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Celebrities Condemn Murder of Israeli Embassy Staffers in Washington
Penn Badgley as Joe Goldberg, and Madeline Brewer as Bronte in a scene from season five of “You.” Photo: ZUMA Press Wire via Reuters Connect
Madeline Brewer, from the fifth and final season of the hit Netflix series “You,” is among a handful of figures from the entertainment industry who have shared messages on social media denouncing the deadly shooting of two Israeli embassy staffers on Wednesday night in Washington, DC.
On Thursday, the 33-year-old actress – who plays Penn Badgley’s love interest Bronte in season five of “You” that dropped last month – reposted messages on her Instagram Story originally shared on social media by Bess Bell Kalb, a New York Times bestselling author and Emmy-nominated television comedy writer.
“Leaving explicitly Jewish spaces should not come with a lump of moral terror,” read one message posted by Kalb and reshared by Brewer, which refers to the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, DC, where Wednesday night’s shooting took place. Kalb’s message also stated that “hunting and slaughtering Jews in the diaspora … is a step in the direction of mutual assured destruction. When either movement denies the geopolitical reality that the fates of Israelis and Palestinians are tied, there is no hope for mutual survival.”
Kalb further wrote in the message, shared by Brewer, that as a Jewish synagogue member and mother, whose toddler goes to a Jewish space every day for school, “I am begging you to check within your belief system for seeds of violence, and to commit to tending seeds of vital peace.”
In the caption of her post, Kalb called for “Tikkun Olam” (“repair of the world”), which is a Jewish concept that ultimately calls for social activism to build a better world. Kalb also shared a plea, saying, “May Jewish voices not be the only ones crying out for Jewish safety.”
Brewer, who also stars in the final season of “The Handmaid’s Tale” currently airing on Hulu, is not Jewish. Others who shared messages on their Instagram Stories condemning Wednesday’s shooting include Amy Schumer, Debra Messing, and Emmanuelle Chriqui, the latter of whom said she is “utterly heartbroken” by the “senseless murder.”
Chriqui shared a message by US Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) about the shooting and added: “This madness must stop! How does murdering 2 Jewish people in America free Palestine?? Make it make sense.”
“Please don’t be numb to these senseless murders,” she wrote in a separate Instagram Story, before sharing several posts by Israeli activist Hen Mazzig about the two victims.
Photo: Screenshot
Elias Rodriguez, 30, from Chicago has been charged with first-degree murder for the deadly shooting of Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Lynn Milgrim, who were gunned down outside an event hosted by the American Jewish Committee (AJC) at the Capital Jewish Museum on Wednesday night. Lischinsky, an Israeli, planned to propose to Milgrim – his American Jewish girlfriend and colleague from Overland Park, Kansas – next week during their trip to Israel for the Jewish holiday of Shavuot.
At the event for Jewish young professionals and diplomats, attendees listened to members of the Multifaith Alliance and IsraAID talk about humanitarian diplomacy and how to work together with a coalition of organizations to response to humanitarian crises throughout the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, according to AJC.
Rodriguez was also charged with murder of foreign officials and related firearm charges. The shooting is being investigated as a hate crime and “this is a death penalty-eligible case,” US Attorney Jeanine Pirro said on Thursday.
“Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim were murdered last night because of Antisemitism and lies. Please speak up!” Emmy-winning actress Patricia Heaton wrote in an Instagram post on Thursday. In a video on her Instagram page, she blasted “false narratives” and “lies” being spread about Israel in the US and around the world that incite violence against Israelis and Jews.
“If you are a decent human being, if you have any moral compass at all, if you have any knowledge of history, you will stand up and say something … the false narratives about Israel and the Jewish have got to stop being promoted,” said the former star of “Everybody Loves Raymond” and “The Middle.”
“Pray for this couple and their family and do something. Speak up,” she concluded.
Heaton, who is Christian, is the founder of the October 7th Coalition (O7C), which is a network of Christians who stand up against antisemitism in the US and support Israel’s right to exist.
Rodriguez killed the two victims when he opened fire on a group of four people exiting the Capital Jewish Museum on Wednesday night following the AJC’s annual Young Diplomats Reception, police said. The lone gunman shouted “Free Palestine” before he was arrested at the scene soon after the shooting. Rodriguez initially opened fire on the victims, reloaded his weapon, and shot again “several more times” at closer range, according to an FBI affidavit made public. The affidavit also noted that when one victim tried to crawl away, Rodriguez shot them again.
At a court hearing on Thursday, a judge ordered Rodriguez to remain in detention. His next hearing is scheduled for June 18.
Lischinsky was a staff member of the political department at the Embassy of Israel in Washington with a focus on Middle East issues. Milgrim worked with AJC as a lay leader of AJC ACCESS, the group’s Young Professional Division, and was a member of the AJC-Mimouna Michael Sachs Fellowship for Emerging Leaders community, according to the Jewish organization. She began working at the Israeli embassy in Washington soon after the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks in Israel.
The post Celebrities Condemn Murder of Israeli Embassy Staffers in Washington first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Tourists Stranded in Israel as Sirens Sound, Missiles Fly, Planes Grounded
FILE PHOTO: A worker at Ben Gurion International Airport in Israel sits at the arrivals terminal as all flights from and to the airport are indicated cancel, following an Israeli attack on Iran. June 13, 2025 Photo: REUTERS/Tomer Appelbaum
Woken by air raid sirens, hurrying to bomb shelters, scouring travel sites for escape routes — thousands of tourists in Israel have found their holiday plans upended by the country’s conflict with Iran.
Israel launched a surprise attack on Iran in the early hours of Friday, shutting down the national airspace and telling people to remain where they were as the arch Middle East foes traded deadly blows.
The violence has left around 40,000 tourists blocked in Israel, according to the Ministry of Tourism. Airlines are cancelling flights until further notice, leaving travelers to decide whether to wait it out or seek costly detours through neighboring countries.
Justin Joyner, from California, is on holiday in Jerusalem with his father John, who lives in Nevada, and his son. They had expected some possible disruption, with Israel locked in a months-long conflict against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip.
But, like most locals, they did not foresee a whole new war.
“We didn’t expect Israel to attack Iran. That is a completely different level of escalation,” Joyner said from his hotel in East Jerusalem, which, for the past two nights, has seen Iranian ballistic missiles flash overhead like a rain of meteorites.
“It’s unsettling to feel the shockwaves of intercepted missiles above you, and to take your family down to a bomb shelter. That’s just something we don’t think about in America,” he said.
Dr. Greer Glazer, who lives in Cleveland and was in Jerusalem for a nursing training program, faces a race down 10 flights of stairs in her hotel to reach the shelter when sirens sound — as they have done regularly since Friday night.
“I feel safe,” she said, “but waking from a dead sleep and running to the safe room, that’s been the hardest. My family is scared to death … They think it’s 24/7 destruction, but it’s not like that.”
THE JORDAN ROUTE
Glazer had been due to return home on June 29, but is looking to bring forward her departure. The easiest exit route is via land crossings into neighboring Jordan and then a flight out of Amman airport which has been operating in daylight hours.
Israeli media reported that the transgender US influencer Caitlyn Jenner, who only flew into Israel on Thursday for Tel Aviv’s since-canceled Gay Pride Parade, had left through Jordan.
Hours earlier, she had been photographed drinking a glass of red wine in a bomb shelter. “What an incredible way it has been to celebrate Shabbat,” she wrote on X.
Not everyone is rushing to leave.
Karen Tuhrim is visiting from London to see her daughter, who lives in Tel Aviv. “Within two days of being here, Israel attacked Iran. So now I’m stuck,” she said.
Unlike Jerusalem, Tel Aviv has taken direct hits from the Iranian missiles and Tuhrim has had to dip in and out of her hotel’s shelter. But she said she felt safe and was happy to be near her daughter.
“For me, personally, at the moment, I feel better being here than in London, watching it all on the news, knowing my daughter is here. So, for now, we’re good.”
Israel’s Ministry of Tourism has set up a round-the-clock virtual help desk in English and Hebrew for stranded travelers.
But for anyone stuck here, all the museums are closed until further notice, entrance to the Old City of Jerusalem is barred to non-residents and many shops remain shuttered.
“The streets and shops are empty,” said Jerusalem resident Anwar Abu Lafi, who saw no quick end to the gloom.
“People are yearning for a break, to find something good in this existing darkness. We are deluding ourselves into thinking that the future will be better,” he said.
The post Tourists Stranded in Israel as Sirens Sound, Missiles Fly, Planes Grounded first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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4 Killed by Missile in Arab Town of Tamra, Including a Mother and Her Two Daughters
Illustrative: A Magen David Adom ambulance. Photo: David King via Wikimedia Commons.
i24 News – In the early hours of Sunday morning, the Arab town of Tamra in northern Israel was struck by an Iranian missile, tragically claiming the lives of four women from the same family, including a mother and her two daughters, aged 13 and 20.
The missile caused severe damage, nearly collapsing the three- to four-story building where they lived.
Emergency services responded quickly, evacuating 14 injured individuals and providing care for eight others suffering from shock at Rambam Hospital in Haifa.
Despite the devastation, the community and first responders showed remarkable resilience and solidarity, working tirelessly to assist those affected.
Eli Bin, director general of Magen David Adom, described the scene as one of severe destruction but praised the swift and professional response of rescue teams. Paramedic Adnan Abu Rumi, one of the first on site, emphasized the dedication of emergency personnel in managing the crisis.
Residents like Hamudi, who was injured but survived, shared heartfelt accounts of the sudden impact, underscoring the strength of families and neighbors coming together in difficult times.
The post 4 Killed by Missile in Arab Town of Tamra, Including a Mother and Her Two Daughters first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Trump Sees Peace Between Iran and Israel Soon, Eyes Putin Role
Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers a speech during a session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. Photo: Reuters/Maxim Shemetov
Despite evidence that the conflict between Israel and Iran is escalating, US President Donald Trump expressed optimism on Sunday that peace would come soon and cited the possibility that Russia’s Vladimir Putin could help.
In a social media post, Trump said there were many unspecified meetings about the issue happening and encouraged the two countries to make a deal. And in an interview with ABC News, he said he was open to Putin, whose forces invaded Ukraine and who has resisted Trump’s attempts to broker a ceasefire with Kyiv, serving as a mediator.
Israel and Iran launched fresh attacks on each other overnight into Sunday, killing scores.
“Iran and Israel should make a deal, and will make a deal,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social site. “We will have PEACE, soon, between Israel and Iran! Many calls and meetings now taking place.”
Trump did not offer any details about the meetings or evidence of progress toward peace. His assertion contradicted comments by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said on Saturday that Israel’s campaign against Iran would intensify.
A White House spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for comment on how Trump and the White House were working to de-escalate the situation in the Middle East.
Trump told ABC News that Iran wanted to make a deal and indicated something like the Israel strikes would accelerate that. “Something like this had to happen because I think even from both sides, but something like this had to happen. They want to talk, and they will be talking,” Trump said, according to ABC reporter Rachel Scott. “May have forced a deal to go quicker, actually.”
The United States has engaged in talks with Iran about its nuclear program and Trump has told reporters previously that the talks were going well. But another round of discussions scheduled for Sunday in Oman was canceled after the Israeli and Iranian strikes.
Trump said he and Putin had discussed the situation in the Middle East on Saturday in a call that focused more on that conflict than the Russian war in Ukraine.
“He is ready. He called me about it,” Trump said about Putin serving as a mediator, according to Scott. “We had a long talk about it. We talked about this more than his situation. This is something I believe is going to get resolved.”
Trump, who portrays himself as a peacemaker and has drawn criticism from his political base for not being able to prevent the Israel-Iran conflict, cited other disputes that he took responsibility for solving, including between India and Pakistan, and lamented not receiving more praise for doing so.
“I do a lot, and never get credit for anything, but that’s OK, the PEOPLE understand. MAKE THE MIDDLE EAST GREAT AGAIN!” he wrote on Truth Social.
The post Trump Sees Peace Between Iran and Israel Soon, Eyes Putin Role first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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