A year ago, I received the kind of news that stops you in your tracks.
Charlie Kirk had been murdered.
I had sat with Charlie just two months earlier. What was supposed to be a short meeting became an hour and a half of conversation. We spoke about Israel. We spoke about faith. We spoke about the responsibility that comes with having a voice in a world where words can either build bridges or tear people apart.
But most of all, we spoke about the values we shared.
Today, on the first anniversary of Charlie’s death, I find myself thinking about how I knew him on a personal level — as a young man who believed deeply that his faith required him to act.
Charlie understood something that Christians and Jews have understood for generations: faith is not simply something we hold in our hearts. It is something we live. It means standing up against hatred. It means defending human dignity when it is under attack. It means refusing to remain silent when Jewish people are targeted because they are Jewish, or when Christians are persecuted because they believe in Jesus.
And it means having the courage to speak — even when speaking comes with a cost.
That last lesson feels especially important today.
Charlie was killed while doing what he had done countless times before: speaking publicly, engaging people he disagreed with in conversation, and challenging them to think for themselves. He believed that even if we disagree with someone’s politics, rebuke their ideas, or even strongly oppose their beliefs, disagreement should never become justification for violence.
When we allow hatred to turn our opponents into nothing more than enemies who must be destroyed, we cross a dangerous line. And history — especially Jewish history — has taught us where that road leads.
The Jewish people know what happens when words of hatred are repeated often enough. We know what happens when a society decides that some lives matter less than others. We know what happens when ordinary people remain silent.
That is why Charlie’s death cannot simply be remembered as another senseless tragedy.
It should be a reminder that we must reject hatred before it becomes violence. A reminder that Christians and Jews must stand together when antisemitism rises, and that defending Israel and standing with the Jewish people is not merely a political position. For millions of Christians, it is an expression of faith and a recognition of the biblical and moral bond that connects our communities.
Charlie defended that bond. He was a passionate supporter of Israel, and he understood that the security of Israel and the safety of Jewish people around the world are connected to a larger struggle against hatred and extremism. Israel later honored him for his efforts to combat antisemitism.
I believe Charlie’s greatest legacy should not be measured simply by the number of people who agreed with him, but by what those of us who respected and admired him choose to do. Will we use our voices to bring light into dark places? Will we teach our children that disagreement does not require hatred? Will we defend our Jewish brothers and sisters when they are threatened?
Will we choose courage over fear?
These are questions for every person of faith.
The Bible teaches us that we are called to be a light to the nations. Light overcomes the darkness by shining brightly. That is what I remember most today, not simply the tragedy of how Charlie died, but the responsibility his life leaves us with.
One year later, the answer to hatred cannot be more hatred. The answer to violence cannot be surrender. The answer to fear cannot be silence.
The answer must be courage. Faith. Friendship. And people willing to stand together.
May Charlie’s memory be a blessing to his family, to everyone who loved him, and to all those who believe that faith should move us to action.
And may God give all of us the courage to stand — not against one another, but together — against hatred, fear, antisemitism, and all forces that seek to divide us.
A year later, there is still much work to do.
And we must do it together.
Yael Eckstein is President and Global CEO of The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, one of the world's largest religious charitable organizations, and is a respected Jewish leader, speaker, bestselling author, and an award-winning podcast host and humanitarian.