It might very well be that more than all the T’ruah and Jewish Voice for Peace Rabbis (as well a self-professed Jewish clergymen and clergy women) and all the self-identified “As-a-Jew” public figures like journalist Peter Beinart and his IfNotNow minions, and all the employees of self-announced Jewish organizations, the late Charlie Kirk did and probably is continuing to do more for fundamental Jewish values now than they ever did. He probably is representing, in death, traditional Jewish ethics, morals and faith more than they have been seeking to do, they of the liberal, progressive camp of politics.
In a recent clip, the avowed Christian describes how on Friday evening, he “takes a Jewish Sabbath,” turning off his phone until Saturday after sundown. He did it for his mental health. He promoted the honoring of Shabbat. He spoke of getting in line with God’s rhythm. His wife, now a widow, was on board with it entirely. This, of course, is in addition to all pro-Israel efforts, which have put all the above Jews to shame.
His new book, reputedly already a best-seller in pre-publication status, is Stop, in the Name of God: Why Honoring the Sabbath Will Transform Your Life. As he was recorded saying, Shabbat helped save his life. As the promotion informs, Kirk’s thinking was that: “observing the Sabbath isn’t a rejection of modern life but a rebellion against busyness and a pathway to genuine connection, peace, and presence. … Kirk guides you on how to unplug, recharge, and reconnect with God, family and yourself in a way that nurtures your soul.”
This is so far removed from the attitude and thinking of Jewish anti-Zionists and the critics of Jewish religious customs.
These Jewish radicals mirror the behavior and practices of the worst of current American and Western political norms.
As The Free Press phrased it, “In the same way that madrassas radicalize jihadis, America’s campuses are among the places in the U.S. most hostile to disagreement and debate. Where they preach ‘inclusion,’ they actually practice exclusion. … Where they promote ‘diversity,’ they actually enforce a uniformity of thought … .”
Instead of imbuing non-Jewish society with Jewish values, they poison Jewish communal and organizational life with the corrupt and negative norms of their adopted wokeism, neo-Marxism and whatnot.
Kirk, all of 31, was a victim of the cancel culture practiced by the extreme left. Anti-Zionist Jews have embraced that cancel culture by accepting the BDS campaign. In doing so, just as I suggested years ago on these pages, they opened the floodgates not to opposition to policies of Israel but due to vicious and dangerous antisemitism.
In October 2019, I wrote that these groups:
“Seem to prefer a false intersectionality paradigm, seeking unity and comradeship with movements, politicians and leaders who couldn’t care less for Jews as Jews … they have linked up with political forces who express indications of antisemitism, but are blind to that since it is all within the camp of the left … these groups have taken the wrong road. The correct intersection they need be linked to is that which connects them to authentic Jewish tradition, values of culture and the national identity aspect of Judaism.”
A month later, in November, I viewed these radicals as redefining “their Jewishness as having little to do with actually Judaism either as a religion, a culture or an ethnic identity. Their Jewishness is a Diaspora one, and their moorings are fixed not in relation to something Jewish; they seek to apply any sort of Jewishness vestige they have and link that with the general surroundings in which they live.”
Charlie Kirk not only saw the wisdom in traditional, biblically based Judaism; he saw the Land of Israel, and specifically Judea and Samaria, as a necessary element in today’s politics. As an outsider, he knew what real Judaism was.
His loss is immeasurable in the sense that he seemingly promised to be a force that could assure uniting Christian and Jewish traditionalism for the next generation and more—a union that would be based on the correct understanding of the role of the Jew, Judaism and Israel in this world for all humankind, an understanding that has eluded too many young Jews and their mentors.
