How Antisemitism Hides Online: Identifying Coded Jew Hatred
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Charlie Kirk embraced Shabbat as a life-changing pause. Judaism knows it as the force that sustained a people and changed the world.
Before his assassination, Charlie Kirk's final project was to introduce the idea of Shabbat to millions of people around the world. His book, Stop, in the Name of God: Why Honoring the Sabbath Will Change Your Life, was posthumously published this month – and became an instant bestseller.
Whatever your opinion about Kirk's politics and personality, he was undeniably a high-achiever: hosting three hours of radio every day, juggling an intensive travel and speaking schedule, and fundraising $100 million annually for his organizations.
For 24 hours Charlie Kirk would turn off his phone and step back from his frenetic schedule to spend time with his family and realign with his inner self.
Yet precisely because of that frenetic lifestyle, Kirk, whenever possible, would turn off his phone for 24 hours every week, from Friday evening till Saturday evening. He and his family would spend the day going on hikes, journaling, and just detaching from the noise.
Kirk writes:
In a society where identity is increasingly tethered to output – where your worth is measured by how busy you are, Sabbath… rehumanizes us in a dehumanizing world… Sabbath is our rebellion. Our resistance… It is a weekly declaration of allegiance… not to the machine, but to God.
For Kirk, Shabbat enabled him to step back from life’s daily pressures and realign with his inner self.
In our age of nonstop beeps and pings, Shabbat speaks with universal relevance – affirming belief in God, who created the world with purpose, order, and a built-in weekly recharge.
There is, however, a second fundamental theme of Shabbat. During the Friday night Kiddush, Jews declare that Shabbat not only “testifies to Creation,” but also “commemorates the Exodus from Egypt.”
Beyond national liberation, the Exodus conveys a revelation about the nature of reality itself. Creation established that the world has an Author. Through the Ten Plagues and splitting of the Sea, open miracles that overturned natural law, the Exodus demonstrated the Author’s involvement in the world.
Shabbat is a weekly testimony that human destiny is governed by Divine providence.
The Exodus did not merely liberate a people—it forged a nation whose collective missions to reveal God’s active presence in history. God’s act of creation is a universal abstraction; no one was there to witness it. Divine providence requires a living witness. The Exodus did not merely free a people; it formed a nation whose national mission is to reveal God’s active involvement in history.
Every week on Shabbat, the Jewish people reaffirm the dual truths of Creation and Divine providence, two elements fused into a single day.
Today, history’s great civilizations, Egyptians, Greeks, Persians, Babylonians, Romans, are archaeological relics. Meanwhile, the Jewish people, despite being few in number, dispersed across the globe, and subject to intense persecution, have made an outsized impact on the world.
Across continents and centuries, empires fell and languages disappeared, while every Shabbat, the Jewish people gathered around the table to renew their eternal vitality.
Comprising just 0.2 percent of the global population, Jews have received roughly 25 percent of all Nobel Prizes. That is not proportional influence; it is influence on a scale one thousand times their demographic weight. Against every expectation of history, a tiny and vulnerable people have shaped science, ethics, law, medicine, economics, and culture far beyond their numbers, leaving an imprint on civilization that empires could not.
Across continents and centuries, empires fell, borders shifted and languages disappeared, Meanwhile the Jewish people were gathering around the Shabbat table every week to renew their eternal vitality.
The miracle of Jewish survival bears witness to God's active guidance. As Rabbi Yaakov Emden (18th century Europe) writes:
Jewish survival throughout the generations is more miraculous than all the biblical miracles. The longer the exile continues, the miracle of Jewish survival is further substantiated, revealing God’s power and mastery.
Today, we’ve witnessed how, after 2,000 years of exile and from the ashes of the Holocaust, the Jewish people miraculously ingathered the exiles, revived the ancient Hebrew language, made the desert bloom, and built the start-up nation.
All others nations are sustained by power, land, language, or memory. The Jewish people are sustained by a seven-day rhythm. As the poet Ahad Ha'am famously said, “Even more than the Jews have kept Shabbat, Shabbat has kept the Jews.”
Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch (19th century Germany) writes:
Shabbat is not merely a day of rest, but the eternal sign of the covenant between God and Israel (Exodus 31:17). Shabbat testifies that Israel’s national existence is bound to its mission to proclaim God as Creator of heaven and earth, and as the One who intervenes in history to redeem the oppressed and guide humanity…
Therefore, as long as Israel exists, Shabbat exists. And as long as Shabbat exists, Israel remains the eternal people.
For Charlie Kirk, Shabbat is a commendable life-hack.
For the Jewish people, it is our secret to longevity and success.
For Israel Shabbat is non negotiable it is a Mitzva. For other Nations if they love the Creator, and chose to recognize Shabbat as a day set aside for Israel, and keep it Holy because they want to please the Creator, who gets the biggest blessing? That being said how do Christians say the worship the Same G-d as Israel? Mind blowing for me.
It is likely that Charlie Kirk suffered from borderline personality disorder. He really didn't know who he was. If he had lived we would have seen many iterations and changes in his beliefs. A fanatical Christian can never be a reliable ally. Their ultimate goal is to convert or kill all of us. I feel the same about J.D. Vance who has had so many "personalities" and I wonder if he will remain a Roman Catholic. That people here view Kirk favorably is a puzzle to me as he was a bona fide bigot.
No evidence he was bigoted, why repeat the lie? Just watch as many videos of him as are available and you will see that he was a righteous gentile.
By bearing false witness, you break one of the Ten Commandments.
Shame on you.
Excellent! One of the things I learned from Charlie was how to be unapologetic about religion.
"Shabbat testifies that Israel’s national existence is bound to its mission to proclaim God as Creator of heaven and earth, and as the One who intervenes in history to redeem the oppressed and guide humanity…" Surely we could do a better job proclaiming if there were more of us. While Christianity and Islam have grown enormously because of constant outreach, that has not been our result. If there were 500 million Jews, we would not have to worry about anti-Semitism, Holocausts, or progroms. While many will not like the idea, we could greatly benefit from missionaries to tell our story and project our values.
Thank you for writing this! Charlie understood the beauty of the Sabbath much more than most Christians and I’m thankful many more will be able to start experiencing what the Jewish people have been benefiting from for thousands of years. I love how you reminded us of the two fold reason for sabbath. Hashem rested on the 7th day and we were also freed from slavery into freedom. May we all live our lives in 2026 in greater freedom and consecration to Hashem and may many more outside of Judiasm realize the beauty and benefits that the Jewish people bring to the world. May many more Christians rise up like Charlie Kirk to stand against antisemitism and may we work together to fight hatred in our world.
I think it's sad that we need Charlie Kirk to expound on the value of Shabbat. There are more profound spiritual insights that are from Judaism itself.
Agreed! I think that as a culture in exile for millennia we are used to tucking our heads and hiding. I think he was an example for the whole world bullied by wokeism, how to stand up for morality even if its not PC. I personally feel like his example empowered me to stand up for Jewish values as a Jew unapologetically and proudly! Thank you G-d for the people You put in our lives who inspire!
Good points but Charlie actually said that Shabbat is more than a commendable life hack. He said it is a testament to God— and that Shabbat can also be appreciated for its health and other benefits. Hence, it is wise for believers and nonbelievers to adopt.
Can you explain further what ‘health and other benefits’ you imply? Thank you!
ugh Charlie Kirk was not a good example of basically anything. Very disappointed to see so many articles praising this man who spewed hate, which is definitely not a Jewish value.
One cannot make such a charge without substantiating it!
According to you, how did he "spew hate"?
Certain things should be hated, such as bigotry and spreading lies (like obviously ignorant antisemites do) for example.
He felt African Americans were inferior. I would call that a form of hate and bigotry.
You misunderstood what he was saying, when he used blacks in an example of DEI. Listen closer as to what he is saying.
Many people including Charlie Kirk do not know the true meaning of DEI.
This is a great article. I am a Christian.I don't believe Charlie Kirk was in any way antisemitic.Christians should set God's day aside, as should Jews. Most of us do not.No Christian with a correct understanding of the faith can be antisemitic In fact we are comanded to be the opposite.We belive in the same God. Hate is a sin against God.I have the highest regard for the Jewish faith, the Jewish people, (especially those who are observant), and for Israel. You know, all of the first Christians were Jews, Jesus was a Jew.We all came from the same factory.
Shena Tova. Berkot hael lekolhem
Though Kirk, in my mind was the wrong ambassajdor for representing what Shabat represents, he did enhance the profile despite not living an life.
I find it interesting that a well known antisemite would be borrow our tradition and not following his own sabbath.
Kirk was never an antisemite.
I find it very interesting is that CK chose to disengage from technology (i.e. keep the sabbath) on the Jewish Shabbos, not on Sunday, the Christian Shabbos. Strange, no?
The 7th Day Adventists keep their Christian Sabbath on Friday-Sat, including not working then. I know an Adventist woman doing child care who won't take money if she ends up working into Friday night.
No, it’s not strange. We Christians were taught wrongly, that the Sabbath is on Sunday.
There are several Christian denominations that keep the 7th day Shabbat/Sabbath because we read the Scriptures rather than following the catholic “Lord’s day” as they are the ones who changed the day of rest.
It should be stressed that this is NOT a case of a gentile fully observing shabbat, as is clear from the article. So his behavior was totally fine.
Charlie Kirk loved Israel and the Jewish people because he loved the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Would that there were more Charlie Kirk’s in the world.
So here is my question: Did Charlie Kirk in fact write the book you mention rabbi? Mr. Kirk expressed MANY beliefs, several of which were antithetical to Torah teachings. He was certainly an intelligent man, but not one I admired. With that said, I was very sorry to read about his murder.
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Yes, charlie wrote the book and it was published posthumously. and often spoke about the benefits of the Jewish sabbath
Sadly, he also spoke about his disdain for certain ethnic groups. I read that he said that if he was flying on a plane he hoped his pilot was not black. Also, a few African American women said he directed his vitriol at them. These values are not something to be admired.
It really depends on where and who is giving the information 🤔. First question we all need to become a bit more disciplined at. We cant just trust many media, systems or government thesedays. We must get back to critical thinking, truly looking at all the people speaking. Who are they connected to, do they have a good track record, why are all this lot over here against? Why are all these guys for it ? Etc etc. Then we all need to trust our gut promptings, desernment and ask for wisdom and guidance into truth. Many are led astray or follow the crowd. We need to be aware, media is a machine, systems are created with motives towards us all. Don't take the bait. Just where I am at with all this i read, He said, she said.
Charlie never said he hoped his pilot was not black. In reference to DEI he referred to the practice of hiring a minority to qualify for that need. Please look at all of the conversations he had on this subject.....the total conversation.....not just taking pieces of one sentence. One of his closest staff members was black. There were many blacks that made up his staff and still do.
Yes I see that people are twisting his words often!
Nobody is twisting his words.
The term DI stands for diversity equity and inclusion. However, if you polled 10 people on the street and asked them what those initials meant they would not know. No, I took nothing out of context. I have read quite a bit about Mr. Kirk.
Same. And there is a clip widely available online where he states that he wishes all Jews would embrace his "savior".
Pretty ironic then to see Jews embracing him as a role model. His true intentions are no secret.