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Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Israeli embassy staffers killed in Washington aspired to Middle East bridge-building
By Emily Rose JERUSALEM (Reuters) -The two young Israeli embassy employees killed by a gunman at a Jewish museum in Washington had big dreams of building bridges and promoting dialogue in the conflict-ridden Middle East, according to people who knew them. Yaron Lischinsky, a research assistant in the embassy's political section, and Sarah Lynn Milgrim, a member of the embassy's administrative staff, who were about to get engaged, were killed by a suspect identified by Washington police as 30-year-old Elias Rodriguez from Chicago. Police said the suspect then entered the museum and chanted "Free Palestine, Free Palestine" after being taken into custody by event security. Lischinsky and Milgrim were shot as they left an annual event for young Jewish diplomats, this year focusing on resolving humanitarian crises in the Middle East, at the Capital Jewish Museum, about 1.3 miles (2 km) from the White House. Washington Metropolitan Police Chief Pamela Smith said a man fired at a group of four people with a handgun, hitting both the victims. He was seen pacing outside the museum prior to the shooting. Lischinsky always had clear career goals of becoming a diplomat, driven by his desire to "contribute to bridge-building with other places, with other countries", said his professor Nissim Otmazgin, Dean of Humanities at Hebrew University. He thought that his diverse background - a Christian who converted to Judaism after moving to Israel and said he called both Jerusalem and the southern German city of Nuremberg home - would help him as a diplomat. According to his LinkedIn page, he supported the so-called Abraham Accords that normalised relations between Israel and a number of Arab countries, and believed that "expanding the circle of peace with our Arab neighbours and pursuing regional cooperation is in the best interest of the State of Israel and the Middle East as a whole". The German-Israeli Society said Lischinsky had grown up in the German state of Bavaria and spoke fluent German. BRIDGE-BUILDING CHALLENGING "He wanted to become a diplomat so he could actually use his knowledge, his background, to contribute," said Otmazgin, who remembered Lischinsky as a well-rounded individual invested in academics, and as a defender in soccer. Bridge-building has been an especially difficult challenge since Palestinian militant group Hamas attacked Israel from Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostage. Israel's response, an air and ground war that has killed over 53,000 people and reduced much of the small Gaza Strip to rubble, has drawn global condemnation, including pro-Palestinian protests on U.S. university campuses. The shootings are likely to aggravate polarisation in the United States over the war in Gaza between supporters of Israel and pro-Palestinian demonstrators. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has dismissed criticism and vowed to keep bombarding Gaza until Hamas is eradicated, a position that has sharpened divisions over the Gaza war at home and abroad. Joshua Maxey, Executive Director of Bet Mishpachah, an LGBTQ+ synagogue in Washington that Milgrim attended, described her as a pleasant person who could cope with stress and was committed to helping LGBTQ+ Jews feel included. Milgrim, an American Jew originally from Kansas, like Lischinsky, harboured big ambitions despite entrenched hatred in the Middle East to make a difference to her Jewish community and beyond it. "What I admired about her the most is that she was so dedicated to the Jewish community, and not just the Jewish community, but to humanity as a whole," said Maxey. "And to advocate for peace and to advocate that we are all this one big human family, and we should care for one another, and you know, in all of our capacities, strive to make this world a better place." Milgrim was a member of Tech2peace, a joint Israeli-Palestinian organisation that promotes peace through innovation. "Her energy, thoughtfulness, and unwavering belief in dialogue, peace and equality inspired everyone who had the privilege to work alongside her," said Tech2peace. Sabrina Soffer, a student who volunteered at the Israeli Embassy in Washington and worked alongside Lischinsky to show support for Israel after Hamas' October 2023 attack through social media, told Reuters she was deeply saddened. "The bond that we created in those days was just completely unmatched. And I'm sure, you know, the vibrancy of his smile and just his warmth were also radiant in Sarah too," said Soffer. "It's just two people that the world shouldn't have lost - that's for sure." (Writing by Michael Georgy; editing by Mark Heinrich)
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Israelis feel besieged by global antisemitism after Washington attacks
By Dedi Hayun and Emily Rose JERUSALEM (Reuters) -When Jerusalem resident Ziv Halsband woke up to news that two staff members of the Israeli embassy in Washington had been killed, the software developer came to a disturbing conclusion: Jews were not safe anywhere. "We hope that Trump will continue to help us and to protect us all, especially in the States. And we want to be sure that we can go all over the world with confidence," said Halsband, a tank officer during the Gaza war who was seriously wounded. The Israeli embassy staffers, a young couple about to be engaged, were killed by a lone gunman in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday night, as they left an event at the Capital Jewish Museum about 1.3 miles (2 km) from the White House. The single suspect, identified as 30-year-old Elias Rodriguez from Chicago, chanted "Free Palestine, Free Palestine," after being taken into custody, Washington Metropolitan Police Chief Pamela Smith said. According to Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, the shootings were a direct result of "toxic antisemitic incitement against Israel and Jews around the world" since Hamas' attack on Israel in October 2023. Saar told a press conference antisemitic incitement was perpetuated by leaders and officials of many countries and international organisations, especially Europe. GAZA WAR The Hamas attack on Israeli communities near Gaza's border killed about 1,200 people and saw 251 hostages seized, according to Israeli tallies. Israel's ground and air offensive since then has displaced nearly all Gaza's 2.3 million residents and killed more than 53,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities. The Washington shootings could result in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his far-right partners taking a harder line in the conflict in Gaza, as well as generate sympathy for Israel from Western allies who have been piling pressure on him to ease an aid blockade on the war-ravaged territory. Wednesday's shootings are also certain to further convulse debate in the U.S. and elsewhere over the war in Gaza, which has polarized steadfast supporters of Israel and pro-Palestinian demonstrators. Netanyahu said he was shocked at the "horrific antisemitic" murders which he said had taken place in an atmosphere of rising antisemitism and hostility to Israel. ""We are witness to the terrible cost of the antisemitism and wild incitement against the State of Israel," he said in a statement. He has argued throughout the war that criticism should be levelled at Hamas in the war, not at Israel as it tries to protect its citizens and fight growing antisemitism. The leaders of Britain, Canada and France said this week that Israel's recent escalation of the conflict was "wholly disproportionate". SOCIAL MEDIA The victims, Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Lynn Milgrim, were locally employed staff, the Israeli foreign ministry said. They were both trying to promote reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians, separate advocacy groups each belonged to said. Former Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Michael Oren, who was the target of a foiled assassination attempt by Iran during his service, said incitement on social media has changed the threat level during a difficult time of pro-Palestinian protests at U.S. university campuses. "And honestly, we have to think as a country, how we combat this incitement on social media, because it's a serious threat. And what this does is a systematic dehumanization of the Jews, and we know what that leads to," he said. Some Israelis were especially concerned that the killings took place at the Jewish museum. "It's a Jewish museum, which means the hatred for Jews and the hatred to Israel both aligned. And it's sad, we should fight it," said Jerusalem resident Udi Tsemach. Israeli Aviya Levi, 30, came to the conclusion that leaving Israel was too risky. "I'm an Israeli and it makes me feel like I'm afraid. I'm afraid to go abroad. I'm afraid to. I don't know where we're going to come from. I have kids, it's just going to make me afraid." (Additional reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi in Cairo and James Mackenzie in Jerusalem; Writing by Michael Georgy; Editing by Alex Richardson)
Yahoo
21-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Analysis-Hamas remains potent threat to Israel despite muted response to strikes
By Nidal al-Mughrabi and Emily Rose CAIRO/JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel inflicted serious damage on Hamas with airstrikes this week that killed its Gaza government chief and other top officials, but Palestinian and Israeli sources say the group has shown it can absorb major losses and still fight and govern. After its main Gaza chief Yahya Sinwar was killed in October, it moved to a leadership council, less reliant on a single figure, Hamas sources said. As its rocket arsenal was reduced, it refocused on guerrilla warfare, while both its military and political wings switched to using human messengers to avoid electronic spying. The latest Israeli strikes were mainly aimed at weakening Hamas' ability to rule in Gaza, signalling a major new round of military attacks that the group has so far responded to with only a few rockets fired at Tel Aviv. The violence shattered a weeks-long ceasefire after 15 months of relentless conflict in which Israel tried to destroy Hamas with a pounding bombardment and repeated ground offensives in retaliation for the deadly Oct. 7, 2023 attacks. Hamas' de facto government head Essam Addalees and internal security chief Mahmoud Abu Watfa were killed by Israeli strikes on Monday, adding to a tally of thousands of Hamas fighters lost in the war, including many of its military and political chiefs. With a full-blown conflict now poised to resume in a volatile Middle East, Hamas' capacity to withstand a renewed Israeli assault will be crucial in determining the timescale of a new conflict and what Gaza will look like afterwards. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly said the main aim of the war is to destroy Hamas as a military and governing entity. He has said the aim of the new campaign is to force the group to give up remaining hostages. Reuters interviews with four sources inside, and close to, Hamas, as well as with Israeli and Palestinian analysts well-versed in the group's abilities and operations, suggest that although it is weakened, Hamas remains a potent adversary. Sources' accounts of Addalees' own example throughout the war so far - holding meetings, appointing officials, paying salaries and negotiating security for aid deliveries - showed Hamas' ability to retain some control even amid the chaos. "Hamas is still on its feet. Hamas still governs the territory and the population and Hamas does its utmost to reconstitute itself militarily," said Kobi Michael at Israel's Institute for National Security Studies. CASUALTIES Hamas' first response to Israel's renewed airstrikes, which began on Monday with its ground assault starting on Wednesday, came with the firing of three rockets at Tel Aviv on Thursday. The group had previously said it was not responding to give more time for mediators to work out a possible way to continue the ceasefire - something that seems increasingly unlikely. In the weeks before the ceasefire took effect in January, Hamas killed dozens of Israeli soldiers with hit-and-run guerrilla warfare that was some of the deadliest of the conflict. "If Israel sends forces deep into Gaza areas then fighting becomes inevitable and Israeli soldiers will begin to get killed," said a source close to Hamas thinking. Israel says its campaign has significantly reduced Hamas' arsenal of rockets and its ability to operate as a coherent military organisation, and that it has killed around 20,000 fighters. Hamas disputes that assertion, though it has not said how many fighters it has lost. Michael Milshtein, a former Israeli military intelligence officer at the Moshe Dayan Center in Tel Aviv, said Hamas had been able to recruit thousands more fighters drawn from the many jobless young men in Gaza. Meanwhile, despite being cut off from external arms supply and although Israeli operations have hit its internal manufacturing sites, Hamas has proven able to still make new bombs from unexploded ordnance, said Michael. GOVERNING ABILITY Inside Gaza, the killing of Addalees and other top figures on Monday was a significant blow to the group. "They lost several very senior figures. Essam Addalees was the head of the shadow government in Gaza. But even after the damage they control the street," said Milshtein, describing Hamas as the "dominant player" in the territory. "There is always someone who will replace him," he added, without suggesting specific candidates. Addalees' own ability to operate even in the most intense phases of the war underscores the difficulties for Israel. "He remained at work throughout the war, moving secretly between institutions to oversee work," said Ismail al-Thawabta, who worked under Addalees as head of his office. A source associated with Addalees said he had been able to move around Gaza discreetly, sometimes in vehicles, sometimes on foot, to meet people. He had mostly communicated with colleagues with messages on paper, the source said. Addalees and his office even managed to ensure continued salary payments to government workers, the source associated with him and a source close to Hamas said. "Imagine the difficulty in coordinating the distribution of salaries and getting them to employees in areas across the Gaza Strip where tanks and warplanes operated," the source close to Hamas said, without revealing how this was accomplished.
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Israel's top security agency admits failures in October 7 Hamas attack
By Emily Rose JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel's top security agency ignored signs Hamas would attack in October 2023 and was fooled into believing the militant group did not want all-out war, the agency reported in its own inquiry into one of Israel's most devastating security failures. The Shin Bet's report was published on Tuesday, five days after the military released the result of an investigation saying it had drastically underestimated Hamas' capabilities and "failed in its mission to protect Israeli civilians". See for yourself — The Yodel is the go-to source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories. By signing up, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy. Hamas fighters from Gaza stormed into southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. More than 48,000 people have been killed in Israel's war on Gaza since then, according to Palestinian health officials, with the small enclave largely demolished and most of its 2.3 million people displaced, humanitarian agencies say. Around 400 Israeli soldiers have also been killed. A fragile ceasefire has held in Gaza since January 19. A published summary of Shin Bet's investigation said that if it "had acted differently in the years preceding the (Hamas) attack and on the night of the attack..., the massacre would have been prevented". "This is not the standard that we expected from ourselves and the public from us," the report said. Both investigations were published as calls grow from within the Israeli opposition and civil society for a national inquiry into the government's failures on the deadliest single day in modern Israeli history. Soon after the start of the war, Israel's military and its main intelligence agencies admitted they had failed to foresee the lightning attack by thousands of Hamas-led gunmen. The Israeli military's findings focused on tactical, battle and intelligence failures before, during and in the days after October 7. The armed forces chief of staff, Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi, announced his resignation in January, taking responsibility for the army's failure. But the political establishment has so far avoided a reckoning despite repeated calls on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to hold a full national inquiry. In a fiery parliamentary debate on Monday, Netanyahu said an inquiry would be held eventually but it must be "objective..., balanced and not dependent" on predetermined findings. Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar has said he will step down and has taken responsibility for failures to protect Israeli civilians. Some Israeli media outlets said the Shin Bet's findings had been submitted to Netanyahu's office, which did not respond to a request for comment from Reuters.
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Israeli military inquiry says it 'failed to protect' civilians on October 7
By Emily Rose JERUSALEM (Reuters) - The Israeli military drastically underestimated the capabilities of Hamas before its attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023, and "failed in its mission to protect Israeli civilians", a summary of an Israeli military investigation published on Thursday said. The perception that Hamas was not interested in a full-scale conflict and that Israel would have ample warning if that changed went unchallenged for years, the summary said, resulting in a lack of preparedness and ability to respond to an attack. See for yourself — The Yodel is the go-to source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories. By signing up, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy. "The belief was that Hamas could be influenced through pressures that would reduce its motivation for war, primarily by improving living conditions in the Gaza Strip," the report said. The investigation looked at Israeli military strategy, battle behaviour and intelligence before, during and after October 7, 2023, when Hamas fighters stormed southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. More than 48,000 people have been killed in Israel's assault on Gaza since then, according to Palestinian health officials. Much of the enclave has been laid waste and most of the territory's 2.3 million prewar population have been displaced multiple times, humanitarian agencies say. Around 400 Israeli soldiers have also been killed. The military investigation was conducted as calls grow from within the Israeli opposition and civil society for a national inquiry into the government's failures on the deadliest single day in modern Israeli history. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said a national inquiry would only be appropriate after the conclusion of the war. The first phase of a ceasefire that began on January 19 is due to expire in two days time. The military investigation found Israel had focused its intelligence and military efforts on other fronts, such as Hezbollah in Lebanon, and relied too heavily "on intelligence, barriers, and defensive measures alone", and was thus caught by surprise. Military commanders did not perceive an urgent threat leading up to October 7 attacks and did not reinforce the troops defending the border. A statement from the Israeli Prime Minister's Office on Thursday said that the military had not given the prime minister the findings of its investigations into the war.
