What is the Capital Jewish Museum? What to know about site of fatal DC shooting
Two Israeli embassy staffers were killed by a lone gunman in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, May 21, as the pair left an evening event at the Capital Jewish Museum a little over a mile from the White House.
The staffers, Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Lynn Milgrim, were locally employed staff according to the Israeli foreign ministry. Israel's ambassador to the U.S. told reporters the pair were soon-to-be engaged.
Washington Metropolitan Police Chief Pamela Smith said a man, identified as 30-year-old Elias Rodriguez from Chicago, shot at a group of four people with a handgun, hitting both Lischinsky and Milgrim. He was seen pacing outside the museum prior to the shooting, Reuters reported, and chanted "Free Palestine, Free Palestine", after being taken into custody by event security after having entered the museum.
The museum is located 1.3 miles from the White House in Washington, D.C., in a busy part of the city packed with federal offices and museums.
"We are deeply saddened and horrified by the senseless violence outside the Museum this evening," the Capital Jewish Museum posted in a statement on Instagram late Wednesday night. "Our condolences and heartfelt sympathies go to the victims and their families."
The Lillian and Albert Small Capital Jewish Museum says on its website that it "explores the Jewish experience in the national capital region" by connecting the past to the present via "thought-provoking exhibitions, dynamic programming, and creative public experiences."
The museum, once the Jewish Historical Society of Greater Washington, reopened as the Lillian and Albert Small Capital Jewish Museum on June 9, 2023. The four-floor building incorporates Washington, DC's oldest synagogue, with the 146-year-old historic brick synagogue moved and restored to sit alongside the modern museum building at the corner of 3rd and F Streets NW.
"The Museum's collection includes more than 24,000 digital and print photographs, 1,050 objects, and 800 linear feet of archival materials from the 1850s to the present day, including oral histories, personal papers, and business and organizational records," the museum announced upon its 2023 opening. "These collections provide a multifaceted portrait of local Jewish life and form the base of the inaugural exhibitions and also provide research materials for scholars, genealogists, students, and the general public."
Current and upcoming exhibitions include: "LGBT Jews in the Federal City" and "What is Jewish Washington." Previous events explored the life of former Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the impact of the Jewish deli on American cuisine, and Jewish comics.
The event the two staffers attended Wednesday night was held by the American Jewish Committee, an advocacy group that supports Israel and confronts antisemitism, according to its website. The 'Young Diplomats Reception' was held from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. ET for Jewish young professionals and the D.C. diplomatic community, according to the event tickets, themed "turning pain into purpose." The reception invited members of the Multifaith Alliance and nonprofit organization IsraAID to discuss "humanitarian diplomacy" and responses to humanitarian crises in the Middle East and North Africa.
The museum is closed today, Thursday, May 22, following the shooting. Its regular hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET Wednesday through Sunday.
Contributing: Reuters.
Kathryn Palmer is a national trending news reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach her at kapalmer@usatoday.com and on X @KathrynPlmr.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: What to know about capital Jewish museum after Israelis killed
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