Netanyahu Responds to Charlie Kirk Assassination  

Some people cannot be replaced, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said while discussing the assassination of conservative political activist Charlie Kirk.  

“Charlie was 31 years old,” Netanyahu said Monday, adding that his own brother was only 30 when he was killed while serving in the Israeli military. “And you know, some of these people come once in a century, but it’s their legacy that has to live on.”

Kirk was shot and killed Wednesday while speaking at an event at Utah Valley University in Orem. He was pronounced dead at the hospital. The lead suspect in Kirk’s assassination is 22-year-old Tyler Robinson of Utah. Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said Sunday that Robinson was living with a partner who identifies as transgender.  

Transgenderism was just one of the many issues Kirk was vocal about, arguing the harms gender ideology has caused children. Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA, was a strong advocate for traditional American values and constitutional freedoms.  

Kirk “believed in having free discourse, and he was, I think, a great American patriot, a believer in the freedom [and] liberties that America gave to the world, and a believer in the common foundation of our civilization,” Netanyahu said.  

Kirk was a “tremendous friend of Israel,” according to Netanyahu, adding that he and Kirk had discussed “how to defend Israel [and] how to defend Western civilization.”  

Kirk’s death has triggered prayer vigils and gatherings not only in America but around the world, as supporters of free speech have been galvanized following the conservative leader’s assassination.  

Netanyahu made the remarks about Kirk at a Monday press conference in Jerusalem following a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Netanyahu and Rubio’s meeting comes almost one week after Israel carried out a strike in Doha, Qatar, targeting Hamas officials.  

President Donald Trump chose his words carefully after the bombing, condemning Hamas but noting that the bombing inside Qatar, which is a U.S. ally, “does not advance Israel or America’s goals.” Reports of frustration in the Trump administration over Israel’s actions added to the critical nature of Rubio and Netanyahu’s meeting in Jerusalem.  

Rubio and Netanyahu appeared largely united in their comments Monday, discussing the need for Hamas to be eliminated and the return of the nearly 50 hostages still in Gaza, 20 of whom are believed to be alive.  

Rubio further stressed the threat of a nuclear Iran, arguing Iranian nuclear weapons would not only threaten Israel, but Europe.  

“In fact, some of the missiles they’re trying to develop now can already range countries in Europe,” Rubio said.  

The U.S., on Trump’s order, carried out strikes on three of Iran’s key nuclear sites in June after Israel launched a strategic attack on Iran’s nuclear targets 

A nuclear Iran that is “governed by a radical Shia cleric, that possesses not just nuclear weapons, potentially, but the missiles that could deliver those weapons far away is an unacceptable risk,” Rubio said, adding, “That’s why we, the president continues with our campaign of maximum pressure that will continue to be maximum economic pressure on Iran until they change course.”