As the US cash reeled from the deadly shooting of two Israeli military employees outside a Jewish museum on May 24, 2025, police in Washington beefed up protection at religious institutions and schools across the city. The 31-year-old Chicago man on suspicion of Wednesday’s strike yelled” Free Palestine” as he was taken away by police, adding to concerns about rising anti-Semitism since Israel’s extraordinary invasion of Gaza following the Hamas strike in October 2023. You will find law enforcement officers around the community and around our faith-based organizations, according to Metropolitan Police ( MPD ) Chief Pamela Smith to reporters. ” You’ll notice a rise in the presence of Israeli community centers and schools in our area. Prior to a preliminary court hearing scheduled for alleged criminal Elias Rodriguez on June 18, authorities in Washington said they were looking into the killing” as an act of terrorism and as a love crime.” President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu both shared a clear anti-Semitic sentiment on social media. Israel blamed criticism of its Gaza offensive on Europeans, which was launched in response to the Hamas attack, for the shooting, which took place just a mile ( 1. 6 kilometers ) from the White House. Jewish national Yaron Lischinsky and American Sarah Lynn Milgrim, both of whom were victims of Wednesday’s attack, had been planning their weddings. On Thursday, Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser organized her religious government, local Jewish leaders, town councillors, and legislation enforcement to arrange the neighborhood response. She stated at a media conference,” We have a long story, and a lot of exercise in our city, working with Israeli companies around health and around security.” The assault was “unfortunately… no unexpected,” according to Aaron Hiller, mind of the board of the Hill Havurah temple, who was holding a vigil for the patients in Washington late on Friday. Hiller said,” Both acts of anti-Semitism and violent deeds are all too typical,” but Hiller argued that the neighborhood was “very healthy.” He said,” I walk to work and leave from work very late at night, and my children freely roam the town.” However,” we are taking steps to improve our surveillance here and elsewhere,” particularly since the activities of October 7th. Daniel Ben Chitrit, who was present, added that he was supposed to be at the Jewish Museum that night. He said,” I didn’t know the victims, but I’ve met them at other times.” He argued that there was no means for the sniper to be aware that the couple had worked at the Jewish embassy. He said,” All he knew was that they were coming from the Hebrew event.”
