Holocaust. Similarly, during the coronavirus pandemic, uncertainty and fear allowed conspiracy theories to spread online, showing the same pattern of scapegoating and targeting of Jewish communities during times of crisis.
Unfortunately, the same antisemitism is now driving online discourse around Kirk's murder, with many claiming that his criticism of Israel and opposition to American involvement in a potential war with Iran were motives for his killing. Notorious antisemitic American political commentator Jackson Hinkle has amplified these false claims, maintaining a running list titled "EVERY ISRAELI connection to Charlie Kirk's ASSASSINATION (so far)," which escalates from Kirk mildly criticizing Israel to absurd assertions that he said Epstein was Mossad or opposed an Iran war – each entry framing Jews and Israel as responsible for his death.
Hinckle is one of many figures promoting "false flag" conspiracy theories suggesting that Israel politically orchestrated Kirk's murder. The ADL report even shows that some posts blame American Jewish organizations for orchestrating Kirk's murder because he had become more critical of Israel or because they feared that Kirk would "turn on them."
While it is true that Kirk received backlash from some Jewish communities for hosting Tucker Carlson at the Turning Point USA conference and for moderating a debate between comedian Dave Smith and Josh Hammer, a pro-Israel conservative and senior editor at Newsweek, those citing these events as motives for his murder offer no evidence whatsoever.
Other fueling conspiracy theories suggest that Israel and the US government worked together to have Kirk assassinated the day before the anniversary of September 11 to fuel hate against Muslim people.
We now know that Charlie's murderer is suspected to be 22-year-old Tyler James Robinson, who was arrested two days later after being identified through surveillance footage and tips from his family. Police are still unclear about his motives, but at a time when political violence is surging, Jewish communities are becoming more of a target, and allowing these conspiracy theories to fester online is putting Jews in danger. We have seen time and time again that, especially when it comes to antisemitism, what starts online will never just stay there.
The truth is that while Charlie Kirk was a controversial figure, to many American Jews and Israelis, he was a source of comfort during a dark period. After Hamas massacred 1,200 Jews during the October 7 attacks, Jewish communities around the world felt abandoned and isolated. While I did not agree with Kirk's stance on many issues, seeing someone outside the Jewish community who could fiercely challenge some of the most prominent antisemites and critics of Israel with such conviction was a powerful sign that we were not alone.
Antisemites and those who thrive on spreading hate will try to exploit Kirk's death for their agenda, but for the average person, even those who disagreed with him politically, his murder was an attack on humanity and a stark reminder of the urgent need to confront violence, intolerance, and the destructive power of hatred.
