The murders of two young Israeli Embassy staff members, Sarah Milgrim and Yaron Lischinsky, shook Washington and provoked conflicting reactions. Here are some observations on the murders and the disturbing way they were viewed and used by pro-Israel organizations and a few pro-Palestinian advocates.

Let me clear that I believe what Elias Rodriguez did was terrorism, plain and simple. And, regardless of stated intent, the murders were antisemitic. They were certainly neither heroic, revolutionary, nor an act of justice.

The classic definition of terrorism is the use of violence or intimidation to create fear to accomplish a political objective. Rodriguez acknowledges that this was his goal. And, without a doubt, the act was antisemitic. He went to a Jewish event and randomly shot and killed two people, not knowing who they were or what they did.

He knew only that this event was at the Capital Jewish Museum and his victims would most likely be Jews. And, as he made clear in his “manifesto,” he thought that the shock created by
his act might hasten political change.

The murders have generated commentary in articles and on social media. A few outlier pro-Palestinian voices have dangerously argued that the murders were a justified response to the massive loss of life and destruction from Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza, arguing
that Israel’s defenders can be held responsible for its crimes.

The other side, including many major pro-Israel institutional voices, have used the murders to demonize the entire pro-Palestine movement, saying their anti-Israel rhetoric has fostered antisemitism creating the environment that led Rodriguez to commit his crime.

Though coming at the murders from radically different perspectives, both views engage in perilous reductionism.

Israel’s policies are indeed grotesque and have horrified a generation of young people who’ve witnessed this genocide play out in real time for 19 months. While Israel’s supporters denounce the growing anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian activism on campuses as if it grew out of thin air, they are loathe to give any credence to the reality that Israel’s actions are the root cause of growing anti-Israel sentiment.

With the tide of public opinion turning against Israel, pro-Israel organizations have worked to stifle anti-Israel or pro-Palestinian manifestations. They’ve used their influence with the White House, university administrators, and congressional allies to expand the definition of antisemitism to include criticisms of Israel and silence protesters through intimidation, punishment, and force, when possible. In reality, there’s a power imbalance in this debate over Gaza.

Israel’s backers have most elected officials and many university administrators on their side. Pro-Palestinian activists, however, can be arrested, suspended from school, silenced or cancelled, and have their diplomas withdrawn.

By ignoring the legitimate outrage that spawned the protests against Israel’s war on Palestinians, and by accusing the protesters of fostering the environment that led to the DC killings, pro-Israel advocates cruelly ignore Palestinian humanity and deny protestors’ feelings of solidarity for Palestinian suffering.

Similarly, those who, claiming to defend Palestinian humanity, strike out against any and all Jewish Americans who identify with Israel, denouncing them as enablers of genocide, are also guilty of crude reductionism.

Harsh rhetoric, threatening actions, or name-calling may feel momentarily powerful, but it’s counterproductive and hurts the cause, fostering deeper hostility and polarization. Those using such tactics ignore that as the trauma of the Nakba has shaped Palestinian identity, so has the trauma of the Holocaust, pogroms, and reality of antisemitism taken a toll on the psyche of many American Jews.

Striking out against supporters of Israel only stokes those fears and, given the power imbalance, ultimately increases the likelihood of more intimidation and repression of pro-Palestinian voices.

Rodriguez’s crime must be seen for what it was—an act of murder that took the lives of two young people who, regardless of their employer or beliefs, were shot to death for attending an event at Washington’s Capital Jewish Museum.

His chant “Free, Free Palestine” is especially infuriating because he abuses this noble cause with an act of deplorable violence to serve his narcissistic fantasy of advancing Palestinian freedom and policy change. He did neither. His crime took the lives of two young people, damaged the cause he claimed to support, and will be used to justify more repression.