A Bloody Thread Through History: From Biblical Assassinations to the Death of Charlie Kirk

The murder of Charlie Kirk, a prominent right-wing activist and vocal supporter of Israel, has sent shockwaves across the globe. Our collective memory instinctively draws parallels to infamous political assassinations, John F. Kennedy and attempts on Donald Trump in the United States, and in Israel, the murders of Yitzhak Rabin, Rehavam Ze’evi, Meir Kahane, and even pre-state figures like Jacob de Haan and Chaim Arlosorow. Yet, political assassinations are not a modern phenomenon.

From the earliest recorded moments of Jewish history, politically motivated killings have shadowed our story, from biblical times through the Hellenistic period to the modern resettlement of the Land of Israel in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Biblical Era: When Politics Was a Matter of Life and Death

The Hebrew Bible documents numerous instances of political murder. Ehud ben Gera, the second judge of Israel during the period of the Judges, assassinated Eglon, king of Moab, in a bid to free the Israelites from his oppression. Gedaliah ben Ahikam, appointed by the Babylonians as governor of Judah after the destruction of the First Temple, was killed by Ishmael ben Nethaniah, a member of the royal house. To this day, Orthodox Jews observe the annual “Fast of Gedaliah” to commemorate this political assassination, which ended the remnant of Jewish presence in the Land of Israel post-destruction.

The monarchy itself was a battleground of bloodshed. Nadav ben Jeroboam, the second king of Israel, was murdered by Baasha, who crowned himself in his place. Baasha’s son, Elah (the fourth king), was assassinated by Zimri, who became the fifth king. Joash, king of Judah, was killed by his servants after 39 years of rule, and Amaziah (the ninth king) was murdered in Lachish. Similarly, the kings of Israel, Yoram (10th), Zechariah ben Jeroboam (15th), Shallum ben Jabesh (16th), Pekahiah ben Menahem (18th) and the kings of Judah, Ahaziah (6th) and Amon (15th), met violent ends. Dynasties changed through bloodshed, with crowns passing from family to family in a trail of violence.

Hellenistic Period: Assassinations Amid Renewed Jewish Sovereignty

Political assassinations persisted with the restoration of Jewish sovereignty during the Second Temple period. Simon Thassi, the third Hasmonean leader, was murdered in Jericho by his son-in-law Ptolemy in 134 BCE. Aristobulus III, the last Hasmonean king, was drowned in a Jericho pool by Herod’s servants in 36 BCE, with the murder staged as an accidental drowning.

The First Modern Victim of Political Violence in the Land of Israel

The renewal of Jewish settlement in Jerusalem in the early 19th century brought new waves of political violence. Rabbi Avraham Shlomo Zalman Tsoref, a pioneer of the Old Yishuv, was assassinated in 1851 amid Arab opposition to the renovation of the “Hurvat Rabbi Yehuda HaHasid” courtyard in Jerusalem’s Old City. While heading to the Menachem Zion synagogue for dawn prayers, he was attacked by several Arabs who struck him with a sword to the head. Tsoref is considered the first victim of hostile action in the pre-state era.

The Old Yishuv: Where Politics Met Nationalism

The 20th century ushered in a surge of political assassinations in the Land of Israel. Israel de Haan, an Orthodox Jewish publicist who opposed Zionism, was killed in Jerusalem in 1924 by the Haganah. Chaim Arlosorow, a leading figure in the Labor movement, was murdered on a Tel Aviv beach in 1933, a case that remains unsolved and steeped in mystery.

The State of Israel: The Cost of Democracy

With the establishment of Israel, political assassinations continued. Count Folke Bernadotte, a UN mediator, was killed in Jerusalem in 1948 by members of the Lehi organization, who opposed his plan to cede Jerusalem to Arab control. Israel Kastner was murdered in Tel Aviv in 1957 amid allegations of collaborating with the Nazis. The tragic pinnacle came with the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in 1995, an event that profoundly shook Israeli society.

This historical survey reveals that political assassinations have been a persistent thread in Jewish history from its inception. Political violence is not foreign to our people, yet it has always served to destroy rather than build. The central lesson is that a healthy democracy requires the ability to engage in political disagreement without resorting to physical violence. History warns us: when politics becomes a matter of life and death, everyone loses.