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What Should Our Response Be to the DC Jewish Murders?
Police officers work at the site where two Israeli embassy staff were shot dead near the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, DC, US May 21, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
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.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.