The warning signs were everywhere. The potential for violence was unmistakable. And yet, somehow, two young innocent people are dead.
Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim, a young couple, were murdered as they walked out of a Young Diplomats event hosted by the Jewish American Committee at the Capital Jewish Museum on Wednesday night. They had their whole lives ahead of them—set to be engaged in Jerusalem next week.
As Elias Rodriguez—the suspect who has since been charged with first-degree murder and other crimes—was taken into custody, he shouted: “Free, free Palestine.” It’s a chant we have heard time and again across America in the past 18 months. Not just at political events but in front of synagogues, schools, hospitals, and cultural institutions that only have one thing in common—they have a connection to the Jewish community.
And so it doesn’t come as a surprise that the suspect was allegedly involved with a range of radical causes; Anti-Defamation League (ADL) researchers have connected Chicago resident Rodriguez, with a high degree of certainty, to a manifesto with the heading “Escalate For Gaza, Bring The War Home.” It confirms what we suspected. This wasn’t random violence. This was targeted antisemitism. This was an attack, not just against the D.C. Jewish community, but against all Jewish Americans—and indeed all Americans. What is so infuriating and sad is that, in many ways, it was only a matter of time that a murderous incident such as this would happen.
The data has been staring us in the face.
Read More: The Rise of Antisemitism and Political Violence in the U.S.
Last year was the worst for antisemitic incidents since ADL began tracking over four decades ago. We recorded 9,354 antisemitic incidents across the United States—an increase of 5% from 2023, which was itself a record-setting year. That includes a 21% increase in violent assaults. This represents an 893% increase over the past decade.
Just six weeks ago, the home of Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro was firebombed as his family slept after celebrating the first Passover seder. The suspect then called 911 and referred to Shapiro as a “monster” and blamed him for Palestinian deaths in the Israel-Hamas war. That alleged perpetrator reportedly then admitted to authorities that he had “hatred” for Shapiro and would have attacked him with his hammer if he had the chance.
Just six months ago, the FBI arrested Forrest Pemberton of Gainesville, Fla., following a traffic stop during which they allegedly found multiple firearms in his rideshare vehicle. Authorities say he intended to travel to the south Florida offices of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), a pro-Israel advocacy group, with the intent of harming people there, possibly in a suicide attack.
That same week, FBI agents in Fairfax, Va., arrested an Egyptian citizen and George Mason University student, Abdullah Ezzeldin Taha Mohamed Hassan. According to the criminal complaint, Hassan operated several pro-ISIS and Al Qaeda accounts that promoted violence against Jews. He reportedly was planning a mass casualty attack at the Israeli consulate in New York City.
And a day does not go by when we do not witness a terrifying act. Jewish children bullied in public spaces. Jewish students confronted on college campuses. Jews harassed as they walk to synagogue. Jewish businesses and homes vandalized with red triangles, swastikas, or political slogans. Or Jewish people assailed and mocked over social media with unrelenting fervor.
We have an antisemitism crisis in this country. This ancient hatred festers on both sides of the political spectrum. It is incubated and grown in the cesspools of social media. It is fueled by people who excuse antisemitism as merely “anti-Zionism,” who dismiss our outrage as an attempt to serve another agenda, and contort themselves into pretzels as they claim a right to free speech – even as that speech crosses the line into incitement to violence, antisemitism and harassment.
And it has consequences.
Read More: ‘It’s a Nightmare’: 3 Rabbis Discuss the Israeli Embassy Aides Killed in Washington, D.C.
When antisemitic rhetoric is normalized, tolerated, or amplified in our public discourse, it creates an environment where violence against Jews becomes not just probable but inevitable. When society allow lies about the Jewish state committing genocide to run rampant, when prominent voices dismiss inciteful rhetoric such as “glory to the martyrs” or “globalize the Intifada” as youthful free expression, and when the public somehow confuses being anti-Hamas with being anti-Palestinian, it has consequences.
Social media platforms deserve more scrutiny as well. In the aftermath of the attempted pogrom against Jewish sports fans in Amsterdam last November, Hasan Piker, one of the most-watched streamers on Twitch, spent hours seemingly minimizing the attack. Earlier this month, the rapper Kanye ‘Ye’ West streamed a new song called “Heil Hitler” and promoted it on X where it racked up millions of views.
In times like these, we need allies to stand with the Jewish community. Where are the voices of those who claim to fight hatred in all its forms? Where are those who speak out against other bigotries but remain silent when Jews are targeted? This silence is deafening. Stop excusing it. Stop looking the other way.
This attack must serve as a wake-up call for our nation to deal once and for all with this rising tide of hate.
This moment demands moral clarity. It requires all Americans, regardless of political affiliation, to condemn antisemitism without qualification or deflection. It requires leaders in government, academia, business, and civic life to take concrete action against hate. It requires each of us to speak out when we witness antisemitism in any form.
Every antisemitic statement left unchallenged, every double standard applied to Jews and the Jewish state, every instance of minimizing Jewish pain—all of it contributes to this environment where such violence is possible.
Yaron and Sarah deserved better. They deserved to live. They deserved to celebrate their impending engagement. They deserved a future. Instead, they became victims of the oldest hatred. We owe it to their memory to ensure no more lives are lost to antisemitism. We owe it to every Jew to create a society where attending a Jewish event doesn’t make you a target.
The time for action is now. The stakes couldn’t be higher.