As fringe voices accuse Israel and the Mossad of killing Charlie Kirk, Jewish leaders and influencers forcefully reject the conspiracy while acknowledging that Kirk had recently voiced some criticism of Israeli policies.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denounced as “insane” the conspiracy theories swirling online that Israel or the Mossad orchestrated the assassination of American conservative commentator Charlie Kirk. Speaking on Newsmax in an interview with Greta Van Susteren, Netanyahu called it an absurd extension of antisemitic tropes that have dogged Jews for centuries.
“That’s insane. That’s insane. Israel also changes the orbit of the moon. Israel pushes the sun,” Netanyahu said, his tone sharp with irritation. “The whole thing is not only insane, it’s so absurd, so stupid, and so ridiculous. I can’t believe that people are saying that.” He added that Kirk himself had warned him in private conversation about the destructive power of slander: “Charlie Kirk said to me, ‘You have to fight the slander. These untruths, these vilifications have consequences.’ And he was right.”
Netanyahu linked the current wave of online accusations to historical antisemitism, noting: “In the horrific Middle Ages, the worst things were said about Jews you could possibly believe. We were poisoning the wells, we were drinking the blood of Christian children, you name it.” He stressed that such lies persisted “up to the Holocaust,” and that the attempt to blame Jews for Kirk’s murder was simply the latest variation on a long tradition of scapegoating.
Kirk was shot at Utah Valley University on Wednesday, an act that shocked both supporters and critics. Netanyahu paid tribute to him as a man who fought with words and ideas rather than violence. “He was fighting in the battlefield of ideas, and I think he was winning. He was gonna win, that’s why they shot him,” Netanyahu said. He concluded on a defiant note: “More importantly, I think that his legacy of defending free speech, defending freedom, defending the right to defend yourself, and Israel’s right to defend itself… this is a legacy that will endure.”
Yet despite Netanyahu’s categorical dismissal, the conspiracy theory blaming Israel gained traction almost immediately after the assassination. On social media platform X, an account under the name “Greatest Noticer” bluntly wrote, “Charlie Kirk was assassinated by jews.” Ryan Matta, a podcast host with more than 200,000 followers, asked his audience, “At this point does anyone not thi[nk] Charlie Kirk was assassinated by Mossad?” Harrison Smith, a Texas broadcaster associated with Infowars, claimed even before Kirk’s death that the commentator feared Israel might “kill him if he turns against them,” and doubled down on those remarks in the hours following the shooting. Islamist voices joined in as well, with Daniel Haqiqatjou and Hamzah Wald Maqbul suggesting a Zionist hand in the murder.
These claims rest on a thin argument: that Kirk, despite a long record as one of Israel’s most visible defenders in the American conservative movement, had in recent months expressed sharp criticism of certain Israeli policies. In May, he opposed a proposed U.S. law penalizing boycotts of Israel, tweeting: “In America you are allowed to hold differing views. You are allowed to disagree and protest.” In July, he hosted a panel of young conservatives skeptical of the U.S.–Israel alliance and voiced frustration that criticism of pro-Israel groups sometimes led to accusations of antisemitism. He suggested that Jews were leading advocates of illegal immigration. He accepted the claim that Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell likely had an Israeli intelligence connection. And he suggested his disbelief that Israel could have been surprised by the October 7 invasion by Hamas. Such statements, while modest in comparison to his overall record of pro-Israel activism, have been cited by conspiracy theorists as supposed evidence of a motive.
The facts, however, paint a different picture. Kirk continued to describe himself as a staunch ally of Israel, writing to Netanyahu in May that “one of my greatest joys as a Christian is advocating for Israel and forming alliances to defend Judeo-Christian civilization.” Israeli leaders praised him after his death as “a lion-hearted friend of Israel,” and Netanyahu himself spoke warmly of their recent conversations. That record makes the conspiratorial claims appear even thinner, but has not stopped them from spreading rapidly across extremist networks.
Jewish influencers and organizations have forcefully countered the conspiracy, warning that such rhetoric is not only baseless but also dangerous. Eyal Yakoby, a prominent pro-Israel activist, called out the contradictions: “The same people who called Charlie Kirk a ‘tool of the Jews,’ are now saying that the Mossad assassinated him. These are sick people who will exploit a tragedy to pursue their own demonic agenda.” Eylon Levy likewise condemned the speed with which the blame game unfolded: “Charlie Kirk’s body isn’t even cold, and antisemitic conspiracy theorists are already blaming Mossad.”
Even voices outside the activist sphere have registered alarm. Even Jewish “comedian” Dave Smith, a harsh critic of Israel and Netanyahu, addressed the conspiracy disparagingly in a podcast, saying: “We’ve seen this movie before. Anytime something bad happens, somehow it’s the Jews pulling the strings. That’s not analysis — it’s just recycled hate with a new coat of paint.” His words echoed the concerns of experts at the Anti-Defamation League, where Mark Pitcavage of the Center for Extremism noted that extremists were using Kirk’s murder “as an excuse for antisemitism.”
Jewish organizations joined in condemning the killing itself while implicitly rejecting the conspiratorial framing. The American Jewish Committee said in a statement: “We are horrified by the shooting of Charlie Kirk … This disturbing act of political violence has no place in our society and must be condemned across the political spectrum.”
The pattern is familiar. When high-profile tragedies strike, Jews are often targeted with baseless accusations of control and manipulation. Netanyahu’s invocation of medieval blood libels underscores how old these charges are, even as they are repackaged for the digital age. Experts caution that while the conspiracy theory about Kirk’s death is factually groundless — investigators have not identified a suspect, and no evidence ties the killing to Israel — its spread demonstrates how quickly antisemitism mutates and finds new outlets.
For Netanyahu, for Yakoby and Levy, and for Smith and the organized Jewish community, the message is clear: conspiracy theories about Israel’s role in Kirk’s assassination are not only absurd, they are dangerous. As Kirk himself warned, vilification has consequences. The prime minister’s call to fight the slander is echoed across the Jewish world, a reminder that words — whether of truth or of lies — can shape realities and fuel outcomes.
In a development that may help put the conspiracy theories to rest, U.S. authorities on Friday announced the arrest of Tyler Robinson, a 28-year-old Utah man, in connection with Kirk’s murder. Early reports indicate Robinson acted alone and has no known ties to Israel or to any Jewish organization. His alleged motive has not yet been disclosed, but officials stressed that nothing uncovered so far connects the crime to foreign governments. The arrest, while not ending speculation entirely, underscores the hollowness of the claims that Israel engineered the killing. If anything, the capture of a domestic suspect may shift attention back to the broader questions of political violence in America, rather than to baseless accusations of foreign plots.
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