Two weeks before Charlie Kirk was assassinated, the outspoken friend of Israel accepted an invitation extended by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to visit the Jewish state in January and participate in a conference on antisemitism.

Kirk’s acceptance of Mr. Netanyahu’s invitation is an example of the courage of the 31-year-old activist, who is being lauded after his martyrdom by figures across the political spectrum in Israel. They include the prime minister, who, in a posting on X today, said that “Charlie Kirk was murdered for speaking the truth and defending freedom.”

That hasn’t stopped conspiracists from advancing theories suggesting that Kirk was changing his views and incurred Israel’s wrath. It’s not the view in the Jewish state, where Kirk is widely admired and where Mr. Netanyahu himself called Kirk a “lion-hearted friend of Israel” who “fought the lies and stood tall for Judeo-Christian civilization.”

“I spoke to him only two weeks ago and invited him to Israel. Sadly, that visit will not take place,” Mr. Netanyahu said, according to Israeli press reports. They say that before he was murdered Wednesday, the Turning Point USA founder confirmed his participation in a Jerusalem conference on combating antisemitism.

Kirk was scheduled to arrive in Israel in January for a conference of the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs to combat antisemitism, Israel Hayom newspaper reported Friday. The paper added that Kirk confirmed his arrival at the conference after the minister of diaspora affairs, Amichai Chikli, invited him through a mutual acquaintance, Kirk’s pastor, Rob McCoy. 

That was not the only moment when Kirk’s courage showed through. Shortly after the attack on Israel by Hamas in October 2023, Kirk showed up at Judaism’s holiest site, the Western Wall at Jerusalem. “A week ago savage demons in the name of Islam butchered 1,300 Jews,” Kirk said at that time. He called the attacks of October 7 an “unspeakable horror.

Kirk’s visit was widely publicized at that time, and he spoke on Israel with great feeling. “Israel changed my life, strengthened my faith, made the Bible pop into reality, and gave me the most precious memories with Erika,” Kirk said, evoking his Christian faith.

“If Israel were to fall to the Arab world,” Kirk reasoned, “we would have limited, if not zero access to our most precious holy sites. Including, being able to prove the Bible’s veracity. Israel is a living proof of God’s love, covenant, and promise.”

Known as a polemicist who was eager to confront ideological foes head on in his “Prove Me Wrong” tours, Kirk often clashed with young accusers of Israel alleging wrongdoing. “Do you think Israel sits around, they say, ‘How do we kill more kids in Gaza today?’” he said to a pro-Hamas protester accusing Israel of killing children in Gaza.

Top Israeli officials met Kirk during his 2023 visit and at Washington, while others admired him from afar. “I never had the privilege of meeting Charlie Kirk, but I had the privilege of knowing him,” the Knesset speaker, Amir Ohana, said. “Like many millions around the world, I enjoyed listening to his reasoned explanations, his clear thinking, and his ironclad arguments with which he fought for the entire free world.”

Opposition leader Benny Gantz attended a conference at Washington on Wednesday, as the news of the shooting started emerging. “The vile and despicable shooting of Charlie Kirk, unwavering friend of Israel, in Utah is a harrowing reminder of how violence threatens democracies,” Mr. Gantz wrote. 

Israel’s head of state, President Isaac Herzog, summed up the country’s warmth for an American who often confronted antisemitic conspiracists who attach every evil to the Jewish state. “Israel,” President Herzog said in the wake of the assassination, “has lost a true friend and huge ally.”