After two Israeli Embassy staff members were shot and killed in Washington, D.C., friends sent prayers for my safety – even though this horrific crime happened almost 600 miles away. The murders of Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim go beyond geographic boundaries. A Chicago man shot them “for Gaza” outside the Capital Jewish Museum. I won’t give his name because such publicity could potentially motivate copycat crimes (as noted in my co-authored book, “When Hate Grows March Down Main Street.”)
Many reporters are writing about pro-Palestinian extremism that motivated this hate crime/terrorism act and the growing antisemitism that it illustrates. A daughter of a Holocaust survivor who recently spoke at the Chattanooga public library said that she won’t refer to this as antisemitism anymore. Instead, she refers to it more bluntly as Jew-hate. That seems like the appropriate term for the murder of this young couple who were attending an American Jewish Committee conference.
Their involvement with AJC is of no surprise because the international organization specializes in promoting peace, dialogue and collaboration. I know this mission well because I worked for the AJC for many years as the director of Chicago’s Catholic-Jewish Dialogues, and later, the 1990 National Workshop on Christian-Jewish Relations.
Making connections, creating dialogue and addressing difficult issues were part of my daily life. My mentor was the Rev. Dr. John Pawlikowski, a professor at Chicago’s Catholic Theological Seminary. I mention him because his many credentials include serving as a professor to the new Pope Leo XIV. Pawlikowski, who dealt with antisemitism for decades, remains an interfaith icon in Chicago and around the world. That the perpetrator of this killing came from Chicago is a sign that Jew-hate is a powerful movement with an online presence that evades geographic boundaries.
An antisemitism organization in Europe tracked AI-generated antisemitic fake images online that reflected centuries of Jew-hate stereotypes. It’s been reported that 46% of adults across the globe have “deeply entrenched” antisemitic attitudes.
And while horrified, the broader Jewish community was not surprised by the D.C. violence. Hate leads to violence. The perpetrator walked past Lischinsky and Milgrim before turning and shooting them in the back several times. Once they fell to the ground, he fired more bullets at them.
Milgrim was known for her work bringing Christians, Jews and Muslims together. She had worked for Tech2Peace, a program that fosters dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians through entrepreneurial training. Milgrim chose her path despite having dealt with antisemitism as a teenager in Kansas. This courageous humanitarian deserved a life full of love.
Conspiracy theories about this violence abound. One in particular stands out: This killing is all Harvard University’s fault. This disordered way of thinking certainly will not help us move forward and shift opinion.
More helpful is the opinion of Brian Levin, chair of the California Commission on the State of Hate, who said that combating extremism and hate crimes is a national security issue requiring bipartisan support. Also, a university researcher, Levin calls for a cease-and-desist on cuts to research, data collection, hate crime training for law enforcement and grants related to domestic extremism. If we are to save lives, we should object to these cuts. Contact your elected officials and ensure that this research is supported. Make a call. Save a life.
Contact Deborah Levine, an author, trainer/coach and editor of the American Diversity Report, at Deborah@AmericanDiversityReport.com.