Many Jewish groups issued statements on May 21 condemning the killing of two Israeli Embassy staff members in front of the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C.
According to media reports, the two staffers were shot and killed in front of the museum and were leaving an American Jewish Committee (AJC) event. The two victims were a couple and were about to engaged.
Fox News reporter Bill Melugin posted on X that the suspect has been identified as Elias Rodriguez, 30, and that Rodriguez allegedly shouted “Free Palestine” while in custody.
BREAKING: DC police ID the suspected killer of two Israeli embassy staffers outside the Jewish Museum tonight as 30-year-old Elias Rodriguez of Chicago. They say after he was in custody, he yelled “Free Palestine”, and told police where he discarded the gun. The victims were…
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) May 22, 2025
Jewish Insider spoke to a witness, Paige Siegel, who said that the suspect entered the museum and shouted, “I did it, I did it. Free Palestine. I did for Gaza.” Siegel also told the outlet that the suspect subsequently opened his backpack and brought out a red keffiyeh. She then looked at security footage of the shooter and confirmed that it was the same person.
Amanda Rothschild, a national security professional, posted on X that she was at the AJC event and that it “was for young Jewish professionals working in foreign policy. The panel was on multi faith efforts to address the humanitarian situation in Israel & Gaza. The people who lost their lives tonight were young people dedicated to service & alleviating human suffering.”
The AJC event was for young Jewish professionals working in foreign policy. The panel was on multi faith efforts to address the humanitarian situation in Israel & Gaza. The people who lost their lives tonight were young people dedicated to service & alleviating human suffering. https://t.co/F6WE7LjnnI
— Amanda J. Rothschild (@Rothschild_AJ) May 22, 2025
AJC CEO Ted Deutch said in a statement that the Jewish group “can confirm that we hosted an event at the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C. this evening. We are devastated that an unspeakable act of violence took place outside the venue. At this moment, as we await more information from the police about exactly what transpired, our attention and our hearts are solely with those who were harmed and their families.”
“This shooting strikes a nerve because it comes after an unrelenting, ongoing campaign of hate and harassment targeting the Jewish community simply because of who we are and what we believe.” Jonathan Greenblatt
Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt posted to X, “We still are confirming details of this heinous crime, but this shooting strikes a nerve because it comes after an unrelenting, ongoing campaign of hate and harassment targeting the Jewish community simply because of who we are and what we believe. Our hearts break for the families of those who were murdered even as our will hardens in the face of those who threaten us. What they fail to grasp is that we will not be intimidated.”
We still are confirming details of this heinous crime, but this shooting strikes a nerve because it comes after an unrelenting, ongoing campaign of hate and harassment targeting the Jewish community simply because of who we are and what we believe.
Our hearts break for the… https://t.co/RDe1V9si7G
— Jonathan Greenblatt (@JGreenblattADL) May 22, 2025
Simon Wiesenthal Center CEO Jim Berk said in a statement that the shooting was “a targeted assault on Israeli diplomats and the Jewish community in the very heart of the nation’s capital, and it must be recognized for what it is: a depraved act of antisemitic terrorism. This horrific act is the result of months of silence, excuse-making and moral cowardice in the face of escalating antisemitism. When Israel is demonized as evil, when Jews are targeted under the guise of ‘anti-Zionism,’ it emboldens hate and incites violence. Jew-hatred is not a political position.” He added that “this is the outcome when antisemitic hate is normalized on our campuses, in our streets, and online. When leaders fail to call it what it is, hate festers, metastasizes, and erupts in bloodshed. This can no longer be tolerated, and our political and religious leaders, as well as each and every one of us, must lead by example and condemn this act without qualification. We extend our deepest condolences to the victims’ families, to the Israeli diplomatic community, and to the Jewish community of Washington, D.C.”
The Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish American Organizations posted to X, “Heartbroken and outraged by the apparent targeted murder of Jews gathered in Washington, DC to celebrate Jewish American Heritage Month at the Capitol Jewish Museum. A moment of pride turned to horror. We mourn the victims, demand justice, and urge vigilance.”
Heartbroken and outraged by the apparent targeted murder of Jews gathered in Washington, DC to celebrate Jewish American Heritage Month at the Capitol Jewish Museum. A moment of pride turned to horror. We mourn the victims, demand justice, and urge vigilance.
— Conf Of Presidents (@Conf_of_Pres) May 22, 2025
Lawfare Project Senior Counsel Gerard Filitti posted on X that “this is more than a hate crime. This is terrorism. Tonight’s attack shows that terrorist sycophants have crossed the Rubicon. We are well past “free speech” and well into the territory of a transnational criminal conspiracy — one whose stated goal is not just the eradication of the Jewish people in Israel, but the radicalization and dismantling of Western society itself.” He contended that “Free Palestine” is now “code for ‘death to the Jews’ and ‘death to America.’
“President Trump must take decisive action and activate the National Guard — to protect Americans and foreigners alike from the escalating threat of ideological violence, and from a braying mob that openly praises, and in some cases identifies as members of, designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations,” wrote Filitti. “Enough is enough.”
🚨 Statement on terrorist attack in Washington DC:
Jewish blood has been spilled on American streets in what is being reported as a targeted attack outside the Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C. An Israeli diplomat and his companion were gunned down in cold blood—shot after…
— Gerard Filitti (@GerardFilitti) May 22, 2025
Republican Jewish Coalition CEO Matt Brooks said in a statement that “those responsible for this heinous attack must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, and we have full confidence in the Trump administration to deliver swift and righteous justice” and that the shooting is “a blaring warning to all Americans, across the political spectrum, that the world’s oldest hatred continues to plague our society, and we must stand together to confront it wherever and whenever it appears.”
Democratic Majority for Israel posted to X, “We’re horrified and sickened by the senseless violence tonight near the Capital Jewish Museum in what looks to be a targeted antisemitic attack. Our hearts are with the Israeli Embassy staff, the victims and their loved ones. We pray for a speedy recovery for those injured. Jews must be able to gather safely around the world.”
We're horrified and sickened by the senseless violence tonight near the Capital Jewish Museum in what looks to be a targeted antisemitic attack. Our hearts are with the Israeli Embassy staff, the victims and their loved ones. We pray for a speedy recovery for those injured.
Jews… https://t.co/3Fxw8H002R
— Democratic Majority for Israel (@DemMaj4Israel) May 22, 2025
J Street posted to X, “We are horrified by the shooting this evening outside of an American Jewish Committee event for young professionals at the Capital Jewish Museum in DC that took the lives of two Israeli Embassy staff. We are keeping the victims of this attack and their families in our hearts. Antisemitism is a deadly scourge that has no place in our society and must be unequivocally condemned.”
We are horrified by the shooting this evening outside of an American Jewish Committee event for young professionals at the Capital Jewish Museum in DC that took the lives of two Israeli Embassy staff. 1/2
— J Street (@jstreetdotorg) May 22, 2025
We are keeping the victims of this attack and their families in our hearts. Antisemitism is a deadly scourge that has no place in our society and must be unequivocally condemned. 2/2
— J Street (@jstreetdotorg) May 22, 2025
‘UPDATE: The victims have been identified as Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim.
