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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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Israel’s Supreme Court Orders Improved Food for Security Prisoners
Israel’s Supreme Court. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.
i24 News – Israel’s Supreme Court on Sunday instructed the Prison Service (Shabas) to guarantee adequate food supplies for security prisoners, ruling that current conditions fall short of minimum legal standards. The decision followed an appeal filed by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel.
In a 2–1 ruling, the court found that the food situation posed “a risk of non-compliance with legal standards.” Justice Dafna Barak-Erez stressed that the matter concerned “basic conditions necessary for survival, as required by law,” not comfort or privilege. Justice Ofer Grosskopf agreed, noting the state had not shown the policy was consistently applied to all inmates.
Justice David Mintz dissented, maintaining that the existing policy already met legal requirements.
The court underscored that Israel’s legal obligations remain binding, even in light of the ongoing hostage crisis in Gaza and the fact that many of the prisoners include Hamas members involved in the October 7, 2023 attack.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir condemned the ruling, arguing that while hostages in Gaza lack protection, “terrorist murderers, kidnappers, and rapists in prison” benefit from the Court’s intervention. He added that prisoners would continue receiving only the minimum conditions required by law.
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Ukrainian Government Building Set Ablaze in Record Russian Airstrike
Illustrative. More damage caused by the Russian drone that hit the Perlina school in Kyiv, Ukraine, Oct. 30, 2024. Photo: Jewish community JCC in Kyiv, Kyiv municipality, and Yan Dobronosov
i24 News – The Ukrainian government’s main building in Kyiv was hit overnight Saturday by Russian airstrikes for the first time since the war, igniting a fire in the building, authorities said. Firefighters are working to put out the flames.
“The government building was damaged by an enemy attack — the roof and upper floors,” Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Sviridenko said. The blaze is is burning in the area of the office of the prime minister.
Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched a total of 805 drones and 13 missiles overnight on Ukraine — a record number since the start of the war.
Also as a result of the strike, a baby and a young woman were killed after a nine-story residential building was hit in the Svyatoshynsky district, also in Kyiv. Rescuers are still looking for a third body, authorities said. A woman was also reported killed in the strike in Novopavlivka village.
“The world must respond to this destruction not only with words, but also with actions. We need to increase sanctions pressure – primarily against Russian oil and gas. We need new restrictions that will hit the Kremlin’s military machine. And most importantly, Ukraine needs weapons. Something that will stop the terror and prevent Russia from trying to kill Ukrainians every day,” wrote Sviridenko after the attack.
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‘Trump’s Legacy Crumbles’: Israelis Call on US President to End Gaza War
Israeli protestors take part in a rally demanding the immediate release of the hostages kidnapped during the deadly October 7, 2023 attack on Israel by Hamas, and the end of war in Gaza, in Jerusalem September 6, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
Thousands of Israelis rallied in Tel Aviv on Saturday night, issuing direct appeals to US President Donald Trump to force an end to the Gaza war and secure the release of the hostages.
Protesters packed a public square outside the military headquarters, waving Israeli flags and holding placards with images of the hostages. Some carried signs, including one that read: ‘Trump’s legacy crumbles as the Gaza war persists.’
Another said: “PRESIDENT TRUMP, SAVE THE HOSTAGES NOW!”
“We think that Trump is the only man in the world who has authority over Bibi, that can force Bibi to do this,” said Tel Aviv resident Boaz, 40, referring to the Israeli prime minister.
There is growing despair among many Israelis at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who has ordered the military to capture a major urban center where hostages may be held.
Families of the hostages and their supporters fear the assault on Gaza City could endanger their loved ones, a concern the military leadership shares, according to Israeli officials.
Orna Neutra, the mother of an Israeli soldier who was killed on October 7, 2023 and whose body is being held in Gaza by militants, accused the government of abandoning its citizens.
“We truly hope that the United States will push both sides to finally reach a comprehensive deal that will bring them home,” she told the rally. Her son, Omer, is also American.
Tel Aviv has witnessed weekly demonstrations that have grown in size, with protesters demanding that the government secure a ceasefire with Hamas to obtain the release of hostages. Organizers said Saturday night’s rally was attended by tens of thousands. A large demonstration was also held in Jerusalem.
There are 48 hostages held in Gaza. Israeli officials believe that around 20 are still alive. Palestinian terrorists abducted 251 people from Israel on October 7, 2023, when Hamas led its attack. Most of the hostages who have been released were freed after indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas.
NO PURPOSE
Trump had pledged a swift end to the war in Gaza during his presidential campaign, but nearly eight months into his second term, a resolution has remained elusive. On Friday, he said that Washington was engaged in “very deep” negotiations with Hamas.
Israeli forces have carried out heavy strikes on the suburbs of Gaza City, where, according to a global hunger monitor, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are facing famine. Israeli officials acknowledge that hunger exists in Gaza but deny that the territory is facing famine. On Saturday, the military warned civilians in Gaza City to leave and move to southern Gaza.
There are hundreds of thousands of Palestinians sheltering in the city that was home to around a million before the war.
A video released by Hamas on Friday featured Israeli hostage Guy Gilboa-Dalal, 24, saying that he was being held in Gaza City and feared being killed by the military’s assault on the city. Rights groups have condemned such videos of hostages as inhumane. Israel says that it is psychological warfare.
The war has become unpopular among some segments of Israeli society, and opinion polls show that most Israelis want Netanyahu’s right-wing government to negotiate a permanent ceasefire with Hamas that secures the release of the hostages.
“The war has no purpose at all, except for violence and death,” said Boaz from Tel Aviv. Adam, 48, said it had become obvious that soldiers were being sent to war for “nothing.”
Tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli military since it launched its retaliatory war after Hamas fighters attacked Israel from Gaza in October 2023. Around 1,200 people were killed in that attack on southern Israel.
The terrorist group, which has ruled Gaza for nearly two decades but today controls only parts of the enclave, on Saturday once again said that it would release all hostages if Israel agreed to end the war and withdraw its forces from Gaza.
Netanyahu is pushing for an all-or-nothing deal that would see all of the hostages released at once and Hamas surrendering.
The prime minister has said Gaza City is a Hamas stronghold and capturing it is necessary to defeat the Palestinian militant group, whose October 2023 attack on Israel led to the war.
Hamas has acknowledged it would no longer govern Gaza once the war ends but has refused to discuss laying down its weapons.