Free Press founder and editor Bari Weiss speaking at The Algemeiner’s 11th annual “J100” gala in New York City on Jan. 15, 2024. Photo: FotoBuddy

At The Algemeiner‘s 11th annual “J100” gala on Tuesday night, Free Press founder and editor Bari Weiss introduced author Douglas Murray, one of the evening’s honorees.

Recalling the phenomenon of girls adulating Elvis Presley and even fainting during his performances, Weiss said she “didn’t understand that kind of fever; then I walked alongside Douglas Murray in Tel Aviv. At a certain point I wondered if the Israelis crying, hugging him, thanking him, knew something I didn’t. Was this British-born, Eaton-educated gentile actually a descendant of King David himself? Forget Elvis — his was the sort of welcome normally reserved for war heroes. And in a sense that is exactly what Douglas Murray is.”

Weiss stated that Murray “is a warrior in a profoundly important battle and one that has been invoked many times already tonight. And that is the battle for truth against lies in this unending war for this thing we call the West. It is a war of ideas, of conviction, and of will necessary to keep not just this republic, but our civilization.”