‘If they set their mind to it, could cause harm': Heightened security, tensions in DMV after antisemitic attack in Colorado
WASHINGTON () — Security has increased at Jewish buildings around the DMV following Sunday's attack in Boulder, Colo. that targeted Jewish people.
'It's everyone's nightmare,' Gil Preuss, chief executive officer of the Greater Jewish Federation of Washington, said.
Capital Jewish Museum reopens week after Israeli Embassy staffers killed
He's not surprised by Sunday's incident.
'The level of antisemitism now is so virulent, across the country, and we're seeing it in one attack after another,' Preuss said.
Metropolitan Police Department officers set up outside the Capital Jewish Museum. Security has already been tight there following the May 21 .
People continue to drop off tributes to the victims. It's a difficult time for many people, especially those who are Jewish.
'I would say as a community right now, we're very suspicious about what's going on,' said David Bloxberg, on vacation from Los Angeles. 'I don't know. I'm not sure what to say. I think it's a dangerous time to be a minority of any type.'
Fairfax County police in Virginia and Montgomery County police in Maryland have also increased their presence around Jewish buildings in their communities to reduce anti-Semitic incidents.
'There are hateful, evil people out there who, if they set their mind to it, [they] could cause harm,' Preuss said.
Despite the increased security, there are concerns that more attacks against Jewish people could take place.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hill
17 minutes ago
- The Hill
Israel signed a record $14 billion in defense deals last year despite Gaza war criticism
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel signed defense contracts worth nearly $15 billion last year, surpassing its all-time record, the country's defense ministry said Wednesday, even as international outrage mounts over the war in Gaza. Over half the deals were with European countries. The contracts — a 13% increase from 2023, itself a record year — came as Israel faces growing international condemnation and isolation over the nearly 20-month war. Some of Israel's closest allies, including Canada and France, recently stepped up their censure of Israel's actions in Gaza, and the U.K. suspended free trade talks. Some critics of Israel's conduct in the Palestinian enclave have called for countries to suspend trade with it. Some countries have taken steps to suspend defense contracts with Israel. Spain on Tuesday said it had canceled a deal for anti-tank missile systems that were to be manufactured in Madrid by a subsidiary of an Israeli company. A breakdown of Israel's 2024 defense deals by region: — European countries: 54% — Asia-Pacific: 23% — Arab countries that have normalized ties with Israel under the Trump-brokered Abraham Accords: 12% — North America: 9% — Latin America: 1% — Africa: 1% Nearly half the deals were for missiles, rockets and air defense systems, Israel's defense ministry said. Others included the sale of vehicles and armored personnel carriers, satellite and space systems and intelligence and cyber systems, among others. More than half of the agreements were worth over $100 million each. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said the record amount was a 'direct result' of Israel's battlefield achievements throughout the wars that have roiled the Middle East since Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack, in which militants killed 1,200 people and took 251 hostages. 'The world sees Israeli strength and seeks to be a partner in it,' Katz said in a statement. The war in Gaza has left much of the territory in ruins from Israel's punishing air campaign. The fighting has killed more than 54,000 people, mostly women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which does not say how many of the dead were civilians or combatants. A nearly three-month blockade on aid into Gaza also strained ties with Israel's international allies. Israel began allowing limited aid into the territory last month.
Boston Globe
23 minutes ago
- Boston Globe
Israel signed a record $14 billion in defense deals last year despite Gaza war criticism
Some countries have taken steps to suspend defense contracts with Israel. Spain on Tuesday said it had canceled a deal for anti-tank missile systems that were to be manufactured in Madrid by a subsidiary of an Israeli company. A breakdown of Israel's 2024 defense deals by region: Advertisement European countries: 54% Asia-Pacific: 23% Arab countries that have normalized ties with Israel under the Trump-brokered Abraham Accords: 12% North America: 9% Latin America: 1% Africa: 1% Nearly half the deals were for missiles, rockets and air defense systems, Israel's defense ministry said. Others included the sale of vehicles and armored personnel carriers, satellite and space systems and intelligence and cyber systems, among others. More than half of the agreements were worth over $100 million each. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said the record amount was a 'direct result' of Israel's battlefield achievements throughout the wars that have roiled the Middle East since Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack, in which militants killed 1,200 people and took 251 hostages. 'The world sees Israeli strength and seeks to be a partner in it,' Katz said in a statement. Advertisement The war in Gaza has left much of the territory in ruins from Israel's punishing air campaign. The fighting has killed more than 54,000 people, mostly women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which does not say how many of the dead were civilians or combatants. A nearly three-month blockade on aid into Gaza also strained ties with Israel's international allies. Israel began allowing limited aid into the territory last month.
Boston Globe
23 minutes ago
- Boston Globe
Trump once floated a plan to attract more foreign students. Now they feel targeted on all fronts.
An avalanche of policies from the Trump administration — such as terminating students' ability to study in the U.S., halting all new student visa interviews, moving to block foreign enrollment at Harvard — have triggered lawsuits, countersuits and confusion for international students who say they feel targeted on multiple fronts. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up In interviews, students from around the world described how it feels to be an international student today in America. Their accounts highlight pervasive feelings of fear, anxiety and insecurity that have made them more cautious in their daily lives, distracted them from schoolwork and prompted many to cancel trips home because they fear not being allowed to return. Advertisement For many, the last few months have forced them to rethink their dreams of building a life in America. A standout student from Latvia feels 'expendable' Markuss Saule, a freshman at Brigham Young University-Idaho, took a recent trip home to Latvia and spent the entire flight back to the U.S. in a state of panic. Advertisement For hours, he scrubbed his phone, uninstalling all social media, deleting anything that touched on politics or could be construed as anti-Trump. 'That whole 10-hour flight, where I was debating, 'Will they let me in?' — it definitely killed me a little bit,' said Saule, a business analytics major. 'It was terrifying.' Saule is the type of international student the U.S. has coveted. As a high schooler in Latvia, he qualified for a competitive, merit-based exchange program funded by the U.S. State Department. He spent a year of high school in Minnesota, falling in love with America and a classmate who is now his fiancee. He just ended his freshman year in college with a 4.0 GPA. But the alarm he felt on that flight crushed what was left of his American dream. 'If you had asked me at the end of 2024 what my plans were, it was to get married, find a great job here in the U.S. and start a family,' said Saule, who hopes to work as a business data analyst. 'Those plans are not applicable anymore. Ask me now, and the plan to leave this place as soon as possible.' Saule and his fiancee plan to marry this summer, graduate a year early and move to Europe. This spring the Trump administration abruptly revoked permission to study in the U.S. for thousands of international students before reversing itself. A federal judge has blocked further status terminations, but for many, the damage is done. Saule has a constant fear he could be next. As a student in Minnesota just three years ago, he felt like a proud ambassador for his country. Advertisement 'Now I feel a sense of inferiority. I feel that I am expendable, that I am purely an appendage that is maybe getting cut off soon,' he said. Trump's policies carry a clear subtext. 'The policies, what they tell me is simple. It is one word: Leave.' From dreaming of working at NASA to 'doomscrolling' job listings in India A concern for attracting the world's top students was raised in the interview Trump gave last June on the podcast 'All-In.' Can you promise, Trump was asked, to give companies more ability 'to import the best and brightest' students? 'I do promise,' Trump answered. Green cards, he said, would be handed out with diplomas to any foreign student who gets a college or graduate degree. Trump said he knew stories of 'brilliant' graduates who wanted to stay in the U.S. to work but couldn't. 'They go back to India, they go back to China' and become multi-billionaires, employing thousands of people. 'That is going to end on Day One.' Had Trump followed through with that pledge, a 24-year-old Indian physics major named Avi would not be afraid of losing everything he has worked toward. After six years in Arizona, where Avi attended college and is now working as an engineer, the U.S. feels like a second home. He dreams of working at NASA or in a national lab and staying in America where he has several relatives. But now he is too afraid to fly to Chicago to see them, rattled by news of foreigners being harassed at immigration centers and airports. 'Do I risk seeing my family or risk deportation?' said Avi, who asked to be identified by his first name, fearing retribution. Avi is one of about 240,000 people on student visas in the U.S. on Optional Practical Training — a postgraduation period where students are authorized to work in fields related to their degrees for up to three years. A key Trump nominee has said he would like to see an end to postgraduate work authorization for international students. Advertisement Avi's visa is valid until next year but he feels 'a massive amount of uncertainty.' He wonders if he can sign a lease on a new apartment. Even his daily commute feels different. 'I drive to work every morning, 10 miles an hour under speed limit to avoid getting pulled over,' said Avi, who hopes to stay in the U.S. but is casting a wider net. 'I spend a lot of time doomscrolling job listings in India and other places.' A Ukrainian chose college in America over joining the fight at home — for now Vladyslav Plyaka came to the U.S. from Ukraine as an exchange student in high school. As war broke out at home, he stayed to attend the University of Wisconsin. He was planning to visit Poland to see his mother but if he leaves the U.S., he would need to reapply for a visa. He doesn't know when that will be possible now that visa appointments are suspended, and he doesn't feel safe leaving the country anyway. He feels grateful for the education, but without renewing his visa, he'll be stuck in the U.S. at least two more years while he finishes his degree. He sometimes wonders if he would be willing to risk leaving his education in the United States — something he worked for years to achieve — if something happened to his family. 'It's hard because every day I have to think about my family, if everything is going to be all right,' he said. Advertisement It took him three tries to win a scholarship to study in the U.S. Having that cut short because of visa problems would undermine the sacrifice he made to be here. He sometimes feels guilty that he isn't at home fighting for his country, but he knows there's value in gaining an education in America. 'I decided to stay here just because of how good the college education is,' he said. 'If it was not good, I probably would be on the front lines.'
