{"id":87868,"date":"2025-05-22T04:31:17","date_gmt":"2025-05-22T09:31:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/?p=87868"},"modified":"2025-05-22T05:26:56","modified_gmt":"2025-05-22T10:26:56","slug":"2-israeli-embassy-staffers-shot-to-death-outside-dc-jewish-museum-event","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/2-israeli-embassy-staffers-shot-to-death-outside-dc-jewish-museum-event\/","title":{"rendered":"2 Israeli embassy staffers shot to death outside DC Jewish museum event"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>By BEN SALES<\/p>\n<p>(JTA) \u2014 <em>This is a developing story<\/em>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Two people were shot dead outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., where the American Jewish Committee was hosting an event.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_87875\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/DC_murder_victims.png\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-87875\" class=\"wp-image-87875 size-medium lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/DC_murder_victims-300x213.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"213\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/DC_murder_victims-300x213.png 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/DC_murder_victims.png 353w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 300px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 300\/213;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-87875\" class=\"wp-image-87875 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/DC_murder_victims-300x213.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"213\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/DC_murder_victims-300x213.png 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/DC_murder_victims.png 353w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-87875\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Murder victims Sarah Lynn Milgrim and Yaron Lischinsky.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Both of the people killed were staffers at the Israeli embassy in Washington, according to Jewish and public officials. One was identified as Yaron Lischinsky, a researcher in the embassy\u2019s political department who moved to Israel from Germany as a teenager.<\/p>\n<p>The shooting took place after 9 p.m. on Wednesday and the victims were a man and a woman who were about to be engaged, Israeli ambassador Yechiel Leiter said at a press conference Wednesday night.<\/p>\n<p>Police are questioning a suspect they identified as Elias Rodriguez, who they believe was solely responsible. Rodriguez, 30 and a resident of Chicago, approached a group of people and fired shots, according to police. He then entered the museum, where he was detained.<\/p>\n<p>Rodriguez chanted, \u201cFree, free Palestine,\u201d after being detained, D.C. Police Chief Pamela Smith said at a press conference. Video from inside the museum showed a handcuffed man shouting the chant while being led away.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_87869\" style=\"width: 370px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-2215730825-2160x1200-1.avif\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-87869\" class=\"wp-image-87869\" src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-2215730825-2160x1200-1.avif\" alt=\"\" width=\"360\" height=\"200\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-87869\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A man, standing behind police tape, talks on his cell phone outside the Capital Jewish Museum following a shooting that left two people dead, in Washington, DC, in the early hours of May 22, 2025. Two Israeli embassy staffers were killed in the shooting. (Alex Wroblewski\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Smith said there was no intelligence ahead of the event indicating that there would be an attack. She also said Rodriguez was unknown to D.C. police. The FBI is investigating whether the shooting is a hate crime and an act of terrorism.<\/p>\n<p>The event was held by the American Jewish Committee, which had advertised a cocktail event for young Jewish professionals and diplomats on Wednesday. Its website said the location would be provided to those who registered, a practice that many Jewish groups have adopted at a time of high alert, including over the threat of protests against the war Israel is fighting against Hamas in Gaza.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are devastated that an unspeakable act of violence took place outside the venue,\u201d AJC CEO Ted Deutch said in a statement. \u201cAt this moment, as we await more information from the police about exactly what transpired, our attention and our hearts are solely with those who were harmed and their families.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The shooting comes amid reports of surging antisemitism following Hamas\u2019 Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel that initiated the war in Gaza. American Jewish leaders and Israeli officials connected the shooting to that surge.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPeople who think that they\u2019re going to address whatever issues they have about Israel through violent behavior directed at Jewish audiences, Jewish people \u2014 this is just pure antisemitism,\u201d Eric Fingerhut, the president and CEO of Jewish Federations of North America, said in an interview.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s no question that especially since Oct. 7, the outrageous anti-Israel activities that have occurred across this country have contributed to an incitement of antisemitic violence,\u201d Fingerhut added. \u201cThis is clearly evidence of it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Israeli ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, called the shooting \u201ca depraved act of anti-Semitic terrorism\u201d in a statement.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_1633\" style=\"width: 210px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Danny_Danon_headshot_edit.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1633\" class=\"wp-image-1633 size-medium lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Danny_Danon_headshot_edit-200x300.jpg\" alt=\"Danny Danon\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Danny_Danon_headshot_edit-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Danny_Danon_headshot_edit.jpg 600w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 200px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 200\/300;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1633\" class=\"wp-image-1633 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Danny_Danon_headshot_edit-200x300.jpg\" alt=\"Danny Danon\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Danny_Danon_headshot_edit-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Danny_Danon_headshot_edit.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-1633\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Danny Danon, Israel&#8217;s United Nations ambassador. (Miriam Alster\/FLASH90\/JTA) )<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cHarming the Jewish community is crossing a red line,\u201d he said. \u201cWe are confident that the U.S. authorities will take strong action against those responsible for this criminal act. Israel will continue to act resolutely to protect its citizens and representatives \u2013 everywhere in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The shooting represents the first fatal attack at an American Jewish institution in several years. The worst antisemitic attack in U.S. history occurred in 2018, when a gunman killed 11 Jews in a Pittsburgh synagogue. The following year saw three more fatal attacks on a synagogue in California, a kosher supermarket in New Jersey and a rabbi\u2019s house in New York.<\/p>\n<p>Since then, and including over the last 19 months since Oct. 7 and the start of the war in Gaza, Jewish institutions have bolstered their security. The Capital Jewish Museum, which opened in 2023, had just gotten a security grant from Washington, D.C. this week. Mayor Muriel Bowser said the city would consult with local Jewish institutions to ensure that they are safe after the shooting.<\/p>\n<p>Attorney General Pam Bondi tweeted that she was \u201con the scene of the horrible shooting\u201d along with U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro. The Trump administration has called fighting antisemitism a top priority.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ll be doing everything in our power to keep all citizens safe, especially tonight our Jewish community,\u201d Bondi said at the press conference. \u201cWe will follow the facts, we will follow the law and this defendant, if charged, will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Fingerhut said his organization would also continue to find ways to strengthen security. \u201cThe security of the Jewish community has been and remains the top priority of the Jewish federation system,\u201d he said. \u201cThe risks have continued to rise as antisemitism has risen and as anti-Israel behavior in America has risen and our security teams have worked so hard to keep up with that. They obviously didn\u2019t succeed tonight but we will not stop until we\u2019ve ensured the security of our community.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Lischinsky wrote on what appears to be his LinkedIn profile that he supported \u201cexpanding the circle of peace with our Arab neighbors\u201d and added, \u201cTo this end, I advocate for interfaith dialogue and intercultural understanding.\u201d<\/p>\n<div style=\"padding-bottom:20px; padding-top:10px;\" class=\"hupso-share-buttons\"><!-- Hupso Share Buttons - https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/ --><a class=\"hupso_toolbar\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/share-medium.png\" style=\"border:0px; padding-top: 5px; float:left;\" alt=\"Share Button\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" class=\"lazyload\" \/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/share-medium.png\" style=\"border:0px; padding-top: 5px; float:left;\" alt=\"Share Button\"\/><\/noscript><\/a><script type=\"text\/javascript\">var hupso_services_t=new Array(\"Twitter\",\"Facebook\",\"Google Plus\",\"Pinterest\",\"Linkedin\",\"Tumblr\",\"Email\");var hupso_background_t=\"#EAF4FF\";var hupso_border_t=\"#66CCFF\";var hupso_toolbar_size_t=\"medium\";var hupso_image_folder_url = \"\";var hupso_url_t=\"\";var hupso_title_t=\"2%20Israeli%20embassy%20staffers%20shot%20to%20death%20outside%20DC%20Jewish%20museum%20event\";<\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/js\/share_toolbar.js\"><\/script><!-- Hupso Share Buttons --><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":87875,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[760,3069,8790,8795,8788,8839],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87868"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=87868"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87868\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":87877,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87868\/revisions\/87877"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/87875"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=87868"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=87868"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=87868"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}