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This week’s horrific murder of Yaron Lischinsky and Sara Milgram, the two staff members of the Israeli Embassy, outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., is a reminder that words matter, be they on campus or even in Congress.
The young couple, who were reportedly to be engaged next week, were killed at close range on Wednesday by the alleged 30-year-old suspect, Elias Rodriguez from Chicago. Rodriguez reportedly repeated the words that are often heard at the many antisemitic protests on campuses throughout our nation: “Free free Palestine.”
He also allegedly said that he “did it for Gaza.”
The amount of antisemitic hate since the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel has been astounding and unprecedented in our country and throughout the world. From campus Jew-hate protests to nasty street demonstrations, some even permitted in largely Jewish areas, these words have actions, and now we see where they can lead: the death of two innocent young people in our nation’s capital. Sarah, a U.S. citizen who worked for the embassy, and Yaron, an Israeli citizen.
Just last week at New York University, an undergraduate, Logan Rozos, used his graduation speech to accuse the U.S .of supporting “genocide” in Gaza and went on to condemn “the atrocities in Palestine.” And only a few hours before the antisemitic attack in Washington, D.C., a shameful display took place during the Columbia University commencement, where anti-Israel protesters torched diplomas outside the university amid chants of “genocide” and “free free Palestine.”
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A direct line connects the two incidents as we are reminded – once more, for the millionth time – that words have the power to kill.
On Oct. 7, Hamas terrorists, along with thousands of Gazan civilians, penetrated Israeli towns and villages in the south of Israel, committing unspeakable atrocities: rape, murder, and pillage, including the kidnapping of 240 people, 58 of whom are still held hostage in Gaza (20 reportedly alive, and the other 38 feared dead). So many of the perpetrators were young people who grew up all their lives in Hamas-controlled Gaza and absorbed antisemitic hatred of Jews. The results were evident in all their gruesome and horrid glory on that bloody day. In one memorable audio call made public by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), a young man excitedly tells his parents that he alone killed 10 Jews.
“Look how many I killed with my own hands! Your son killed Jews!” he said. “Mom, your son is a hero,” he added. The parents praised him, and he continued to share that he was calling from the phone of a Jewish woman he’d just murdered and implores them to check his WhatsApp messages for pictures.
“I wish I was with you,” the mother says.
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The result of Oct. 7, when the most Jews were murdered since the Holocaust, is a terrible war that Israel has been waging against the murderous terrorist organization Hamas in Gaza for the past almost 600 days.
The war revealed the scope of the education and indoctrination of Hamas. In one instance, the IDF discovered a copy of Adolf Hitler’s infamous book “Mein Kampf”—translated into Arabic—in a child’s bedroom used as a Hamas terrorist base in Gaza. The book was discovered to feature annotations and highlights, and similar hateful content was continuously used all over schools in Gaza, including those operated by UNRWA.
Similarly, young children were taught in summer camps how to murder Jews and use weapons while participating in hateful plays normalizing antisemitism. Teachers, some of whom are registered Hamas members, were an integral part of this well-oiled indoctrination machine as well. No wonder this warped reality exploded in our faces.
Throughout the war, we’ve seen similar antisemitic hatred allowed to run amock in our streets and on our college campuses. Accusations of the worst kind have been thrown at Israel and the Jewish community with impunity. “Genocide,” they chant, as if it’s wordplay and not a malicious, dangerous accusation with lethal consequences.
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It was not only the gun that fired that murdered two young people in Washington, D.C. It was also – and maybe mainly – the tsunami of hateful words that have engulfed our society through an industry of lies by vile antisemites. And it was also our silence as we watched it unfold and took no action against this vocal and vicious minority.
Words matter. Let this be an age of accountability. This is the time for deeds. It is time for the silent majority to raise their voice, take action and stand up for our democracy and society.
If we do not act, we are all complicit.
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