David Vance SubstackRead More
Like all decent people, I was deeply upset by the very public execution of Charlie Kirk back on September 10th. Leaving aside all the politics, it was just a horrible event. For a young husband and father to be brutally slain in front of his family was awful. Charlie’s killing was a defining moment of 2025 and the ramifications will take years to understand. One thing that is clear is Charlie was the glue that held the TPUSA movement together and in that sense alone he is irreplaceable.
When figures like Charlie Kirk die, many things are said and written about them but I always feel it is best to go back and study what THEY said in THEIR own words. This brings us to the difficult subject of Charlie’s views on Israel and in particular what happened on October 7th. Listen to Charlie…
What Charlie is saying is exactly what my Jewish friend and rabbi’s daughter Ilana Mercer said to me back in October 2023. How was it possible for Hamas to conduct the terrorist atrocity without Israeli security kicking in?
I suppose there are three possibilities;
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Hamas caught the Israeli security off guard by using a very low key attack methodology. Israel did not see it coming!
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The Israeli forces were incompetent in their response.
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Israel was aware of what was happening but for whatever reason let it happen.
Charlie Kirk did not say he KNEW all the facts but he seemed to favour the third option – someone decided to allow the attack to go ahead.
Towards the very end of his short life, Charlie seemed frustrated that ANY criticism of Israel led to intense pressure on him. Here he is again, in his own words…
In many ways, I feel like Charlie. I do support Israel and believe it has a right to defend itself. However we must be allowed to question every and any political regime and it is unhealthy if that right is closed down. Is what happened to Gaza justified? Here’s Charlie again ….
“I have got to be careful how I say this-they are going to ethnically cleanse Gaza”
— Charlie Kirk
In the final analysis, the best person to listen to about Charlie Kirk is Charlie Kirk. I do not seek to put words in his mouth or quote him out of context. I was honoured that Charlie chose to follow me over on X and I feel an obligation to make sure that his views be expressed honestly.
Charlie had started to question certain decisions and behaviours of the current Israel Government. That seems beyond dispute. We must all come to our own conclusions.
