By Aaron Binik-Thomas
Charlie Kirk was gunned down while speaking in Utah. It was murder, plain and simple. For the Jewish people, it was more than a political act. It was the silencing of a man who, while not Jewish himself, took an outspoken stand for Israel and for Zionism.
The words of Psalm 133 ring in our ears. “Hinei ma tov u’ma na’im, shevet achim gam yachad.” Behold, how good and how pleasant it is when brothers dwell together. These words carried our people through exile and persecution. Tradition teaches that Bar Kochba’s fighters sang them in the caves of Judea nearly 1,900 years ago as they resisted Rome. Surrounded by enemies, cut off from the world, they drew strength from unity.
Charlie Kirk chose to stand with us. He raised his voice for Israel when many stay silent. He defended the Jewish people when it was easier to turn away. That choice made him a target. His death was a political assassination, and his memory belongs to the roll call of martyrs who have given their lives for truth and for solidarity with our people.
We live in a time when Zionism is attacked from every angle. From college campuses to the halls of Congress, Israel is slandered and Jews are singled out. Yet there are still men and women who stand with us. Some are Jews, some are not, but all are Zionists when they declare without hesitation that the Jewish people have a right to live in safety, and that Israel has a right to exist.
The caves of Bar Kochba are not so far away. Today our caves are classrooms where students are told to hide their kippot, streets where Jews are warned not to show their identity and digital spaces where voices for Israel are shouted down. In every one of those places, we need to hear again the words of Hinei Ma Tov. Unity is our answer.
Charlie Kirk’s life ended on American soil, but the meaning of his death belongs also to Israel and the Jewish people. Like him or hate him, he stood with us until the end. His memory calls us to stand shoulder to shoulder, as our ancestors did in the caves of Judea, and as Zionists must do today.
יהי זכרו ברוך, ונחזק באחדות ישראל
May his memory be a blessing, and may we strengthen ourselves in the unity of Israel.
