Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim, two beautiful, innocent young people, with their whole world ahead of them were murdered last night in a brazen attack outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C.
As he was being taken away by police, the attacker, who proudly unabashedly admitted that he was the shooter, shouted, “Free! Free! Palestine!”
The attack occurred at an event hosted by the American Jewish Committee focused on humanitarian diplomacy and interfaith cooperation. Yaron and Sarah were involved in the Jewish and diplomatic communities, and their deaths have deeply shaken people around the world.
This heinous attack is the painful realization of the Jewish community’s long-standing fears—that hateful chants, slogans, and social media content normalize antisemitism. Words have consequences. Such rhetoric and public hostility can, as we saw last night, result in real acts of violence.
This morning, Ted Deutch, CEO of the American Jewish Committee, said, “When people chant slogans about murder, when they support terrorists, when they call for violence—this is what we fear. As shocking as last night’s events were, they are, sadly, not surprising.”
Since Hamas’ unleashed a pogrom-like killing rampage on October 7, 2023, many Jews have felt the need to alter their behavior out of fear—changing how they dress, where they go, and how they gather in public.
What is needed now is collective action—not just from governments, but from all of society—to confront and reject Jew hatred, in all its forms. Allies must speak out loudly to ensure that hatred is never normalized and that the ones who are ostracized and marginalized are the haters, not Jews.
In light of this tragedy, we as Jews must reaffirm the resilience of our people and the importance of solidarity in eradicating this ancient hatred. Our unity is more important than ever. We will continue to hope, to work for peace and understanding, and we will never accept antisemitism—or any form of hate—as part of human existence. This determination is part of our DNA as Jews.
The inspiring words of Israel’s recent Eurovision song, written by Keren Peles and sung by Yuval Raphael, “New Day Will Rise,” whose chorus offers a glimmer of resilience offers a glimmer of hope:
“A new day will rise
Everyone cries, don’t cry alone
Darkness will fade, all the pain will go by
But we will stay.”
Yes, we will stay! We will prevail!
Rabbi Fred Guttman and Rabbi Stuart Weinblatt
