Concerns Israeli embassy staff shooting could be glorified in same way as Luigi Mangione
There are multiple layers to this shocking act of extreme violence.
The presence of the US attorney general at a midnight news conference is a clear indication of the Trump administration's shock and swift reaction. Pam Bondi had already visited the scene of the attack.
The president himself was quick to comment on social media, calling it out as antisemitism and saying: "Hatred and Radicalism have no place in the USA."
There will be immediate questions for the US authorities about the security of Israeli diplomats. The shooting happened in the downtown area of DC, not far from the FBI field office and the FBI headquarters.
The two victims are understood to be junior aides and so probably not considered particular targets. But the shooting will prompt a fresh look at diplomatic security arrangements.
A video has emerged online said to show the gunman calmly shouting "free free Palestine" as he was detained by museum security.
2:48
Pro-Palestinian protests have been intense on college campuses, outside embassies and elsewhere; the Israeli embassy in Washington has been a particular focus of protesters.
Last year, a 25-year-old active duty US airman immolated himself in front of the Israeli embassy in Washington to protest the war in Gaza.
Israel's diplomatic relations with close allies, including the UK, France and others, have become increasingly strained over the methods used in its continuing war in Gaza.
Authorities will also be braced for how this incident plays in the days ahead.
There will be a concern within the Trump administration that this man's actions will be given some glorification in parts of society, mainly online, in the same way Luigi Mangione became not just infamous but famous for allegedly shooting dead a healthcare executive in protest of corporate greed.
Expect prompt condemnation from the White House of any such glorification.
There is also a deeply tragic twist to this shooting. The two young victims were a couple and were due to travel to Jerusalem in the days ahead to become engaged.
I've been in touch with contacts at the Israeli embassy where the entire team is in shock and reeling at the loss of two of their own on the streets of Washington.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
2 minutes ago
- The Independent
Andrew Cuomo swipes at Zohran Mamdani over a classic New York topic: rent
Andrew Cuomo is demanding that his opponent in New York City's mayoral race, Zohran Mamdani, vacate his rent stabilized apartment, while pushing a longshot proposal that would bar other middle-class renters from accessing much of the city's housing. 'I am calling on you to move out immediately,' Cuomo wrote in a widely-viewed social media post this weekend, casting Mamdani as 'a very rich person' occupying an apartment that could otherwise be used by a homeless family. The line of attack drew tens of millions of views online and revived a long-standing debate about who should have access to New York's highly sought-after rent stabilized units, which make up roughly 40% of the city's rental stock and are currently open to people of all incomes. It also illustrated the rhetorical lengths that Cuomo is willing to go to as he mounts an independent bid for mayor against Mamdani, a democratic socialist who defeated him handily in the Democratic primary on a platform that centered on affordability and freezing rent on stabilized units. Mamdani, who earns $143,000 annually as a state legislator, has said he pays $2,300 per month for a one-bedroom apartment in Queens that he shares with his wife — a living situation that Cuomo called 'disgusting.' By contrast, Cuomo, a multimillionaire who previously served as the state's governor, spends roughly $8,000 monthly on an apartment in Midtown Manhattan that he moved to last year from Westchester County, a wealthy suburb. In recent weeks, the 67-year-old Cuomo has adopted a more aggressive social media presence, earning both praise and mockery for his use of millennial internet-speak and repeated references to his opponent's 'privilege.' Mamdani's mother is a successful independent filmmaker and his father is a Columbia University professor. On Monday, Cuomo went a step further, releasing a formal proposal, which he dubbed 'Zohran's Law,' barring landlords from leasing vacant rent stabilized units to 'wealthy tenants,' defined as those who would pay less than 30% of their income toward the existing rent. The rent regulation program, which caps how much landlords can raise rent each year on roughly 1 million apartments, does not currently include any income restrictions — something opponents have long pushed to change. While the average rent stabilized household makes $60,000 annually, it is not uncommon for middle- or higher-income New Yorkers to live in the units, which sometimes rent for several thousand dollars per month. But Cuomo's idea drew swift skepticism from some housing experts, who noted the cap would, by definition, mean all new tenants of rent stabilized units would give up a substantial portion of their income. 'The idea that we should only have people living in apartments they can't afford seems to be setting people up for failure,' said Ellen Davidson, a housing attorney at The Legal Aid Society. 'It's not a proposal from somebody who knows anything about the housing market or New York City.' The Real Estate Board of New York, a landlord group whose members overwhelmingly backed Cuomo in the primary, did not respond to an inquiry about whether they supported the proposal. But in an email, the group's president, James Whelan, said that the 'benefits of rent regulation are not well targeted' and that some form of means testing should be considered. Under state law, hikes on rent-stabilized units are decided by an appointed board, rather than landlords. 'Rent stabilization has never been means tested because it's not an affordable housing program, it's a program about neighborhood stability,' said Davidson, the housing attorney, adding that the proposal would likely present a 'bureaucratic nightmare.' A spokesperson for Cuomo's campaign, Rich Azzopardi, said in a text message that 'the ultra wealthy and privileged should not be taking advantage of a program meant to aide working New Yorkers," adding that the income threshold standards would fall under the same system that governs the city's other programs for low-income housing. Mamdani's spokesperson, Dora Pekec, said the proposal proved that Cuomo was both desperate and out of touch. 'While Cuomo cares only for the well-being of his Republican donors, Zohran believes city government's job is to guarantee a life of dignity, not determine who is worth one,' she added.
The Independent
2 minutes ago
- The Independent
Republican's town hall descends into chaos as angry voters rage over Epstein files and Trump agenda
A California lawmaker has become the latest Trump-era Republican to face the ire of his constituents at a town hall that devolved into chaos Monday morning. Doug LaMalfa, a fourth-generation rice farmer who has represented his northern California district since 2013, was booed, jeered and cursed out by angry voters at the local Elks Lodge in Chico over the president's economic policies and the administration's handling of the Jeffrey Epstein investigation. Over 90 minutes, attendees called LaMalfa a 'liar,' an 'a**hole,' and accused him of 'bull****.' At one point, when the moderator called on one person to ask a question, someone yelled: 'F*** you!' LaMalfa's is the latest GOP town hall to attract irate voters after similar scenes earlier this year in states including Wisconsin, Georgia, and North Carolina. It led National Republican Congressional Committee Chair Richard Hudson to reportedly advise his party's lawmakers to avoid in-person events in March. While Republican leaders previously suggested these hecklers were paid protesters, they have not provided evidence for these claims. The crowd of around 650 people in Chico, a college town 90 miles north of Sacramento, were especially angry over the administration's handling of the Epstein investigation. Last month, the Justice Department and FBI released a joint memo indicating there would be no further disclosures related to the Epstein sex trafficking investigation. The apparent lack of transparency over the late sex offender's case was condemned by Republicans and Democrats alike. 'You all left, the Speaker of the House released you guys so you didn't have to deal with releasing the files,' one attendee shouted, referring to House Speaker Mike Johnson's decision to send lawmakers on August recess before they could vote on a resolution calling on the Trump administration to release more information about Epstein. 'It's interesting the Epstein situation was not an issue during the Biden administration,' LaMalfa noted earlier in the town hall. The crowd booed and jeered in response. LaMalfa also called for 'very clear transparency' on the Epstein investigation, and said he hoped more information will be available when Congress returns next month. 'I think it's a bad look to have this information continue to be suppressed, but there's also people involved in the way those files at some level need to be redacted,' he added. One attendee expressed frustration that Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein's former girlfriend who is serving 20 years for her role in his sex trafficking scheme, was recently moved to a minimum-security prison in Texas after being interviewed by the Justice Department. 'She needs to still get her time and be held accountable,' the same attendee, who had asked about the Epstein Files, shouted, as LaMalfa nodded along. Another audience member then asked: 'Do you believe that elected officials who knowingly protect and enable criminal behavior, including insurrection, fraud, and sexual abuse, should be removed from office?' LaMalfa looked down during the question, prompting the audience member to shout: 'I'm talking to you, look!' 'If yes, why have you not publicly condemned members of your own party accused of these actions?' the audience member added. 'Everybody should be held accountable whether you're elected or not if you've done an illegal activity,' LaMalfa responded. 'And there you get, you know, the lady was talking about due process, right? Due process for Ghislaine Maxwell, due process for the people on January 6.' 'You should be ashamed of yourself!' an attendee cried out in response. 'That wasn't a good answer?' LaMalfa asked. Several attendees cried out: 'No!' One audience member also asked LaMalfa about the cuts to Medicaid and Medicare under Trump's 'One Big, Beautiful Bill,' a sweeping tax and spending bill he signed into law last month. The legislation is estimated to cut spending on Medicaid, Medicare and Obamacare by $1.1 trillion over the next decade, and 11.8 million people are expected to lose coverage by 2034. LaMalfa claimed there are 'no cuts to the people themselves.' In response, an attendee shouted: 'You're lying!' Another attendee blasted Trump's tariffs, citing the impact on farmers. Under these tariffs, the costs of fertilizers, machinery and other supplies will go up, The New York Times reports. 'If you're not here to either announce your resignation, why aren't you here to apologize to the farmers of the North State because of your support for the Trump tariffs?' the attendee asked. The audience cheered in response to the question.
The Independent
2 minutes ago
- The Independent
NFL appeals Nevada Supreme Court ruling allowing Jon Gruden's lawsuit to proceed
The NFL will appeal the Nevada Supreme Court's ruling Monday that former Las Vegas Raiders coach Jon Gruden can proceed with his lawsuit and not go through the league for arbitration. The league will request a rehearing from the same court that overturned a prior Nevada Supreme Court panel ruling in May 2024 that the matter could go to arbitration. But in October, Gruden was granted a hearing by the full court. Gruden filed a lawsuit in 2021 against the NFL and Commissioner Roger Goodell, alleging that a 'malicious and orchestrated campaign' to destroy his career by leaking old emails he sent that included racist, misogynistic and homophobic comments that pressured the Raiders to fire him. Gruden resigned from the Raiders in October 2021 and sued the league a month later. In 2022, the NFL appealed to Nevada's high court after a judge in Las Vegas rejected league bids to dismiss Gruden's claim outright or to order out-of-court talks through an arbitration process that could be overseen by Goodell. The Nevada Supreme Court, in a 5-2 ruling, said that 'the arbitration clause in the NFL Constitution is unconscionable and does not apply to Gruden as a former employee.' Gruden was an on-air analyst at ESPN from 2011-18 when the emails were sent. He was the Raiders' coach when the team moved in 2020 to Las Vegas from Oakland, California. He's seeking monetary damages, saying that selective disclosure of the emails and their publication by the Wall Street Journal and New York Times ruined his career and endorsement contracts. Gruden coached the Raiders in Oakland from 1998 to 2001, then led the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for seven years, winning a Super Bowl title in 2003. He spent several years as a TV analyst for ESPN before being hired by the Raiders again in 2018. He later consulted for the New Orleans Saints in 2023. He is now a part-owner and consultant for the Nashville Kats, a team in the Arena Football One league. ___
