Jewish groups say local leaders must ‘stop tolerating hate’ after DC shooting

Jewish organization leaders and allies on Friday called for local elected officials and civic heads to “stop tolerating hate in the guise of activism” following the fatal shooting this week of two Israeli Embassy employees.

Flanked by officials from the American Jewish committee’s Chicago office, the Jewish United Fund, the Simon Wiesenthal Center and several aldermen, the Anti-Defamation League’s David Goldenberg said “this is a major problem here in Chicago, and too many of our elected and civic leaders have not only been silent on the issue, but some continue to fan the flames of hate and antisemitism.”

Although Goldenberg, who is the ADL’s Midwest regional director, did not specifically call out anyone by name for their rhetoric, he was critical of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson for “elevating people who have a history of being hostile to members (of) the Jewish community.”

Elias Rodriguez, a Chicago resident, was charged Thursday in U.S. District Court with murder after two staff members of the Israeli Embassy in Washington on Wednesday night were shot and killed as they were leaving an event at the Capital Jewish Museum. The two were identified as Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim.

Authorities said Rodriguez “spontaneously stated on scene to (police) ‘I did it for Palestine, I did it for Gaza,’” and a social media account attributed to the suspect shared a manifesto condemning the deaths of tens of thousands in Gaza and how civil protests had fallen short in stopping the war.

Deborah Silverstein, the lone Jewish member of the Chicago City Council, said that “the unpermitted protests that have overtaken our streets, the unsanctioned encampments on college campuses, the orchestrated walkouts in CPS schools … are not expression of free speech. These are breeding grounds for dangerous ideologies.”

“When our elected leaders enable and praise this behavior, it creates an atmosphere that encourages people to go out and harm Jews,” she said. “We need our leaders to work to lower the temperature and defuse these extremist organizations that are spreading antisemitism and hate when it comes from within our own parties and from our own political base.”

Johnson has described the war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas as “genocidal,” also calling for “the immediate releasing of hostages, the end of these acts of terror and the end to this war.”

Johnson committed to lowering the temperature at a Thursday press conference.

“There’s been so much animus that has been directed towards the Jewish community, and it’s our collective responsibility,” the mayor said before pausing and saying, “to be far more thoughtful about how we express our politics.”

The shooting in Washington, D.C., came as Israel presses ahead with its military offensive against Hamas terrorist and lets in aid to the Gaza strip.

The strikes that lasted into Friday morning came a day after Israeli tanks and drones attacked a hospital in northern Gaza.

Israel says it will continue to strike until Hamas terrorists release all of the 58 remaining Israeli hostages and disarms. Fewer than half of the hostages still in Gaza are believed to be alive, after most of the rest were returned in ceasefire agreements or other deals.

On Thursday night, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the killings in Washington horrific and blasted France, the U.K. and Canada for proposing to establish a Palestinian state.

“Because by issuing their demand, replete with a threat of sanctions against Israel — against Israel, not Hamas — these three leaders effectively said they want Hamas to remain in power,” he said.

Israeli officials said Friday they let in more than 100 trucks of aid, including flour, food, medical equipment and drugs. The trucks came in through the Kerem Shalom crossing.

The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led terrorists attacked southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251 others.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive, which has destroyed large swaths of Gaza, has killed more than 53,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry, which doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count.

Meanwhile, hundreds of somber faces lined a room of the Jewish Community Center of Greater Kansas City Thursday evening. Milgrim hailed from Johnson County.

“It’s one thing to see the images on the news, or hear stories from across the globe. This was personal. Sarah was ours,” President and Chief Executive Officer of the Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City Jay Lewis said.

Milgrim graduated from Shawnee Mission East High School in 2017. She graduated from the University of Kansas in 2021 with a degree in environmental science. She met Rabbi Neil Schuster while at college.

“Going to sleep to the news was bad enough, but waking up to the particulars of it, it’s difficult to just even know where to put it, what to do with it,” Schuster said.

Milgrim was part of Kansas University Hillel, a Jewish organization at the university. Schuster was the senior Jewish educator of the group, while Milgrim served on the board of directors.

The pair took two trips to Israel together and participated in campus Judaism events, Schuster said.

“Because she was just a beautiful soul, and there was so much there inside of her with a light, that when you figured out where the switch was, it just glowed,” Schuster said.

Schuster left the crowd with the message that “love is a powerful thing.”

“But we need more than just being together. We need to give ourselves permission to feel the love that’s there, to feel the love that we feel toward each other, toward the people in this room,” Schuster said.

He said those in the room should lean on one another.

“The love of friendship is one of the most powerful kinds of love,” Schuster said.

Amanda Birger met Milgrim when the pair attended Kansas University together.

Birger remembered Milgrim as a woman who “stood proudly” in her faith.

“She made me want to be more Jewish,” Birger said. “I came to Hillel looking for friends, but meeting Sarah showed me how someone my age, who was smart and funny and kind, could live a joyful Jewish life while also doing everything else she wanted.”

Birger encouraged those in the room to stand proudly in their faith, “and don’t let hateful ignorance reduce your Jewish life.”