Jewish Republican lawmaker talks antisemitism in America after deadly DC shooting

Fox News

5 days ago

The deadly shooting outside Washington, D.C.'s Capital Jewish Museum has added to an ongoing conversation about antisemitism after Hamas' brutal Oct. 7 massacre. Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim were killed when leaving an event at the museum hosted by the American Jewish Committee (AJC). The suspected shooter, Elias Rodriguez, has since been charged with their murders.
Rep. David Kustoff, R-Tenn., is one of only four Jewish Republicans serving in Congress, placing him in a unique position when it comes to assessing antisemitism in America and how it has been politicized.
"We know that antisemitism has been around for a very long time, and obviously, after October 7, 2023, it came to the forefront. It came out as strongly as it did, in part because colleges and universities allowed some pro-Palestinian and frankly some pro-Hamas protesters to preach hate and antisemitism—and they didn't do anything to stop it," Kustoff told Fox News Digital.
The Tennessee congressman condemned the shooting in D.C., calling it "a horrific act of antisemitic terrorism."
"Antisemitic violence has no place in our society. We must remain united in calling out and confronting this rising tide of hate," Kustoff wrote in a post on X.
Kustoff said that in his district, which he described as "strongly Republican, strongly pro-Trump," there aren't many Jewish people. In fact, according to World Population Review, just under 30,000 Jews live in Tennessee, which has more than 7.3 million residents. Despite the small Jewish population, Kustoff told Fox News Digital that people in his district are "very supportive of Israel, very supportive of the U.S.'s relationship with Israel, and they love the Jewish people."
However, Kustoff also said that Jewish people in his district have "real concerns about going to synagogue." Jewish institutions and community centers have had "to go above and beyond" in terms of security, according to Kustoff.
The congressman spoke about an incident in 2023 when a man opened fire outside the Margolin Hebrew Academy-Feinstone Yeshiva of the South. The suspect was later identified as Joel Alejandro Bowman, who faces several charges, including attempted second-degree murder.
Kustoff sees the issue of combating antisemitism as one that has received bipartisan support in Congress. He praised Democrats like Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., and Rep. Brad Schneider, D-Ill. — who are Jewish — for their support of Israel and its relationship with the U.S., calling them "true leaders." Kustoff also noted that, while they are not Jewish, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., have been vocal about their support for Israel.
While Kustoff praised colleagues on both sides of the aisle, he also criticized members of Congress who have made "incendiary" remarks about Israel, saying such rhetoric "in effect helps to breed antisemitism."
Kustoff spoke to Fox News Digital shortly after a video of outspoken Israel critic Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., refusing to condemn the murders of Lischinsky and Milgrim went viral. When asked about the incident, Kustoff said that "We get asked easy questions and difficult questions all the time as members of Congress. That was clearly an easy question to answer, and her constituents can make their own decisions."
As chairman of the House-Knesset Parliamentary Friendship Group, Kustoff has had a close-up view of U.S.-Israel relations. He recalled his July 2024 trip to Israel, where he toured the site of the Nova Music Festival and a kibbutz that was attacked on Oct. 7, and met with Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
"[Netanyahu] told me that he knows that the American people are still very supportive of Israel and the Israeli people know that," Kustoff told Fox News Digital. "We talked about the instances on college campuses. In closing, his feeling was that a number of these students probably couldn't look at a map and know where Israel is located."