International tensions over anti-Semitism erupted on Thursday, May 22, after two Israeli embassy staffers were shot dead at a Jewish museum in Washington by a gunman who shouted "free Palestine" as he was arrested.
Israel's foreign minister Gideon Saar blamed European criticism of his country's stepped-up Gaza offensive, claiming "a direct line connecting anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli incitement to this murder": "This incitement is also done by leaders and officials of many countries and international organizations, especially from Europe." French foreign ministry spokesman Christophe Lemoine called the accusation "completely outrageous and completely unjustified."
The killings took place just outside the Capital Jewish Museum late Wednesday as the venue, a mile from the White House, hosted a social event for young professionals and diplomatic staff. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cited "the terrible price of anti-Semitism" and decried "wild incitement against the State of Israel." Soon after the shooting, President Donald Trump − who spoke with Netanyahu on Thursday − posted on social media that the attack was clearly anti-Semitic and such killings had to stop.
Israel identified the victims as Yaron Lischinsky, an Israeli citizen, and Sarah Lynn Milgrim, a US employee of the embassy, and said they were a couple planning to marry. Police detained the shooter, 30-year-old Elias Rodriguez of Chicago, at the scene.
Video footage on social media showed a bearded man in a jacket and white shirt shouting "free, free Palestine" as he was led away.
The attack came days after the museum was awarded a grant to boost security, as anti-Semitism surges worldwide in the wake of Israel's devastating invasion of Gaza, prompted by the October 7, 2023 attack by Palestinian militant group Hamas. Tensions have risen in the United States and many other countries over the ongoing Israeli assault on Gaza, with pro-Palestinian activists decrying what they say is the intolerable human cost of the military offensive.