On Wednesday night, two Israeli embassy aides—30-year-old Yaron Lischinsky and 26-year-old Sarah Milgrim—were shot and killed outside the Capital Jewish Museum, where the American Jewish Committee was hosting an event for young diplomats. The suspect, 30-year-old Chicago resident Elias Rodriguez, was immediately arrested. Upon being taken into custody, he chanted “free Palestine,” according to video of the scene; elsewhere, in a manifesto attributed to him, he allegedly wrote “The atrocities committed by Israelis against Palestine defy description and defy quantification.” Immediately, politicians from across the political spectrum and mainstream Jewish groups responded by condemning the killings as a specifically antisemitic act, with some blaming the Palestine solidarity movement for inciting violence.
In a rapid response podcast, Jewish Currents editor-in-chief Arielle Angel discussed the shootings with assistant editor Mari Cohen, senior reporter Alex Kane, and contributing editor and historian Ben Ratskoff. They parsed the media consensus that this was primarily an antisemitic attack, the response from Israeli politicians, the history of diplomat assassinations, and more.
Thanks to Jesse Brenneman for producing and to Nathan Salsburg for the use of his song “VIII (All That Were Calculated Have Passed).”
Articles and Social Media Posts Mentioned
X post from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
“The Israel Embassy Shooter Manifesto,” Ken Klippenstein, Substack
“Capital Jewish Museum shooting suspect killed 2 ‘for Gaza.’ His victims were peace advocates,” Louis Keene, The Forward
“Israel fires 'warning shots' near diplomats in West Bank,” Adam Durbin, BBC News
“How to Oppose Pro-Palestinian Antisemitism,” Peter Beinart, The Beinart Notebook
“Far-right ministers blame Yair Golan for shooting of Israeli embassy staffers,” Sam Sokol, Times of Israel
“How a Jewish Teenager Went From Refugee to Assassin to Puppet of Nazi Propaganda,” Lorraine Boissoneault, Smithsonian
“Recentering Palestine, reclaiming the movement,” Columbia Palestine Solidarity Coalition, Columbia Daily Spectator
“Argov denounces war on Lebanon,” JTA
X post by Israeli opposition leader Yair Golan
Segment on soccer riots in Amsterdam, Democracy Now