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After Shootings, Washington’s Shaken Jewish Community Looks to Bolster Security
FILE PHOTO: A man, with an Israeli flag with a cross in the center, looks on next to police officers working at the site where, according to the U.S. Homeland Security Secretary, two Israeli embassy staff were shot dead near the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., U.S. May 21, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File Photo
When Adam Zimmerman chaperoned his son’s fourth-grade class field trip to the natural history museum in Washington on Wednesday, he didn’t give a second thought to security.
Hours later, outside a different museum a few miles away, two Israeli embassy employees were gunned down in what was widely viewed as an act of antisemitism.
“It was a horrific reminder for me – as a Jewish parent in this city – that we all have to be looking over our shoulders all the time,” said Zimmerman, 43, a media consultant from Rockville, Maryland.
The fatal shooting of the young couple after an event at a Jewish museum has deeply shaken the US capital’s Jews, and has led to a review of security protocols at synagogues and other institutions.
“The same seeds of antisemitism that led to Europe in the 1930s and 1940s are still killing people on the streets of Washington, D.C. in 2025,” said Zimmerman, whose grandparents were Holocaust survivors.
It was the latest act of violence aimed at Jewish Americans linked to outrage over Israel’s escalating military offensive in Gaza, a response to the October 2023 attacks by Hamas militants that killed 1,200 in southern Israel.
The Washington shooting took place outside the Capital Jewish Museum, where the American Jewish Committee was sponsoring an annual young diplomats reception.
The lone suspect, who was charged with two counts of first-degree murder on Thursday, told police on the scene, “I did it for Palestine, I did it for Gaza,” according to court records.
Alan Ronkin, regional director of AJC’s Washington office, said security was tight at the event, even though the suspect, Elias Rodriguez of Chicago, managed to enter the museum in the chaos that ensued in the aftermath of the shooting outside. He was apprehended inside.
“We are going to revisit our security protocols, and make sure we follow the recommendations of the experts,” said Ronkin, who added the community is “shaken but resilient.”
Ron Halber, chief executive officer of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington, said that local law enforcement has increased patrols around Jewish institutions in Washington since the killings.
“A lot of us are looking over our shoulder today,” said Halber. “But we have to keep leading proud open Jewish lives. I’m certainly not going to let it deter me from any public or private event.”
Most Jewish institutions in the city already have robust security, including armed guards at most synagogues, according to Halber. “The big discussion that’s going to happen is how long does the perimeter extend – one block, two blocks,” he said.
“Every Jewish organization is increasing their security, whether it’s having more guards standing outside during more hours of the day, or if they didn’t have any, adding them,” said Gil Preuss, CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington.
“Right now it’s short term, and we’ll see whether there’s a permanent change in the level of security. My guess is yes.”
The federation is one of several Jewish institutions that said on Friday they were fundraising to bolster security. Local and federal grants, especially a nonprofit security grant program administered through the Federal Emergency Management Administration, are a “tremendous” help to offset the costs of security improvements, according to Preuss.
After some delays and confusion due to the Trump administration’s federal funding freezes in recent months, the program’s grant funding has started flowing again, he said.
About 50 Jewish organizations issued a statement on Thursday calling on the US Congress to increase funding under the Nonprofit Security Grant Program to $1 billion, more than double the current figure.
‘DESIRE TO BE TOGETHER’
Sarah Krinsky, a rabbi at Adas Israel in Washington, said on Friday there were D.C. Metropolitan Police Department cars outside her synagogue, at the end of the block and at the base of the parking lot.
Krinsky said the 2018 Tree of Life Synagogue shooting that killed 11 worshipers in Pittsburgh first prompted Adas Israel to boost security significantly.
Since Wednesday’s attack, the Washington mayor’s office, police department, FBI and private firms have all recommended even higher levels of security.
She said the conservative congregation’s more than 3,500 members would welcome the “slight enhancements,” details of which she could not discuss.
With the shock of the shooting still raw, Krinsky said she expected a big crowd for Shabbat services this weekend.
“There’s a real desire to be together, and to be in a place where people can mourn and grieve and express everything they’re feeling and feel safe and held,” she said.
The post After Shootings, Washington’s Shaken Jewish Community Looks to Bolster Security first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Netanyahu Criticizes Nation-Wide Strike That ‘Strengthens Hamas’
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a news conference in Jerusalem, Sept. 2, 2024. Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg/Pool via REUTERS
i24 News – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday harshly criticized nationwide demonstrations calling for the release of hostages and an end to the Gaza war.
Speaking at a government meeting, Netanyahu argued that such protests only strengthen Hamas and risk repeating the atrocities of October 7.
“Those who call today for an end to Hamas’s war not only harden the terrorist group’s position and delay the release of our hostages, but also guarantee that the horrors of October 7 will be repeated and that we will have to fight an endless war,” Netanyahu said.
The prime minister defended Israel’s ongoing military operations, citing strikes carried out in recent days: “In the last 24 hours, the navy attacked power stations in Yemen, IDF soldiers struck Zeitoun and eliminated dozens of terrorists in Gaza, and the air force targeted Hezbollah commanders and launch sites in Lebanon.”
He added that Israel’s response in Lebanon was consistent with the ceasefire agreement: “According to this agreement, we will meet with fire any violation and any attempt to arm Hezbollah.”
Netanyahu reaffirmed Israel’s conditions for ending the conflict, stressing the need for continued security control in Gaza and the group’s long-term demilitarization. He rejected Hamas’s demand for a full Israeli withdrawal: “They want us to leave Gaza entirely — from the north, the south, the Philadelphi corridor, and the security perimeter. That would only allow them to reorganize, rearm, and attack us again.”
The war has now entered its 681st day, with 49 hostages still held by Hamas.
Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of Israelis joined a general strike organized by the Hostage Families Forum, calling for the return of all captives in a single deal and for an end to the war. Demonstrations spread across the country, at major intersections, government ministers’ homes, and familiar protest hubs such as Kaplan Junction and the Ayalon highways.
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Family Releases Footage of Matan Zangauker in Captivity
A screenshot of a video released by the family of hostage Matan Zangauker.
i24 News – The family of Matan Zangauker, the Israeli hostage held by Hamas since October 7, shared new footage of him from captivity on Sunday evening.
The video, obtained by the IDF, was recorded several months ago.
In the recording, 32-year-old Matan looks directly into the camera, addressing his loved ones: “Tato, Shani, Ilana, I miss you. God willing, we’ll see each other soon. All my friends and acquaintances, go out and make noise like only you know how.”
Matan was kidnapped from his home in Kibbutz Nir Oz, along with his partner Ilana Gritsievsky, who was released in a hostage deal last year. Since then, Matan has remained in Hamas custody while his family continues to fight for his return.
On the national protest day calling for the release of hostages, Ilana staged a poignant display at Hostages Square. Dressed in a wedding gown beneath a chuppah, she symbolically “married” Matan in his absence. “Matan, my curly-haired one, if you hadn’t been abducted, we could already be married. In a single day, our world was destroyed, and you’re not here to hold me. I’m fighting for you until you come back,” she said.
Matan’s mother, Einav, has emerged as a leading voice in the campaign for the hostages’ release and has sharply criticized Israel’s political leadership, accusing them of undermining potential hostage deals.
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Hamas Rejects Israel’s Gaza Relocation Plan
Palestinians, displaced by the Israeli offensive, shelter in a tent camp as the Israeli military prepares to relocate residents to southern Gaza, in Gaza City August 17, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Palestinian terrorist group Hamas said on Sunday that Israel’s plan to relocate residents from Gaza City constitutes a “new wave of genocide and displacement” for hundreds of thousands of residents in the area.
The group said the planned deployment of tents and other shelter equipment by Israel into southern Gaza was a “blatant deception.”
The Israeli military has said it is preparing to provide tents and other equipment starting from Sunday ahead of its plan to relocate residents from combat zones to the south of the enclave “to ensure their safety.”
Hamas said in a statement that the deployment of tents under the guise of humanitarian purposes is a blatant deception intended to “cover up a brutal crime that the occupation forces prepare to execute.”
Israel said earlier this month that it intended to launch a new offensive to seize control of northern Gaza City, the enclave’s largest urban center. The plan has raised international alarm over the fate of the demolished strip, which is home to about 2.2 million people.