WASHINGTON — Assassinated conservative activist Charlie Kirk advised Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu how to counter “anti-Israel sentiment” among Gen Z and win the “information war” being waged against the Jewish state, according to a letter obtained by The Post.
Kirk wrote to Netanyahu in the May 2 missive that he was alarmed by “anti-Israel and anti-Semitic trends” hitting “record levels on social media” since one of his “greatest joys as a Christian is advocating for Israel and forming alliances with Jews in the fight to protect Judeo-Christian civilization.”
“My team and I have spent months analyzing these trends and debating ideas that could help you
and your country pushback [sic] 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,” added Kirk, who defended Israel when speaking on college campuses as part of his duties leading Turning Point USA, one of the nation’s largest conservative youth organizations.
“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 mentioned the letter in a Sept. 18 video address, eight days after Kirk, 31, was shot and killed during an event at Utah Valley University, to dispute “monstrous” falsehoods that Israel was somehow behind the killing.
Right-wing pundit Candace Owens and others have claimed that Kirk was being blackmailed into making firm defenses of Israel in public while questioning US support for the Jewish state privately. Pershing Square Capital Management boss Bill Ackman later published private text messages disputing the characterization.
In the letter, Kirk urged Netanyahu’s team to stop “subcontracting” rhetorical defenses of Israel to American surrogates — and pointed out that, as TPUSA’s main voice on American college campuses, he often felt like he was “defending Israel in public” more strenuously than the PM’s office from accusations and questions, including:
- “Israel is an apartheid state.”
- “Why does Israel conduct ethnic cleansing?”
- “Why is America subsidizing Israel’s genocide against the Palestinian people?”
- “Is American aid helping to subsidize Israel’s free health care?”
- “Israel and the Jews are running U.S. foreign policy.”
- “Israel and Jews are responsible for 9/11.”
- “Defending Israel is not in our U.S. national interest.”
- “Why is Israel trying to drag us into a war in the Middle East?”
“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 added in his letter.
“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.”
The late TPUSA leader listed seven suggestions for turning the tide of public opinion, including building out a rapid response team on X and other platforms, similar to that of President Trump’s White House staff; cultivate pro-Israel experts to fact-check misinformation about the Gaza war in real time; and create an “Israel Truth Network” as a clearinghouse of reliable information.
“When you don’t push back, anti-Semitism and anti-Israel propaganda fill the void,” he said. “A pro-Israel friend recently asked me, ‘Do Israelis even care how the world perceives their country?’”
Kirk also suggested sending some of the hostages released from Gaza on a speaking tour across the US would “be 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.”
Kirk further pushed for the promotion of social media posts about everyday life in Israel where citizens are asked “what they love about their country.
“Interview Jews, Israeli Arabs, Druze, orthodox [sic], secular etc. Ask Israelis what do they wish the world knew about Israel,” he explained. “Ask them to respond to examples of misinformation on social media. This could be an entire social media PR campaign called, ‘Dude, you got us wrong!’ Interview Israelis from all walks of life.”
Kirk also urged Netanyahu to “do a better job” explaining the threat of Iran getting nuclear weapons, since among “many conservatives who support Israel, there is a concern that America could become entangled in a quagmire in Iran.”
Finally, he spurred the Israelis to cultivate more “first-person” social media voices from the younger generation defending the Jewish state.
“I’ve seen your IDF spokesman defend Israel standing at a dimly lit podium,” he went on. “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 accused 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 Monday morning, where his defense team requested a preliminary hearing to determine whether enough evidence exists to move forward with a trial.
The next hearing in the case is set for Oct. 30.
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