The fatal shooting of two Israeli Embassy staffers in Washington, D.C., late Wednesday night drew an outpouring of grief as well as a global condemnation of antisemitic violence.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The victims, Yaron Lischinsky, 30, and Sarah Milgrim, 26, were attending a reception hosted by the American Jewish Committee (AJC) on Wednesday night at the Capital Jewish Museum when they were shot and killed. The two were both staffers at the Israeli Embassy in D.C. and were expected to get engaged to be married within the week.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The shooter was apprehended at the scene, and police said he shouted \u201cfree, free Palestine\u201d while being detained.\u00a0<\/p>\n
American, Israeli and other foreign officials and members of the community connected to the AJC \u2014 diplomats, advocates and professionals working in foreign policy and conflict resolution \u2014 expressed outrage and devastation.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The attack also underscored the persistent threat facing Jewish and Israeli communities. Antisemitic incidents in the U.S.\u00a0are at an all-time high<\/a>, spiking after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack against Israel and Israel\u2019s resulting war in the Gaza Strip.<\/p>\n \u201cHours later, I am still shocked by this tragedy \u2026 and not shocked at all,\u201d Nathan Diament, executive director for public policy for the Orthodox Union,\u00a0posted on the social platform X<\/a>. The Orthodox Union is at the forefront of advocating for increased federal funds to secure houses of worship, in particular synagogues.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is where incessant [and] unchecked antisemitism [and] the demonization of Israel leads; to the murder of innocents, the cutting off of a bright future.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The shooting occurred shortly after 9 p.m. on May 21 outside the Capital Jewish Museum in downtown Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n Police named the suspect as 30-year-old Elias Rodriguez from Chicago, and the FBI said early indications are that the shooting was a targeted act of violence.\u00a0<\/p>\n D.C. officials, in a press conference Wednesday night, said there was no further, active threat after the alleged shooter was apprehended. They said the investigation was in its preliminary stages.\u00a0<\/p>\n Attorney General Pam Bondi was also at the press conference. She said U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro will prosecute the case.\u00a0Bondi later said there’s early indication the shooter acted alone.<\/p>\n \u201cThis defendant, if charged, will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,\u201d Bondi said.<\/p>\n The Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL), a communist political party active in protesting against what it views as Israeli genocide against Palestinians, said Rodriguez had a brief association with one branch of PSL that ended in 2017.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe reject any attempt to associate the PSL with the DC shooting,\u201d\u00a0the group wrote in a post<\/a> on X. \u201cWe know of no contact with him in over 7 years. We have nothing to do with this shooting and do not support it.\u201d<\/p>\n Lischinsky was born in Israel, moved with his family to Germany for several years and returned to Israel when he was 16, The New York Times reported. He served as a research assistant in the political department at the embassy, and friends and associates said he was a practicing Christian.<\/p>\n Milgrim, an American from Kansas, worked at the embassy and organized trips to Israel. Milgrim\u2019s family is Jewish.\u00a0<\/p>\n The two were attending an event that brought together U.S. government officials, young diplomats serving in D.C., and professionals working in foreign policy and conflict resolution. The evening focused on addressing the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip and Israeli-Palestinian regional collaboration, according to participants of the event.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe brutal and tragic irony that such an event \u2014 motivated by humanitarian principles \u2014 was targeted for more violence is heartbreaking. We unequivocally condemn this attack,\u201d IsraAID, the organization that served as a keynote speaker at the event, said in a statement<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n The two victims were memorialized by friends and colleagues.<\/p>\n \u201cSarah, an American from Overland Park, Kansas, was warm and compassionate, committed to peacebuilding, and passionate about sustainability and people-to-people relations,\u201d AJC CEO Ted Deutch said in a statement.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cYaron always had a smile on his face and a welcoming presence.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYaron was a valued colleague and friend to many at Hudson. He and Sarah, soon to be his fianc\u00e9e, were dedicated professionals at the Israeli Embassy,\u201d the Hudson Institute, a conservative Washington think tank, said in a statement.\u00a0<\/p>\n President Trump condemned the attacks as being based on antisemitism.\u00a0<\/p>\n Other U.S. officials and foreign governments were quick to label the violence as antisemitic, the outrage spanning the political spectrum from Vice President Vance to progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.).<\/p>\n \u201cAs we await more details, we must be clear that hatred has no home here. Antisemitism is a threat to all we hold dear as a society. It must be confronted and rooted out everywhere,\u201d Ocasio-Cortez posted on X<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n United Kingdom Foreign Minister David Lammy condemned the \u201cappalling, antisemitic crime.\u201d<\/p>\n The German Embassy in Washington called it an \u201cantisemitic act of terror\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) pointed to anti-Israel protests, in particular on college campuses, as fueling acts of antisemitic violence.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cSince October 7, antisemitism has surged across the country. On college campuses, in the streets, and across social media, antisemitism isn\u2019t just spreading \u2014 it\u2019s being tolerated, normalized, and even celebrated. It\u2019s disgusting and completely unacceptable,\u201d he said in a statement.\u00a0<\/p>\n Stuart E. Eizenstat, chair of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, described the shooting as an assault on the Jewish state and Jewish people.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cInciteful antisemitic rhetoric is a growing and increasingly deadly danger to Jews and societies worldwide,\u201d he said in a statement. \u201cIt must be forcibly and universally condemned. Our thoughts are with the victims\u2019 families and colleagues at this time of great loss.\u201d<\/p>\nWhat happened?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Who were the victims?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
U.S. officials, foreign governments, Jewish institutions call out antisemitism<\/strong><\/h2>\n