Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu reflected Thursday in an interview with Fox News on his personal memories of Charlie Kirk, the conservative pro-Israel activist who was murdered the day before.
Netanyahu said that he, his wife, and their family are “heartbroken,” and mentioned that during Kirk’s trip to Israel in 2019, his son had the chance to share a meal with him.
“We’re shattered, first as human beings, because a great human being has been taken from us. He was an extraordinary friend,” the Prime Minister said.
He recalled that Kirk had sent him a letter this past May in which he wrote, “One of my greatest joys as a Christian is advocating for Israel and forming alliances to defend Judeo-Christian civilization.” Netanyahu added that “a few weeks before the tragedy yesterday, I called him and I invited him to Israel, and sadly that visit will not take place.”
Netanyahu praised Kirk as a “defender of our common Judeo-Christian civilization. …he valued the bond between America and Israel. He did so many things to defend free speech. He had his truth, he stood up for it, but he said, ‘You can come and debate me.’ He invited that debate; he certainly didn’t invite the violence that tried to silence him.”
Addressing the broader implications of the attack, Netanyahu said it reflects a “worldwide problem. The people on the extremes: the radical Islamists and their union with the ultra-progressives. They often speak about human rights, they speak about free speech, but they use violence to take down their enemies, whether it’s President Trump, who was almost assassinated twice, or they tried to kill me here too, but they got Charlie Kirk, and it’s just heartbreaking.”
Drawing a personal connection, Netanyahu likened Kirk to his own brother Yoni, who was killed at the same age while leading the rescue of hostages in Entebbe. “I’ve thought of my brother all my life, and I’ll be thinking of Charlie all my life. They’re gone, and maybe they’re once in a generation, but those generations live by their legacy.”
{Matzav.com}
