As anti-Semitic hate reaches a fever pitch, the murder of two Israeli embassy staffers in DC shows just how deadly the consequences can be. 

Two Jewish people were shot and killed in Washington, DC – just blocks away from the Capitol – in what appears to be an anti-Semitic hate crime.  

The suspect chanted “free, free Palestine” while in police custody, after allegedly killing two Israeli embassy staffers: Yaron Lischinsky (30) and Sarah Milgrim (26).  

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The shooting occurred outside of the Capital Jewish Museum, where Lischinsky and Milgrim were attending an event hosted by the American Jewish Committee. FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino called it “an act of targeted violence” while Israel’s ambassador to the UN said it was “a depraved act of anti-Semitic terrorism.”  

Sadly, this is part of an alarming trend: anti-Semitic hate crimes in the U.S. have risen sharply in the wake of Hamas’s attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023.  

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) found that anti-Semitic incidents were up 361% in the three months following the October 7 attacks, compared to the same period in 2022.  

The ADL found 3,291 anti-Semitic incidents in those three months alone, more than all of 2021 (2,717). 

The FBI’s hate crime statistics show a similar trend.  

In 2023 – the latest year on record – reported hate crimes against Jewish people were up 58% compared to 2022.  

This chart shows hate crimes over time that the FBI reported as anti-Jewish (a term the FBI uses in place of anti-Semitic). That big spike is October 2023. 

While it’s true that religiously motivated hate crimes are on the rise in general, anti-Jewish attacks make up the bulk of the uptick.   

In fact, over half – 59% – of all religiously motivated hate crimes reported in 2023 targeted Jewish people, who make up only 2.4% of the U.S. population.  

 

These figures only reflect hate crimes the FBI was able to investigate. According to the American Jewish Committee, “the actual numbers of incidents is likely greater, as hate crimes are widely underreported across the country.”  

As No Labels put it: “We need zero tolerance for the antisemitic and anti-Israel rhetoric” that is fueling this violent epidemic.  

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