D.C. shooting of Israeli staff members is sickening but, unfortunately, not shocking | Opinion
The heartbreaking shooting of two Israeli embassy staff members in Washington D.C. Wednesday night as they left the Capital Jewish Museum sent shock waves around the world.
In a place like Miami-Dade County, with one of the largest Jewish populations in the country, the news is particularly devastating. The suspect, in custody, reportedly shouted, “Free Palestine” as he was being detained. CNN said eyewitnesses reported the man said, “I did it for Gaza.”
The shooting of Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Lynn Milgrim will be investigated as a possible hate crime, the FBI said during a news conference, and, of course, it must be — and with enormous urgency.
Horribly, the nation has almost gotten used to attacks motivated by hatred against Jews and other minorities, such as the 2018 mass shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh by a right-wing extremist who killed 11 people, though antisemitic acts and rhetoric certainly aren’t just coming from the right.
In its latest report, the Anti-Defamation League found that antisemitic acts across the country increased in 2024 by 5% over 2023. There were 9,354 incidents of antisemitic assault, harassment, and vandalism across the country, the ADL reported.
In Florida, there were 353 antisemitic incidents in 2024, the ADL said. That’s a 24% decline from the 463 incidents the previous year but still an incredible 31% higher than in 2022, which was a record-breaking year. In other words, Florida continues to be a hotbed for anti-Jewish sentiment.
Information on the shooting is still coming out. But the suspect, tentatively identified as Elias Rodriguez of Chicago, was seen pacing back and forth in front of the museum, where the American Jewish Committee was hosting an event, before the attack, Washington D.C., police chief, Pamela A. Smith, told reporters. According to the Washington Post, she said D.C. police had not had any previous contact with the alleged shooter, and hadn’t received information about a possible “terrorist act or hate crime.”
Israeli officials labeled the shootings the work of a “terrorist,” with Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar saying that public claims about Israel’s alleged role in “genocide” helped to “pave the way exactly for such murders.”
The shootings come more than 18 months after the start of the war in Gaza launched by Israel after the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas, in which more than 1,200 people were killed and hundreds take hostage. Intense protests have been held around the country in support of both Israelis and Palestinians.
CBS News reported finding an account on X that belongs to the suspect. The account, the report said, included pro-Palestine posts, political violence and frustration with the media over coverage of the Israel-Hamas war.
After the shootings in Washington, President Trump said on social media, “These horrible D.C. killings, based obviously on antisemitism, must end, NOW! Hatred and Radicalism have no place in the USA.”
As we mourn the deaths of Lischinsky and Milgrim, a couple soon to be engaged, we should remember one thing: They were attending an event focused on bringing Jewish and non-Jewish professionals together to discuss bridge-building in the Middle East and North Africa region.
Though their lives were taken by someone intent on destruction, we cannot let hate divide us.
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