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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.
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Israel to Send Delegation to Qatar for Gaza Ceasefire Talks
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a news conference in Jerusalem, Sept. 2, 2024. Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg/Pool via REUTERS
Israel has decided to send a delegation to Qatar for talks on a possible Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal, an Israeli official said, reviving hopes of a breakthrough in negotiations to end the almost 21-month war.
Palestinian group Hamas said on Friday it had responded to a US-backed Gaza ceasefire proposal in a “positive spirit,” a few days after US President Donald Trump said Israel had agreed “to the necessary conditions to finalize” a 60-day truce.
The Israeli negotiation delegation will fly to Qatar on Sunday, the Israeli official, who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter, told Reuters.
But in a sign of the potential challenges still facing the two sides, a Palestinian official from a militant group allied with Hamas said concerns remained over humanitarian aid, passage through the Rafah crossing in southern Israel to Egypt and clarity over a timetable for Israeli troop withdrawals.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is due to meet Trump in Washington on Monday, has yet to comment on Trump’s announcement, and in their public statements Hamas and Israel remain far apart.
Netanyahu has repeatedly said Hamas must be disarmed, a position the terrorist group, which is thought to be holding 20 living hostages, has so far refused to discuss.
Israeli media said on Friday that Israel had received and was reviewing Hamas’ response to the ceasefire proposal.
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Tucker Carlson Says to Air Interview with President of Iran
Tucker Carlson speaks on July 18, 2024 during the final day of the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Photo: Jasper Colt-USA TODAY via Reuters Connect
US conservative talk show host Tucker Carlson said in an online post on Saturday that he had conducted an interview with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, which would air in the next day or two.
Carlson said the interview was conducted remotely through a translator, and would be published as soon as it was edited, which “should be in a day or two.”
Carlson said he had stuck to simple questions in the interview, such as, “What is your goal? Do you seek war with the United States? Do you seek war with Israel?”
“There are all kinds of questions that I didn’t ask the president of Iran, particularly questions to which I knew I could get an not get an honest answer, such as, ‘was your nuclear program totally disabled by the bombing campaign by the US government a week and a half ago?’” he said.
Carlson also said he had made a third request in the past several months to interview Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who will be visiting Washington next week for talks with US President Donald Trump.
Trump said on Friday he would discuss Iran with Netanyahu at the White House on Monday.
Trump said he believed Tehran’s nuclear program had been set back permanently by recent US strikes that followed Israel’s attacks on the country last month, although Iran could restart it at a different location.
Trump also said Iran had not agreed to inspections of its nuclear program or to give up enriching uranium. He said he would not allow Tehran to resume its nuclear program, adding that Iran did want to meet with him.
Pezeshkian said last month Iran does not intend to develop nuclear weapons but will pursue its right to nuclear energy and research.
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Hostage Families Reject Partial Gaza Seal, Demand Release of All Hostages
Demonstrators hold signs and pictures of hostages, as relatives and supporters of Israeli hostages kidnapped during the Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas protest demanding the release of all hostages in Tel Aviv, Israel, Feb. 13, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Itai Ron
i24 News – As Israeli leaders weigh the contours of a possible partial ceasefire deal with Hamas, the families of the 50 hostages still held in Gaza issued an impassioned public statement this weekend, condemning any agreement that would return only some of the abductees.
In a powerful message released Saturday, the Families Forum for the Return of Hostages denounced what they call the “beating system” and “cruel selection process,” which, they say, has left families trapped in unbearable uncertainty for 638 days—not knowing whether to hope for reunion or prepare for mourning.
The group warned that a phased or selective deal—rumored to be under discussion—would deepen their suffering and perpetuate injustice. Among the 50 hostages, 22 are believed to be alive, and 28 are presumed dead.
“Every family deserves answers and closure,” the Forum said. “Whether it is a return to embrace or a grave to mourn over—each is sacred.”
They accused the Israeli government of allowing political considerations to prevent a full agreement that could have brought all hostages—living and fallen—home long ago. “It is forbidden to conform to the dictates of Schindler-style lists,” the statement read, invoking a painful historical parallel.
“All of the abductees could have returned for rehabilitation or burial months ago, had the government chosen to act with courage.”
The call for a comprehensive deal comes just as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prepares for high-stakes talks in Washington and as indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas are expected to resume in Doha within the next 24 hours, according to regional media reports.
Hamas, for its part, issued a statement Friday confirming its readiness to begin immediate negotiations on the implementation of a ceasefire and hostage release framework.
The Forum emphasized that every day in captivity poses a mortal risk to the living hostages, and for the deceased, a danger of being lost forever. “The horror of selection does not spare any of us,” the statement said. “Enough with the separation and categories that deepen the pain of the families.”
In a planned public address near Begin Gate in Tel Aviv, families are gathering Saturday evening to demand that the Israeli government accept a full-release deal—what they describe as the only “moral and Zionist” path forward.
“We will return. We will avenge,” the Forum concluded. “This is the time to complete the mission.”
As of now, the Israeli government has not formally responded to Hamas’s latest statement.
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