Two Israeli embassy employees in Washington shot - arrested perpetrator!

Two Israeli embassy employees in Washington shot - arrested perpetrator!

On Wednesday evening, May 22, 2025, two employees of the Israeli embassy in Washington, D.C. shot. The incident occurred during an event in the Capital Jewish Museum when the suspicious perpetrator, a 30-year-old man from Chicago, opened the fire to the embassy members when they left the building.

After the shots, the perpetrator entered the museum, but was stopped and arrested by private security forces. According to his arrest, he was reported to be "Free Palestine, Free Palestine". US Minister of Homeland Protection Kristi NoEM confirmed the killing of the two embassy employees and announced comprehensive investigations. FBI director Kash Patel was also informed.

reactions to the act

President Donald Trump condemned the violence and spoke of anti-Semitism. He emphasized that "hatred and radicalism had no place in the USA". Israel's President Yitzhak Herzog said horrified and spoke of a "detention act of hatred and anti -Semitism". Even Danny Danon, Israel's UN ambassador, described the shootout as a "hideous act of anti-Semitic terrorism".

The deeds are in the context of the continuing conflict between Israel and Hamas, which began in October 2023. During the fights, according to the health authority controlled by the Hamas, over 53,300 Palestinians were killed. In a highly polarized climate that was tightened by the war, there was an increase in anti-Semitic crimes and anti-Israeli protests in the United States.

anti -Semitism in the USA

The incident again makes a lightly upset about the continuing problems of anti -Semitism in the United States. Historically, this was largely overcome after the Second World War, but anti -Semitic attacks have risen again in recent years. Between 2018 and 2022 there were several serious attacks on Jewish institutions, including the deadliest attack on Jews in the history of the United States in Pittsburgh, in which eleven people were killed.

A current survey of the anti-defamation League showed that in 2022 the highest number of anti-Semitic incidents has been documented since the beginning of the surveys in 1979. Over 80% of the US Jews reported an increase in anti-Semitism. It is noteworthy that the radicalization of anti -Semitic discourses, especially under the influence of right -wing extremist groups and the 2017 presidential election, contributed to the normalization of such attitudes.

In this context, the crime in the Capital Jewish Museum is of particular importance, since it not only represents a tragedy, but also reflects the deep social problems and tensions that continue to exist in the USA.

For more information about this incident, readers on the reporting of vienna.at , Deutschlandfunk.de and bpb.de