Two employees of the Israeli embassy in Washington DC have been shot and killed, the latest in a horrific string of domestic aggression towards Jewish Americans. An escalation of the hostility played out on college campuses and at protests nationwide over the past 18 months, the hate crime played out as the pair were leaving an event at the city's Jewish Museum. Police report the gunman cried out "Free, free Palestine" following his arrest.
The murdered couple, who have been identified as Israeli Yaron Lischinsky and American Sarah Milgrem, were set to be engaged over the holiday weekend. Instead, they have been gunned down in their prime due to previously unchecked Antisemitism catalyzed by the invasion of Israel by Hamas in October 2024.
In his statement, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar claimed the deaths an act of terrorism and called them "the direct result of toxic anti-Semitic incitement against Israel and Jews around the world that has been going on since the October 7th massacre."
Suspect Elias Rodriguez, a 30-year-old from Chicago, Illinois, remains in custody. According to FBI director Dan Bongino, the shooting appears to have been targeted, with the victims preselected based on their ethnicity and place of employment. Rodriguez then attempted to enter the event the deceased had intended to attend but was thwarted by police.
DC Mayor Muriel Bowser released a strong statement, saying, "I want to be clear that we will not tolerate this violence or hate in our city. We will not tolerate any acts of terrorism, and we're going to stand together as a community in the coming days and weeks to send a clear message" against Antisemitism.
While official response to the incident has been appropriately aggressive and swift, the incident itself draws the question as to how such heightened levels of anti-Israeli and anti-Jewish sentiment have been allowed to fester in the United States, a country to which persecuted Jews fled in droves during World War 2 and have continued to seek refuge ever since. 96,000 Holocaust survivors arrived post-war in the US as refugees, with an additional 150,000 Jews joining over the following decade, all in search of safety, security, and possibility. America has failed that promise today.
The history of Jewish refugees in the United States dates back to 1652 when a small group of Sephardic Brazilians sought religious freedom alongside other outcast groups. In their intervening years, synagogues were established, and by 1740, Jews were allowed American naturalization far more generous than could be found in European nations. There were periods of greater domestic antisemitism, to be certain, but legal protections for worship and opportunity remained in place. Following the Holocaust and its associated atrocities, anti-Jewish sentiment in the United States dropped dramatically, with the general public extending a more holistic and compassionate understanding of Jewish history and struggle.
In just 18 short months, that track record of general inclusion seems to have significantly eroded. Following the attacks by Hamas in October 2024, antisemitism was allowed a foothold on American soil, originating on college campuses and gaining strength via the Internet. Students were allowed to be intimidated, facing harassment and threats of violence as they simply tried to attend classes. President Biden did little to address the situation either through diplomatic measures with Palestine and Israel or by quelling domestic Hostilities.
President Trump meanwhile campaigned on and governs under a pro-Israel platform that is entirely supportive of Jewish Americans. In just a few short months, he has returned the remaining American hostages in Gaza home and instituted sanctions against universities that fail to protect Jewish students. The murders of Yaron and Sarah are proof that the situation had been allowed to grow out of control and that even greater action may be necessary to truly provide appropriate protections to Israeli and Jewish Americans.
Do you believe President Biden could have done more to address the growing antisemitism during the last year of his administration?
Hilary Gunn is a Connecticut native with a degree in Criminal Justice from the George Washington University. She works for a nonprofit and has previously collaborated with the CT GOP as an activist, political campaign manager and field director, and social media organizer. She is currently serving in her fourth term of municipal office and has previously acted as a delegate on the Republican Town Committee.