By Bill Simons

Their bodies leaning in, arms encircling each other’s back, the attractive young couple in the photo radiates happiness and anticipation. Yaron Lischinsky, 31, and Sarah Milgrim, 26, met at their worksite, the Israeli embassy in Washington, DC. They earned respect for their job performance, idealism and commitment to building bridges. A native of Kansas who identified with the faith of her Jewish parents, Sarah earned a master’s in international affairs from American University before accepting a public diplomacy position at the embassy. The son of a Jewish father and Gentile mother, Yaron was a devout evangelical Christian. However, his family made their home in Israel, and Yaron, a veteran of the Israel Defense Forces, identified as a Zionist. After receiving a master’s degree in government from Israel’s Reichman University, Yaron gravitated to a research assistant position in the embassy’s political department. 
Sarah’s parents welcomed the relationship with Yaron. Her father, Robert, found much to like about Yaron: “He was very much like Sarah: passionate, extremely intelligent, dedicated to what he does, always on the cause of what’s right.” Yaron had purchased an engagement ring and planned to propose to Sarah in Israel where they would soon travel to meet his family. Close friends and family anticipated a wedding and a long, loving future for the couple. Instead, they would soon bury Yaron and Sarah. 
Around 9 pm on May 21, Yaron and Sarah stood just outside the Capital Jewish Museum, located in Washington’s civic center, an area noted for government offices, museums and other visitor attractions. The White House, visible from the museum, is little more than a mile away. Inside the museum, an event, sponsored by the American Jewish Committee for the purpose of “turning pain into purpose,” provided networking opportunities for young Jewish professionals, humanitarian aid workers and embassy staff. The gathering, attended by Yaron and Sarah, was coming to an end. A stranger, subsequently identified as Elias Rodriguez, approached Yaron and Sarah. At close range, he allegedly fired repeated pistol shots at them, continuing to do so even when a wounded Sarah attempted to crawl away. Yaron and Sarah succumbed to their wounds, dying on the sidewalk. Once in custody, Rodriguez repetitively yelled, “I did it, I did it. Free Palestine. I did it for Gaza.” Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt attributed a calculated antisemitic intent to the murders: “This was an attack, not just against the DC Jewish community, but against all Jewish Americans.” As the social fabric continues to fray in the US, the violence of May 21 cannot be viewed as isolated. 
Another violent episode soon followed the trajectory of the Washington murders. Under the sponsorship of Run for Their Lives, Boulder, CO, had hosted weekly rallies demanding the release of the remaining hostages still imprisoned by Hamas. On June 1, a group of people in Boulder, CO, once again marched peacefully to bring attention to their plight. Attired as a gardener, Egyptian national Mohamed Sabry Soliman mounted a potentially lethal terror attack against the protesters during the early afternoon. Employing a jerry-built flamethrower, fueled by gasoline transported in a weed sprayer, he launched Molotov cocktails. The firebombing inflicted burns on a dozen marchers, amongst them an aged Holocaust survivor, Barbara Steinmetz. Echoing Rodriguez, Soliman, unrepentant after arrest, screamed expletive-laden threats to kill all Zionists. Colorado Governor Jared Polis, himself a Jew, vowed, “People should feel safe in their houses of worship, they should feel safe exercising their free speech.” A few days after the carnage, Rabbi Marc Soloway of Boulder’s Congregation Bonai Shalom confided, “It’s been brutal, agonizing, just shocking, unbelievable.” 
The 2018 Tree of Life shooting in Pittsburgh, claiming the life of 11 Sabbath worshippers, marks both the deadliest massacre in Jewish American history and the beginning of an escalating U.S. antisemitism. The attacks on Tree of Life, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro’s residence, the Capital Jewish Museum in Boulder and Minnesota Congressman Max Miller’s moving car generated widespread media attention, but many other antisemitic episodes have taken place in recent years. The onset of the Hamas-Israel War on October 7, 2023, has ratcheted up beatings, harassment and vandalism against American Jews to levels not seen since the 1930s peak of U.S. antisemitism. The polarization and divisiveness endemic in contemporary America provides the kindling for the upsurge of ideologically driven violence, as evidenced by the literal hunting down of politicians in Minnesota. However, the major impetus for ascendant American antisemitism derives from opposition to Israeli military tactics in Gaza. New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman, a strong supporter of the state of Israel and a critic of the slaughter of Palestinian civilians by the government of Benjamin Netanyahu, observes, “Israel, instead of being seen by Jews as a safe haven from antisemitism, will be seen as a new engine generating it.” According to a June 2025 Times editorial concerning the American present, “Jews face far greater risks of being victims of hate crimes than members of any other demographic groups.”
Rancor and demonization blur the distinction between hatred of Jews and opposition to Zionism, as well as that separating affirmation of Israel’s right to exist from supporting Netanyahu policies. Those guard rails, once clear, are collapsing. In the current zeitgeist, even a kosher butcher shop in Greater Boston becomes a target for smashing a brick, bearing the inscription “Free Palestine,” through a window. On the far left and far right, fanatics yoke antisemitism and anti-Zionism together and employ them as misguided antidotes to the current malaise. “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion” and other false and invidious tropes of intolerance have re-emerged, challenging Jewish legitimacy.
Prepare for a tough battle – plan for a marathon, not a sprint. U.S. involvement in Israel’s war against Iran is likely to deepen domestic fissures. We must not hide or retreat. It is imperative that American Jews engage the democratic political process, through voting, advocacy media, rallying, donations, lobbying and running for office. Educate ourselves and our Gentile neighbors. By distributing thousands of the free copies of “The Diary of Anne Frank” to New York City’s youth, the Center for Jewish History provides an example to emulate. Support enhanced security measures for Jewish institutions, events and neighborhoods. New York Senator Chuck Schumer tells it the way it is: “The recent rise of antisemitism is a test case for what kind of country we want to be, a summons to fight for the idea of American at her very best.”