Israelis reacted with shock and horror on Thursday to the killing of two staff members at the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C., which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called an “appalling antisemitic murder.”
The shooting took place as the two aides were leaving an event organized by the American Jewish Committee at the Capital Jewish Museum on Wednesday. The police said that they had arrested a suspect in connection with the killings who had shouted,“free, free Palestine,” after he was taken into custody.
The attack seemed likely to feed into growing worries among Israelis that the world had become far more hostile to them while living and traveling abroad since the war in Gaza began more than a year and a half ago.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry has identified the victims as Sarah Lynn Milgrim, who was responsible for organizing missions and visits to Israel, and Yaron Lischinsky, a researcher in the political department. Yechiel Leiter, the Israeli ambassador to the United States, said that they were a couple about to be engaged.
David Schiff, who befriended Mr. Lischinsky at university, described him as “an incredibly talented guy — but more importantly, someone who was very kind.”
“He wanted to work in diplomacy. He was so excited to work at the embassy in D.C., and he loved D.C.,” Mr. Schiff, 31, said. “It’s all just shocking.”
Gideon Saar, the Israeli foreign minister, called the attack a consequence of “toxic antisemitic incitement against Israel and Jews around the world” since the Israel-Hamas war began in October 2023.
He blamed critics of the Israeli government in international organizations and government officials, “especially from Europe,” who have leveled accusations of genocide and crimes against humanity over the war in Gaza. Israel has strongly denied the accusations.
The attack set off a spate of finger-pointing among Israeli politicians, several of whom were quick to accuse their opponents of being indirectly responsible for the anti-Israel climate that they said precipitated the shooting. Some argued that Mr. Netanyahu’s policies were stoking anti-Israel sentiment abroad, while others blamed left-wing critics.
Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, that killed some 1,200 people and led to about 250 others being taken to Gaza as hostages. More than 53,000 people have been killed in the enclave as Israel has sought to destroy Hamas and free the hostages, according to local health officials, who do not distinguish between civilian and combatant deaths.
Israel initially enjoyed widespread support for its campaign against Hamas and ground invasion of the Gaza Strip. But as the war has dragged on, the skyrocketing death toll in Gaza has prompted waves of pro-Palestinian solidarity campaigns in Europe and the United States, as well as growing consternation and even anger among Israel’s allies.
Many Israelis have become warier about traveling overseas, fearing that their nationality could put them in danger. Israeli officials have at times warned members of the public to avoid showing Israeli and Jewish symbols, lest they become potential targets.
“It’s something that’s been in the background of my mind since Oct. 7 — that my security as a Jew, as an Israeli, has been impacted,” Mr. Schiff said.
Yair Golan, who leads the left-wing Democrats party, blamed Mr. Netanyahu’s right-wing government, which has vowed to take control of all of Gaza, of “fueling antisemitism and hatred of Israel.”
“The result is unprecedented political isolation and danger to every Jew in every corner of the globe,” Mr. Golan said in a statement.
Itamar Ben-Gvir, the far-right national security minister, suggested that leftist politicians who oppose the war — like Mr. Golan — had encouraged the attack on Wednesday by making statements critical of Israeli policies. He referenced a remark Mr. Golan made this week, in which Mr. Golan said that Israeli forces were “killing babies as a hobby” in Gaza.
“The blood of the victims is on their hands,” Mr. Ben-Gvir wrote on social media.
Israel’s diplomatic missions abroad have long been targets for attacks by groups opposed to the existence of the Jewish state. In 1982, Palestinian gunmen shot Israel’s ambassador to Britain.
In 1992, a bombing at the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina killed 29 people, most of them Argentine civilians. An Argentine court ruled last year that the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah had carried out that attack.
Last month, the British police charged a man with terrorism over an attempt to break into the Israeli Embassy in London while carrying two knives. There were no casualties. According to British law enforcement officials, the suspect had sought to “send a message to the Israeli government to stop the war” in Gaza.
Aaron Boxerman is a Times reporter covering Israel and Gaza. He is based in Jerusalem.
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