On Wednesday evening, a fanatical incident erupted in front of a Jewish museum. All of that changed when two young staff members from the Israeli embassy in Washington DC were shot to death. Yaron Lischinsky, a research assistant in the embassy’s political department, was killed soon after 9 PM. 26-year-old Sarah Milgrim who organized trips for labor died very young on the same day. The shooting happened during a family-friendly event at the museum. Today, the community finds itself in mourning and contending with hard questions of safety and an escalating climate of antisemitism.
The gunman, Elias Rodriguez, 31, who was already in police custody Monday, was spotted the day before the tragic shooting on camera pacing outside the museum. Authorities believe he acted alone. U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said they were taking every precaution to protect the community. She assured that protecting the Jewish community will be the primary focus in wake of this act of violence.
Just days before the shooting, Lischinsky purchased an engagement ring. He had plans to get an engagement ring for Milgrim, who hailed from Kansas. The pair were to leave for Jerusalem next week to visit Milgrim’s family there. Lischinsky was originally from Nurnberg, Germany. While there, Milgrim dove deeply into Tech2Peace, an advocacy organization in Israel-Palestine devoted to maintaining dialogue-building between young Palestinians and Israelis.
This act of “horrible” antisemitism has been condemned by world leaders. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reacted to the incident, calling it “the horrifying antisemitic murder.” In the wake of that attack, he ordered heightened security across the U.S. Flags at Israeli diplomatic missions around the world were lowered to half-mast in memory of those killed in the attack.
“The terrible price of antisemitism and wild incitement against Israel has resulted in this tragedy,” – Benjamin Netanyahu
Even former President Donald Trump raised alarm bells on the issue. He acknowledged that the murders were unmistakably motivated by antisemitism and urged the eradication of hatred and extremism within the U.S.
“These horrible D.C. killings, based obviously on antisemitism, must end, NOW! Hatred and Radicalism have no place in the USA,” – Donald Trump
“Normalization of antisemitism is the first step on the road to violence,” said Ted Deutch, member of Congress. He called on all of us to action to combat this prejudice.
“When antisemitism is normalized, that’s where we start to see the real danger that results in the violence we saw last night. Everyone has a role to play in making sure that doesn’t happen,” – Ted Deutch
The incident has led to protests and calls for justice not just in the U.S. but around the world. France’s foreign ministry condemned the attack unequivocally, with spokesperson Christophe Lemoine stating that France “will continue to condemn any act of antisemitism.”
“France has condemned, France condemns and France will continue to condemn, always and unequivocally, any act of antisemitism,” – Christophe Lemoine
Israeli Minister of Education Gideon Sa’ar highlighted the importance of global solidarity in combating acts of violence. He emphasized that leaders and officials from all of these countries are aligned in their united condemnation of these actions.
In response to the tragedy, organizations such as the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) stressed that while there is considerable frustration among Americans regarding the Israeli government’s actions toward Palestinians, political violence is unacceptable.
“While millions of Americans feel extreme frustration at the sight of the Israeli government slaughtering Palestinian men, women and children on a daily basis with weapons paid for with our taxpayer dollars, political violence is an unacceptable crime and is not the answer,” – CAIR
Investigations are still underway as law enforcement continue to determine what led to this senseless tragedy. No doubt many of you are still dealing with questions of civility and respect in your own communities today. More and more, conversations about antisemitism and its impacts are front and center in the broader public conversation.