Killing Feeds Israeli Fear That World Is Hostile

 

"TEL AVIV -- Israelis woke up Thursday to the killing of two Israeli Embassy staffers in Washington, D.C., reinforcing a fear that the world has become increasingly dangerous for Israelis and Jews.

 

On Wednesday, a man who shouted "Free Palestine!" shot and killed the young couple outside a Jewish museum in downtown Washington, law-enforcement officials said. The man, later arrested, was identified by police as 31-year-old Elias Rodriguez of Chicago. He paced outside the museum before approaching four people and opening fire, police said.

 

The victims were identified as Sarah Lynn Milgrim, 26, and her partner, Yaron Lischinsky, 30, who both worked at the embassy, according to the Israeli Foreign Ministry. Israel's ambassador to Washington, Yechiel Leiter, said Lischinsky had planned to propose to Milgrim.

 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he ordered security increased at Israeli missions around the world and for the state's representatives.

 

"We are witness to the terrible cost of the antisemitism and wild incitement against the State of Israel," he said. Levels of antisemitism are rising worldwide, and many see a hostile environment for Israelis abroad since the start of the war in Gaza.

 

"The world has become a frightening, terrible place," said Russian-speaking Israeli Lyudmila Kriasonov, saying she tells people she is Russian rather than Israeli when traveling.

 

Attacks on Israelis and Jews have increased around the world in the past 19 months. Israeli soccer fans were attacked in Amsterdam last November after calls for a "Jew hunt." A Chabad rabbi in Dubai was kidnapped and killed later that month. In France, a Jewish man wearing a skullcap was violently beaten in front of a synagogue in March 2024 after being told he was "killing people in Gaza."

 

Protests across European capitals and on U.S. college campuses often use what some Jews feel is incendiary language that calls for not only an end to the war but for the destruction of the state of Israel. Some Israeli officials and Jewish leaders have blamed chants like "globalize the intifada" and "from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free" common at protests, for spurring violence.

 

The killings come as Israel contends with growing foreign opposition to Netanyahu's expansion of the Gaza war. After blockading Gaza for more than two months, Israel recently launched a new offensive, with Netanyahu announcing that Israel would take over all areas in the strip. Some of Israel's closest allies, such as the U.S., U.K. and France, have urged him to end the war. The U.K., France and Canada this week threatened consequences if the offensive continues.

 

Even in Israel, polls now consistently show 70% support for ending the war in exchange for the release of the remaining hostages.” [1]

 

1. U.S. News: Killing Feeds Israeli Fear That World Is Hostile. Peled, Anat; Lieber, Dov.  Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 23 May 2025: A7.