Charlie Kirk Award Honors Young Leaders Supporting Israel
The Charlie Kirk Award will be presented annually to a young man or woman who exemplifies the values that Kirk lived by — moral clarity, courage, and unwavering support for Judeo-Christian principles, especially the state of Israel. Mike Evans, founder of the Friends of Zion Heritage Center, announced the creation of the award this week.
Evans recounted his very first meeting with Kirk at a 2018 event for the opening of the US Embassy in Jerusalem. “A young man approached me and thanked me for what we were doing. He told me how strongly he supported Israel. His name was Charlie Kirk,” Evans said, adding that Kirk “carried his pro-Israel message to the heart of antisemitism, modern colleges and universities, never wavering in his support and defense of the Jewish people.”
“October 7 did not begin on October 7. It began decades earlier in classrooms, on social media and in the mainstream media. It was a battle for the mind. and that is the battle Charlie Kirk fought, with moral courage and with nonviolent strength, like Martin Luther King Jr., asking hard questions and exposing falsehoods.”
He called on the public to share its recommendations for who should be the first recipient of this new award: “I invite friends of Israel around the world to suggest remarkable young leaders who represent these values. Together, let us shine a light on those who carry forward Charlie’s mission.”
Mike Huckabee, the U.S. ambassador to Israel, praised the creation of the award.
“From my many years of knowing Charlie Kirk personally, I have deep admiration for his work on behalf of Israel and for the profound love he had for the Jewish state,” he said. “I am grateful to Dr. Mike Evans and the Friends of Zion for this blessed and important initiative and I look forward with anticipation to seeing who will be chosen as the first recipient of this award.”
“Charlie Kirk’s battle is Israel’s battle,” Evans said. “He stood against godless humanism, an ideology that excuses terrorism and teaches that no terrorist is truly a terrorist but merely a freedom fighter in need of education and understanding. This is not only wrong. It is dangerous.
The Charlie Kirk Award will be presented annually at the Friends of Zion Heritage Center in Jerusalem, recognizing the next generation of leaders who stand for truth, justice and the eternal bond between America and Israel. For more information, visit Charlie Kirk Award – Friend of Zion museum
–Dwight Widaman
