Netanyahu says Israel did not kill Charlie Kirk, rejecting an idea circulating on the far right
Among those engaging with the idea is Tucker Carlson, who is speaking at Kirk’s official memorial.
By Andrew Lapin September 19, 2025 6:18 pm
On Thursday, Benjamin Netanyahu posted an unusual video to X: a preemptive denial that Israel was involved in the murder of Charlie Kirk.
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Without getting into specifics about the accusations, Netanyahu asserted that the young conservative pundit “loved Israel” and “loved the Jewish people.” Quoting from a letter he said Kirk had sent him a few months prior to his killing, Netanyahu said that advocating for Israel was one of Kirk’s “greatest joys as a Christian,” adding, “He told me, ‘The Holy Land is so important to my life, it pains me to see support for Israel slip away.’” “Now, some are peddling these disgusting rumors, perhaps out of obsession, perhaps with Qatari funding,” Netanyahu continued. “What I do know is this: Charlie Kirk was a great man, and a great man deserves honor, not lies.”
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No law enforcement official has raised the possibility that Israel was involved in the assassination that sent shockwaves through the United States last week. The FBI has charged only 22-year-old Tyler Robinson with Kirk’s murder, and text messages reprinted in his indictment suggest he acted alone.
What Netanyahu is responding to, instead, are theories being loudly entertained by popular right-wing Internet pundits and politicians — figures standing to inherit Kirk’s mantle of influence. They include Tucker Carlson, Candace Owens, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, former Rep. Matt Gaetz, and white nationalist streamer Nick Fuentes.
Few if any of the most prominent voices have outright said they believe Israel is behind Kirk’s assassination. But they are posing questions — and at times citing the questions as a cause for suspicion.
“I severely mistrust people who rush to misrepresent things,” Owens said on her streaming show on Monday. “And it’s not a good sign when somebody has to ask you, as Greta Van Sustern asked Bibi Netanyahu … if you did have anything to do with the assassination. Doesn’t make you a great person, OK.”
Responding to Van Sustern, Netanyahu said on Newsmax that the theory was “absurd” and “insane.”
September 22, 2025 3:00 pm2
Conservatives Condemn Tucker Carlson for Seemingly Blaming Jews for Killing Both Jesus and Charlie Kirk
by David Swindle
At the memorial for conservative activist Charlie Kirk on Sunday, Tucker Carlson — the former Fox News host-turned-far-right conspiracy theorist podcaster — appeared to advance two antisemitic ideas at once, both blaming the Jewish people for the crucifixion of Jesus and further amplifying his previous suggestions alleging Israeli involvement in the slaying of one of the world’s leading Christian Zionist voices.
In the State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, Carlson said during his speech that Kirk’s murder “actually reminds me of my favorite story ever,” before proceeding to offer his own spin on a medieval passion play.
“So, it’s about 2,000 years ago in Jerusalem, and Jesus shows up and he starts talking about the people in power. And he starts doing the worst thing that you can do, which is telling the truth about people. And they hate it, and they just go bonkers,” Carlson said. “They hate it, and they become obsessed with making him stop. ‘This guy’s got to stop talking. We’ve got to shut this guy up.’”
Carlson continued his story before the crowd of mourners, describing how “I can just sort of picture the scene in a lamplit room with a bunch of guys sitting around and eating hummus, thinking about what do we do about this guy telling the truth about us. ‘We must make him stop talking.’ And there’s always one guy with the bright idea, and I can hear him say, ‘I’ve got an idea: Why don’t we just kill him? That’ll shut him up. That’ll fix the problem.’”
Carlson then burst out laughing before adding, “It doesn’t work that way. It doesn’t work that way. Everything is inverted.”
US Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) — who has recently taken up popular leftist talking points falsely accusing Israel of committing genocide in Gaza — praised the speech, posting on the X social media platform that “Tucker Carlson just gave the best speech that was centered on what being a Christian is. It’s about Jesus and it starts with faith and repentance and it changes us. Which leads us to God. Thank you Tucker.”
The Quds News Network, a Palestinian news agency, also boosted Carlson’s comments, writing, “Tucker Carlson suggests Israeli involvement in Charlie Kirk’s death during TPUSA’s [Turning Point USA’s] memorial for its late founder.”
David Friedman, who served as US ambassador to Israel in President Donald Trump’s first term, called the speech “antisemitic innuendo,” adding that such comments were “never appropriate, but even less so at a memorial service for a great man.” Friedman later wrote that the memorial “was not about him” and that the very debate over Carlson’s remarks underscored how out of place they were.
Carlson: Charlie Kirk endured massive backlash from his donors after urging not to strike Iran
Tucker Carlson revealed that Charlie Kirk faced “massive abuse” and intense backlash from donors after urging President Trump not to strike Iran. Kirk had visited the Oval Office to argue that while Iran poses serious issues, a war would seriously harm the United States. Carlson described the stance as brave yet unpopular, noting that Kirk lost support even from those who had long backed him and even made enemies because of it.
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