By: Jordan Baker

Conservative activist Charlie Kirk spent the final night of his life strategizing for his comeback campus tour — upbeat, combative, and determined to defend Israel — according to a rabbi friend who shared details with the New York Post.

As the Post first reported, Rabbi Pesach Wolicki, a 55-year-old American-born cleric now based in Israel, held an hour-long Zoom call with Kirk on Tuesday evening, just hours before the 31-year-old was gunned down at Utah Valley University.

“He was excited to get back out on the campus tour,” Wolicki told the Post. “He was in a combative mood, which is good — he was preparing for debates and attacks.”

The rabbi said Kirk frequently leaned on him for advice on Israel, a cause the Post noted had increasingly divided younger conservatives. “Charlie stood alone to a great extent in that whole Gen Z conservative world as far as being pro-Israel,” Wolicki told the outlet, adding that Kirk faced daily pressure to abandon his position but “resisted.”

According to the Post, Kirk and Wolicki first connected in December 2023 during a Shabbat dinner at Turning Point USA’s America Fest. That meeting sparked a friendship rooted in faith and shared values. Wolicki recounted to the paper how Kirk later began observing Sabbath himself — turning off his phone from Friday night to Saturday sundown — something the rabbi described as “fascinating” for such a busy figure.

That spiritual discipline also led to Kirk’s forthcoming book, Stop, in the Name of God: Why Honoring the Sabbath Will Transform Your Life, which the Post reported has already become a bestseller ahead of its release. Wolicki told the paper that Kirk believed Sabbath observance strengthened his family life. “Isn’t it fascinating,” the rabbi reflected, “that his death will spur even greater popularity for that book?”

The New York Post further detailed how, in their last conversation, Kirk and Wolicki had planned to launch a new Whats App channel to handle questions from students during his American Comeback Tour. “There was no farewell, because we weren’t saying goodbye,” the rabbi told the Post.

Kirk was assassinated Sept. 10 while addressing students in Utah. Police identified 22-year-old Tyler Robinson as the alleged shooter, according to a probable cause affidavit cited by the Post. Robinson is expected to face aggravated murder charges, and law enforcement confirmed he lived with a transgender roommate whose communications with him helped lead to his capture.

Kirk’s death has set off a political firestorm. President Donald Trump demanded the death penalty for Robinson, while Vice President JD Vance escorted Kirk’s body aboard Air Force Two back to Arizona, the Post reported. His funeral will be held Sept. 21 at State Farm Stadium in Phoenix, with Trump pledging to attend.

In tribute, Vance has agreed to temporarily guest-host The Charlie Kirk Show, according to the Post.

For Wolicki, however, the loss goes beyond politics. “Charlie was unbelievably courageous,” he told the Post. “He worried deeply about Gen Z conservatives turning on Israel — and he held fast when it wasn’t easy.”