Israel’s Ambassador to the U.S., Benjamin Netanyahu, and an Israeli embassy employee were killed outside a Jewish museum by a despicable antisemitic killer
WASHINGTON — Two staff members from the Israeli embassy — a young couple about to be engaged — were shot and killed Wednesday night outside an event at a Jewish museum by a man who allegedly chanted “free, free Palestine” after he was detained by security officers.
The Metropolitan Police Chief said a man was observed pacing back and forth outside the building after the American Jewish Committee event in D.C.
The man approached a group of four people then opened fire, Smith said. Two people were killed — a man and woman who were a couple, officials said. Afterward, the shooter entered the museum and was detained by event security, Smith said.
“The suspect chanted ‘Free, free Palestine’ while in custody,” Smith added. Police said they had tentatively identified the suspect as Elias Rodriguez, 30, of Chicago. Smith said he had no prior encounters with police.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered an increase to security arrangements at Israeli diplomatic missions around the world, his office said in a statement. My sympathies go out to the loved ones of the beloved young man and woman who were murdered by a despicable antisemitic murderer.
The couple was about to be engaged, said the Israel’s ambassador to the U.S., Yechiel Leiter. The young man purchased a ring this week so that he could propose to his girlfriend in Jerusalem next week. A beautiful couple came to enjoy an evening in the cultural center of Washington.
He said he had received a call from the president. Leiter said that the president told him that the White House would do everything it could to end anti-semitism.
President Trump said in a post on his website that hate and radicalism were not welcome in the United States. So sad that such things as this can happen! God bless you all!
Ted Deutch, the group’s CEO, said that they are devastated by the violence that took place outside the venue. “Our attention and our hearts are solely with those who were harmed and their families.”
“We are actively investigating and working to get more information to share,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said on the social media platform X. “Please pray for the families of the victims. We will bring this depraved perpetrator to justice.
Steve Jensen, an FBI official, said the shooting was “a heinous crime”. He said the FBI was investigating ties to a bias crime or a hate crime.
The shooting was denounced by both American and Israeli politicians. “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 continue to act resolutely to protect its citizens and representatives — everywhere in the world.”
NPR’s Odette Yousef contributed to this report from Chicago, and NPR’s Jennifer Ludden contributed from Washington. Shir David contributed from Tel Aviv, Israel.
The Attack on a Palestinian American Embassied in Washington, D.C.: “Justice For Wadea” Rodriguez, The American Osteopathic Association and the State of Israel
Rodriguez worked for the American Osteopathic Association. It was “sad and shocked” that an employee of the organization had been arrested as a suspect in the attack, and the organization was fully cooperating with the investigation.
The windows of an apartment believed to be his were covered with political signs. Some signs were for politicians and causes, but some others spoke about Israel’s war in Gaza. One called for a ceasefire, while another demanded “Free Palestine!” “Justice for Wadea,” a third letter said, referring to six-year-old Wadea Al-Fayoume, a Palestinian American who was stabbed to death in his home by his landlord shortly after. Hamas launched an attack on southern Israel.
He was taken into custody shortly after the shooting and was being interviewed early Thursday by D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department as well as 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.
Benjamin Netanyahu spoke to the parents of the victims, and said that he shared their grief with the people of Israel.
In a post on X, Shoval Ronen said that he taught Lischinsky at the Argaman Institute in Jerusalem, saying he was “a Christian, a great lover of Israel, who immigrated to Israel, served in the army, and decided to dedicate his life to the State of Israel and Zionism.”
Source: Here’s what we know about the 2 Israeli embassy staffers killed in Washington, D.C.
Yaron Lischinsky, the Jewish Community Center at Prairie Village, Kansas City, was a Holocaust Advocate for Interfaith Dialogue and Intercultural Understanding
People in our area know the pain of religious-based violence, according to the mayor of Kansas City. We are praying for the end. A Jewish community center in Kansas was the site of a shooting that left three people dead and was later deemed a hate crime.
“She stood for something larger than herself and she paid the ultimate price for it,” the statement said, calling for unity in the community in response to the attack.
Prairie Village is a suburb of Kansas City, and it has a Reform synagogue nearby called B’nai Jehudah. In a statement, the temple called Milgrim “a devoted Zionist and a radiant presence in every space she entered.”
The embassy had a public diplomacy department, and both Lischinsky and Milgrim worked there. On his LinkedIn profile, Lischinsky wrote that he was an “advocate for interfaith dialogue and intercultural understanding” between Israel and its Arab neighbors.
The two people that were attending the event at the museum were “stolen” from us, said Ted Deutch, chief executive of the AJC. They were smiling, laughing and enjoying their time with friends before they were murdered. As we try to comprehend the scale of the tragedy we are in shock.
According to his Linkedin profile, 30-year-old Yaron Lischinsky was originally from Germany but came to Israel at the age of 16. Both Israel and Germany said he had citizenship in both countries.
Shooting Outside Jewish Museum a “Nightmare That We’ve All Been Afraid Of”: Rabbi Gil Preuss, the Jewish Community of Greater Washington, and the September 7, 2023, Pittsburgh Attack
The Tree of Life Synagogue attack in Pittsburgh, which killed 11 people, has made Mr Preuss feel a rise in antisemitism in the United States. After the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, the Jews felt less and less safe, he said, because of all the swastikas on the wall of schools.
After the longest day that rattled the Jewish community here, across the country and worldwide, the group ended its night by singing Hebrew songs from a list entitled, “Yaron and Sarah: May their memories be a blessing.”
The White House is seen by many at the edge of Lafayette Square. A group of tea lights were put on the ground near posters of Mr and Ms. Lischinsky who were smiling. One onlooker held small Israeli and American flags in one hand and a sign that said “I STAND WITH ISRAEL” in the other.
To help keep people and organizations safe, he said his organization has a program called J-Shield, which dispatches security experts to Jewish organizations to assess security risks. A group teaches leadership and members how to respond to attacks.
“There is so much hate and antisemitism that people who want to cause harm can do just that,” Mr. Preuss said, adding that he was “just hoping that it doesn’t happen here, but it did.”
He said that the shooting Wednesday night was met with shock and also a recognition that similar events are happening far too often in this country.
Gil Preuss was the chief executive of the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington and he and his co-workers were still reeling from the loss. One person at the federation went to college with Ms. Millgrim, and another was at the museum with her and Mr Lischinsky, when they walked out.
The Jewish organizations in the area are still working on how to honor the couple who lost their lives. Some leaders of those organizations said that mourning is too raw to start planning the official vigils.
The Center for Anti-Defamation in the Washington Area. Rabbi Stutman of the Sixth & I Historic Synagogue in Washington
He said the museum should not be blamed because there’s a limit to how far an organization can extend its security. Should it extend to the entire perimeter of the building? Or the whole block? There are security measures in place at Jewish organizations, schools and synagogues in the Washington area.
150 people from his organization were attending their annual meeting on the same night that he was a victim of the shooting, he realized that he could have been one of them.
The Greater Washington area is home to hundreds of thousands of Jews, making it the biggest Jewish population center in the country. It is a region that is both shocked and devastated by the killings, which the director of the F.B.I. described as an act of terror.
For many young people, politically active or not, the reception at the Capital Jewish Museum Wednesday night would have been a networking opportunity — or even a chance to find a potential husband or wife, Rabbi Stutman said. The Washington area is a popular locale for young Jewish people who want to raise money while socializing.
“This could have been one of our kids,” said Rabbi Shira Stutman, the founder of the Sixth & I Historic Synagogue in Washington, who came to the site with a fellow rabbi to pray.
“I think these acts are meant to scare people, to frighten them away,” said James Rose, a health care consultant who drove in from a Virginia suburb, dressed in a blue shirt with the Israeli flag on the front. Being present and visible is one of the best ways to fight back against this type of action.
A group of Jews and Christians holding flags of Israel together as a sign of solidarity. Some people left handwritten notes about how sorry they were about the shooting that killed Yaron Lischinsky, 30, and his girlfriend, Sarah Milgrim, who was 26. Others, including lawmakers, left flowers.