In Israel, public tributes to Charlie Kirk include a street naming, a mural, and a missile in Gaza

JTA -Israelis are paying widespread tribute to Charlie Kirk, renaming streets and painting murals in honour of the American conservative activist assassinated last week in Utah.

In at least one case, according to pictures circulating on social media, an Israeli missile was inscribed with the message, “In memory of Charlie Kirk”, reflecting a recurring and at times divisive practice in the Israeli army.

“Direct from Gaza. He’d be so proud,” right-wing influencer Hillel Fuld tweeted as he shared the picture.

Kirk, the chief executive and co-founder of the youth organisation Turning Point USA, visited Israel multiple times and defended it against right-wing critics, including during the current Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. Israeli leaders including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were among the first voices to respond to his shooting on Wednesday, 10 September, calling for prayers on his behalf.

Following his death, a traffic circle in the city of Netanya will be renamed in Kirk’s honour, the city’s mayor announced on Thursday.

“On behalf of the municipality of Netanya and all its residents, I’ve decided to commemorate Charlie’s memory in a square that will bear his name,” Mayor Miriam Feirberg-Ikar said on Instagram, adding that those who visit will “remember Israel’s great friend”.

“Charlie was a courageous and powerful voice for Israel,” she said. “He dedicated his life to the struggle for truth, to exposing lies, and to standing up against the recurring waves of antisemitism.”

A mural of Kirk with angel wings went up in the city of Ashdod less than 24 hours after his death, painted by the graffiti artist Dudi Shoval.

“If the world is divided into good and evil, then we lost a very important person today on the side of the good. I still can’t believe they managed to shut your mouth,” Shoval posted on Instagram. “May we continue Charlie’s path, and never allow the insane anarchists to use violence to silence us and throw us off the map. We literally need you to keep watching over us from above. May his memory be a blessing.”

Israeli influencer Hananya Naftali drew attention to the mural on Facebook.

“This could be the first mural in his honour in the world, and it’s here in Israel,” the right-wing influencer said in a video in which he was standing in front of the mural. “This is how much he meant to us because he was a champion of the Judeo-Christian alliance, he was a staunch friend of Israel, and we will never forget those that stand for the truth.”

Encomia for Kirk continued to flow from Israeli leaders on the right as well. Netanyahu described Kirk as a “lion-hearted friend of Israel”, adding that he “fought the lies and stood tall for Judeo-Christian civilisation”.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, the vanguard of Israel’s far-right, wrote in an English-language post on X that Kirk had, in his view, correctly identified the problems that needed solving.

“The collusion between the global left and radical Islam is the greatest danger to humanity today. Charlie Kirk saw the danger, and warned about it,” Ben-Gvir wrote. “But the bullets of the despicable murderer struck him. Thank you, Charlie, for your support of Israel and for your struggle for a better world.”

In the United States, politically conservative Jews also paid tribute to Kirk. Hedge fund billionaire Bill Ackman, who has emerged as a potent voice on issues related to antisemitism and Israel, pledged $1 million (R17.3 million) on X to the Federal Bureau of Investigation to reward people supplying information leading to the capture of Kirk’s killer. He also pledged another $1 million to create an endowment to support Kirk’s widow and two children.

Authorities announced on Friday that they had arrested a 22-year-old Utahn, Tyler Robinson, whom they believed had killed Kirk.

Meanwhile Jewish apparel company JDrip started selling a Kirk memorial kippah for $49.99 (R867.93) online, with all proceeds going to “Jewish or pro-Israel causes, or those promoting free speech and debate in the US”, according to its website.

“JDrip isn’t a partisan company,” the store wrote in the description for the kippah. “We’re releasing this item in honour of free political speech and debate in the US, in alignment with the statements of both Barack Obama and Donald Trump.”