An act of antisemitic terrorism in the nation's capital

Washington Post

22-05-2025

The slaughter Wednesday night of two Israeli Embassy employees outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington was an act of terrorism apparently motivated by virulent antisemitism. The gunman chanted 'free, free Palestine' after he robbed a young couple of their lives. Authorities say he confessed and said after being arrested that he 'did it for Gaza.' Like other evildoers who have targeted Jews over millennia because of their faith, he ignored their humanity and sought to extinguish the light they brought into the world.
Yaron Lischinsky, 30, and Sarah Lynn Milgrim, 26, were slain as they departed an event for young professionals organized by the American Jewish Committee, a group whose mission is to confront antisemitism. Moments before their deaths, they had listened to speakers from organizations that do humanitarian work in the Middle East and North Africa.
Terrorists, attempting to promote polarization, often target moderates and conciliators. An apparent manifesto from the shooter, which investigators are working to authenticate, was titled 'Escalate for Gaza, Bring the War Home.'
Milgrim had received an award while earning a master's degree in support of her work at Tech2Peace in Tel Aviv, which provides training and dialogue opportunities to young Palestinians and Israelis. 'My passion lies at the intersection of peacebuilding, religious engagement, and environmental work,' Milgrim wrote on LinkedIn.
Lischinsky described himself as an 'ardent believer in the vision that was outlined in the Abraham Accords' because 'expanding the circle of peace with our Arab neighbors and pursuing regional cooperation is in the best interest of the State of Israel and the Middle East as a whole.'
He was a researcher in the embassy's political department. She organized missions and visits to Israel. He grew up in Germany. She grew up in Kansas. As a couple, they were active in D.C.'s vibrant Jewish scene. Lischinsky recently bought a ring and planned to propose to Milgrim during an upcoming trip to Jerusalem, according to Israel's ambassador to the United States.
It has been a difficult few years for American Jews. The Anti-Defamation League recorded 9,354 antisemitic incidents across all 50 states and the District in 2024, up 5 percent from the year before and 344 percent over the past five years. Assaults increased last year by 21 percent to 196 incidents, according to the group.
Antisemitism has flared up alongside mass protests against Israel over its forceful response to Hamas's barbaric attacks on Oct. 7, 2023. But even before the war, Jews were experiencing rising hate. In 2017, white nationalists carrying tiki torches chanted 'Jews will not replace us' at the 'Unite the Right' rally in Charlottesville that turned deadly. On Jan. 6, 2021, a Virginia man who stormed the U.S. Capitol wore a sweatshirt that said 'Camp Auschwitz' over a Nazi-themed T-shirt. (President Donald Trump pardoned him on his first day back in the White House.)
Alas, Wednesday was not even the first time a Jewish cultural institution has been attacked in Washington. A gunman opened fire in 2009 at the entrance of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and fatally wounded security guard Stephen T. Johns, 39. The killer, an admitted white supremacist, died before going to trial.
It is essential that everyone speak out clearly and unequivocally against political violence. Whether it emanates from the fever swamps on the left or right, whether it's Islamophobia or antisemitism, whether it targets a presidential candidate or the chief executive of a health insurance company, politically motivated violence in America cannot be tolerated. Such acts need to become counterproductive — and punished to the fullest extent of the law — to keep them from becoming contagious.