A couple that was supposed to be engaged will never spend their life together, as they were murdered by a terrorist on Wednesday night outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington DC. This, in a week where a pregnant Israeli mother was murdered on the way to the hospital.

I have covered countless events in Manhattan, where there were metal detectors, but if there is not an armed security guard outside, it is nearly impossible to stop someone outside.

There will be an investigation to determine if the murderer had terrorist ties or was radicalized by watching podcasts that slander, defame, and incite against Jews. In 2018, when there was a shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, people tried to dismiss it as a mental patient’s act of violence. In 2019, a man stormed into a home in Monsey, New York, with a machete and attacked several people, including Yosef Neumann, who would die from his wounds. And we have all seen the insane increase in attacks on Jews since Oct. 7, 2023.

Lip service that “antisemitism will not be tolerated” is meaningless because it is tolerated and welcomed in America. Expect many to claim the alleged suspect, Elias Rodriguez, has mental health issues. Whether he does or does not, the fact remains that when people spew words of hatred into the air, they wind up in someone’s ear.

This does not mean we should abandon free speech. Podcasters will still slander Israel and spew antisemitism, and they are allowed to do that. But we must be more vocal in our condemnation. We must not be foolish to think this is a one-off event. Hamas did not expect to defeat Israel on October 7. It expected that by sacrificing the blood of Palestinians, Israel could be blamed and be a pariah on the world stage. When a pregnant woman, Tzeela Gez was murdered by terrorists, it wasn’t big news in America.

There are those who will be afraid to go to synagogues or to Jewish events, and that is understandable — but we must overcome that fear. The purpose of terrorism is to make good people feel helpless and it is quite effective. A few days ago, I interviewed Hagai Angrest, whose son, Matan, is a hostage in Gaza. We know the worst feeling for a parent is to be unable to help their child.

Every individual is responsible for his or her actions. But those fanning the flames and spreading antisemitism, and those lying and saying antisemitism is not a real thing or is overblown, are deserving of guilt and blame.

As I watch the news, there are questions if there will be a GoFundMe Page for the murderer. Make no mistake, there is a real effort by Jew haters on the left and the right who want to convince America that the evil Jews are trying to pull them into World War III. They will likely claim support for Israel was the cause of this attack. But we know that for antisemitism, the reason always changes, but there is one constant: using a new argument as an excuse to kill Jews.

To those who don’t call Hamas terrorists, you are part of the problem. To those who say Israel should bury its head in the sand as Iran threatens to wipe it off the map, you are part of the problem. I’ve interviewed dozens of Holocaust survivors who did not think another Holocaust would happen, but said that hate would rise up in America, and we shouldn’t be naïve to think America would always be safe. I believed them, though others thought they were out of touch.

I don’t know if the pay-for slay policy of the Palestinian Authority would include Gonzalez, but if he is convicted in a court, he should get the death penalty, and it was a grave injustice that Joseph Czuba, who murdered Wadee Alfayoumi, did not get the death penalty, as he should have.

The author is a writer based in New York.

The post What Should Our Response Be to the DC Jewish Murders? first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

Two Israeli embassy staffers, committed to Israeli-Palestinian dialogue and about to get engaged, were killed by a lone gunman in Washington, DC, on Wednesday night and a suspect who chanted pro-Palestinian slogans was in custody, officials said.

The two were shot and killed as they left an event at the Capital Jewish Museum, about 1.3 miles (2 km) from the White House.

Washington Metropolitan Police Chief Pamela Smith said a man shot at a group of four people with a handgun, hitting both the victims. He was seen pacing outside the museum prior to the shooting.

The victims, Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Lynn Milgrim, were locally employed staff, the Israeli foreign ministry said. They were trying to promote reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians, separate advocacy groups each belonged to said.

Smith said the single suspect, identified as 30-year-old Elias Rodriguez from Chicago, chanted “Free Palestine, Free Palestine,” after being taken into custody by event security having entered the museum.

“Once in handcuffs, the suspect identified where he discarded the weapon, and that weapon has been recovered, and he implied that he committed the offense,” she said, adding that he had had no previous contact with police.

Witness Katie Kalisher, 29, said she was among people in the museum who were chatting to a man who entered looking very scared after gunshots were heard outside when he suddenly pulled out a keffiyeh scarf.

“He says, ‘I did it. I did it for Gaza, free, free Palestine.’ And he’s chanting this. And then suddenly the police come in and they arrest him,” said Kalisher, a jewelry designer.

“But he didn’t even have the Palestinian keffiyeh. He had the Jordanian keffiyeh. So, I think he’s a really confused person,” she said.

Yechiel Leiter, Israel‘s ambassador to the US, told reporters the young man killed had “purchased a ring this week with the intention of proposing to his girlfriend next week in Jerusalem.”

POLITICAL BACKDROP

President Donald Trump condemned the shooting. “These horrible DC killings, based obviously on antisemitism, must end, NOW!” he said in a message on Truth Social. “Hatred and Radicalism have no place in the USA.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his heart ached for the families of the victims, “whose lives were cut short in a moment by an abhorrent antisemitic murderer.”

“We are witness to the terrible cost of the antisemitism and wild incitement against the State of Israel,” he said on X, adding that both “must be fought to the utmost.”

Security would be stepped up at Israeli embassies around the world, he said.

The shootings are likely to fuel polarization in the United States over the war in Gaza between supporters of Israel and pro-Palestinian demonstrators.

Deputy FBI Director Don Bongino said the suspect was being interviewed by the police and the FBI, saying on X it appeared to be an act of targeted violence.

“We will get you answers as soon as we can, without compromising additional leads,” he said.

The event at the Capital Jewish Museum was held by the American Jewish Committee, an advocacy group that supports Israel and confronts antisemitism, according to its website.

Called the Young Diplomats Reception, an online invitation described it as bringing together Jewish professionals and the Washington diplomatic community.

The German-Israeli Society said Lischinsky had grown up in Bavaria and spoke fluent German.

“We remember him as an open-minded, intelligent and deeply committed person whose interest in German-Israeli relations and ways to achieve peaceful coexistence in the Middle East brightened the environment around him,” said the society’s president, Volker Beck.

Tech2Peace, an advocacy group training young Palestinians and Israelis and promoting dialogue between them, said Milgrim was an active volunteer who “brought people together with empathy and purpose”.

“Her dedication to building a better future was evident in everything she did,” it said. “Her voice and spirit will be profoundly missed.”

‘WE STAND STRONG’

Hours after the shooting, several people gathered at the scene, in the area of 3rd and F Streets.

Aaron Shemtov, who is studying at a rabbinical college in California, said he came to show support.

“When a member of the community gets murdered and gets killed for who he is, we stand proud, we stand strong, and we never give up,” Shemtov said.

Rabbi Levi Shemtov, who was also at the scene, said the couple had attended his Washington synagogue occasionally.

“It’s very sad to see that instead of these people coming to the ultimate celebration of their life – they were about to get engaged – they get shot dead in the street just because of who they are,” said the rabbi.

The head of the American Jewish Committee, Ted Deutch, told CNN the Jewish community around the world felt under threat. Some Israelis said the shooting made them afraid to go abroad.

Rights advocates have noted both rising antisemitism and anti-Arab hate in the US since then.

Such incidents have included an unsuccessful plot to attack a New York Jewish center, an arson attack on Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro’s residence, and attacks on Florida businesses perceived as pro-Israel.

The post Two Israeli Embassy Staffers Shot Dead in Downtown Washington, Lone Suspect Held first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

A German intelligence service has condemned the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel as “hostile to the constitution” as a newly released report highlighted a sharp rise in antisemitic incidents across the capital city of Berlin.

On Tuesday, the Berlin Office for the Protection of the Constitution — the agency responsible for monitoring extremist groups and reporting to the German Interior Ministry — released its annual report on threats to Germany’s democratic system and national security.

For the first time, Berlin’s BDS chapter was designated a “proven extremist endeavor hostile to the constitution.” According to the report, the campaign’s “anti-constitutional ideology, which denies Israel’s right to exist,” plays a central role within the city’s anti-Israel movement.

Der Berliner #Verfassungsschutzbericht (VS-Bericht) 2024 zeigt einen Anstieg extremistischer Bedrohungen – von islamistischen Gruppen über rechtsextreme Jugendkulturen bis hin zur israelfeindlichen Boycottbewegung #BDSBerlin, die erstmals als verfassungsfeindliche Bestrebung… pic.twitter.com/6PknYKrBcr

— Senatsverwaltung für Inneres und Sport (@Innensenatorin) May 20, 2025

The study said that BDS supporters in Berlin glorified the Hamas-led invasion of and massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, in which approximately 1,200 people were murdered and 251 taken hostages, portraying it as a “liberation struggle against settler colonialism” or an escape from the “open-air prison” of Gaza.

The report also found that multiple BDS protests across the city featured signs with stereotypical antisemitic imagery, fueling anti-Jewish hatred and even calling for the destruction of the Jewish state.

In 2019, Germany became the first European country to officially declare the BDS movement as antisemitic.

Last year, Germany’s federal domestic intelligence agency, classified BDS as a “suspected extremist case.” German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser issued a report by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), which found that the movement has links to “secular Palestinian extremism.” The intelligence agency also said there were “sufficiently strong factual indications” that BDS “violates the idea of international understanding” by challenging Israel’s right to exist.

BDS seeks to isolate Israel from the international community as a step toward its eventual elimination. Leaders of the movement have repeatedly stated their goal is to destroy the world’s only Jewish state.

This week, the country’s Federal Association of Departments for Research and Information on Antisemitism (RIAS) released its annual report documenting antisemitic incidents in Berlin 2024, revealing an alarming increase in anti-Jewish hatred.

RIAS recorded 2,521 antisemitic incidents in Berlin last year, marking a staggering 98.5 percent increase over 2023 in the aftermath of Hamas’s Oct. 7 onslaught.

According to the study, anti-Jewish hate crimes averaged 210 per month in 2024 — around seven per day — with nearly 44 percent directly linked to the Oct. 7 attacks and the ensuing Israel-Hamas war.

There has also been a sharp rise in attacks against individuals, reaching the highest levels since RIAS began documenting such incidents — often triggered by visible Jewish symbols or the use of Hebrew in public spaces.

In Berlin, public demonstrations have become one of the most visible manifestations of antisemitism. The study argues that these protests go beyond political expression, serving instead as platforms for antisemitic rhetoric, the glorification of terrorism, and acts of violence.

RIAS has documented a significant rise in open calls for violence, Holocaust trivialization, and the justification of Hamas terror attacks permeating mainstream discourse and public spaces, both online and offline.

According to the report, anti-Israel activism was the leading identifiable background for antisemitic incidents for the second consecutive year, with classic antisemitic stereotypes being redirected toward Israel and the term “Zionist” used as a coded way to reintroduce long-standing antisemitic tropes under the guise of legitimate political criticism.

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