Associated Shootings at a Jewish Museum: Israel’s Ambassador to the U.S., Beneath Netanyahu, Revisited

Two people working at the Israeli Embassy were shot and killed Wednesday night in Washington, DC by a man who shouted “Free, Free Palestine” after security officers arrested him.

Shortly after 9 p.m. ET on Wednesday, as an event by the pro-Israel advocacy group American Jewish Committee wrapped up at a local Jewish museum in downtown D.C., a man was observed “pacing back and forth” outside of the building, Metropolitan Police Chief Pamela Smith told reporters.

Smith said that the man opened fire on four people. The couple were killed, officials said. Afterward, the shooter entered the museum and was detained by event security, Smith said.

Smith said that the suspect yelled “Free, free Palestine” while in custody. The suspect was identified as Elias Rodriguez by the police. Smith said that he had no prior encounters with police.

An increase to security arrangements was ordered by Benjamin Netanyahu, according to his office. “My heart hurts for the families of the two lovely people who were cruelly taken away by an antisemitic murderer,” he said.

The victims were “a couple about to be engaged,” said Israel’s ambassador to the U.S., Yechiel Leiter. “The young man purchased a ring this week with the intention of proposing to his girlfriend next week in Jerusalem. They were a beautiful couple who attended the Washington’s cultural center.

The ambassador said he had received a phone call from President Trump. The president instructed the White House to fight anti-semitism and end it, Leiter said.

In a post on his social media site Truth Social, President Trump said, “Hatred and Radicalism have no place in the USA. So sad that such things as this can happen! God bless you all!

“We are devastated that an unspeakable act of violence took place outside the venue,” the group’s CEO, Ted Deutch, said in a statement to NPR. Our attention is focused on the people who were harmed and their families.

“We are working diligently to get more information to share”, Noem said on X. We will bring this person to justice.

Steve Jensen, an official in the FBI’s Washington field office called the shooting “a heinous crime.” The FBI is investigating “ties to potential terrorism or motivation based on a bias-based crime or a hate crime,” he said.

American politicians denounced the shooting while Israeli politicians did not. “Absolutely nothing justifies the murder of innocents,” wrote Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on X.

Added Danny Danon, Israel’s ambassador to the U.N.: “Attacking diplomats and the Jewish community is crossing a red line. Israel will do what it can to protect its citizens around the world.

NPR’s Odette Yousef contributed to this report from Chicago, and NPR’s Jennifer Ludden contributed from Washington. David is from Tel Aviv.

The American Osteopathic Association, a partner in Israel’s national embassy staffer, was arrested in Washington, D.C., in 2005

Rodriguez was an employee of the American Osteopathic Association. The organization said in a statement that it was “saddened and shocked” that an employee had been arrested as a suspect, and that it was cooperating with the investigation.

Political signs were painted on the windows of an apartment that was thought to be his. Some signs said something about local politicians and causes, while others said something about Israel’s war in Gaza. There were two different demands, one for a ceasefire and the other for Free Palestine! In handwritten letters, a third said “Justice for Wadea,” mentioning six-year-old Wadea Al-Fayoume, a Palestinian-American who was stabbed to death in his home by his family’s landlord. The attack on southern Israel was led by Hamas.

He was taken into custody shortly after the shooting and was being interviewed by D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department and the FBI.

Rodriguez was born and raised in Chicago and resided in the northwest neighborhood of Albany Park, in an apartment on a quiet, leafy residential side street.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said he spoke with the parents of both victims, saying that he “shares in their great grief along with the entire people of Israel.”

Shoval Ronen said in a post that he was a Christian and served in the army, and that he decided to dedicate his life to the State of Israel.

Source: Here’s what we know about the 2 Israeli embassy staffers killed in Washington, D.C.

An Israel embassy staffer killed in Washington, D.C.: How Sarah Milgrim and Yaron Lischinsky were born in Kansas City and immigrated to Israel

The mayor of Kansas City said people in the area are aware of the pain of religious-based violence. We pray for its end.” A Jewish community center in Overland Park was the site of a 2014 shooting that killed three people and was later deemed a hate crime by law enforcement.

She paid the price for standing for something larger than herself, which was why the statement called for unity in the community.

The man was born and raised in Prairie Village, a suburb of Kansas City where he was a member of a reform synagogue. In a statement, the temple called Milgrim “a devoted Zionist and a radiant presence in every space she entered.”

They both worked in the embassy’s public diplomacy department. On his LinkedIn profile, Lischinsky wrote that he was an “advocate for interfaith dialogue and intercultural understanding” between Israel and its Arab neighbors.

Ted Deutch, chief executive of the AJC, claimed that Sarah and Yaron had been taken from them. “They were happy and laughing at an event with friends and colleagues, before they were murdered.” We are in shock and heartbroken as we attempt to process this immense tragedy.”

26-year-old Sarah Milgrim was an American born in Kansas, and 30-year-old Yaron Lischinsky was originally from Germany but immigrated to Israel when he was 16, according to his LinkedIn profile. He held citizenship in both countries, according to both the Israeli and German governments.

Source: Here’s what we know about the 2 Israeli embassy staffers killed in Washington, D.C.

Antisemitic incidents in Israel and the United States: the onset of famine and Jerusalem’s response to the Gaza offensive

In recent years, Israel and the United States have seen a marked rise in antisemitic incidents, with many of them taking place as Israel ramps up its offensive in Gaza, where there is a risk of famine.