Two Israeli Embassy Staffers Murdered In D.C. Terror Attack
Two staff members of Israel’s Embassy in Washington D.C. were shot dead outside the city’s Jewish Museum late on Wednesday evening (21st). According to a media report, others were wounded in the terror attack carried out by a man with a beard.
D.C. said they arrested a suspect in the fatal shooting that took place during an event held by the American Jewish Committee (AJC).
President Donald Trump condemned the attack. “These horrible D.C. killings based obviously on anti-Semitism, must end NOW! Hatred and radicalism have no place in the USA. “Condolences to the families of the victims,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. “So sad that such a thing as this can happen.”
Tal Naim Cohen, a spokesperson for the Israeli Embassy in Washington, said two of its staff members were shot “at close range” while attending a Jewish event at the museum.
Israel’s ambassador Yehiel Leiter said the victims were a young couple who were engaged to be married. “They were a beautiful couple,” he said. “We won’t be afraid — together we will overcome moral depravity.”
Leiter said he had spoken with U.S. President Trump, who said his administration will do all it can to fight anti-Semitism and end the hate, incitement and delegitimization of the State of Israel.
UN Ambassador Danny Danon called the attack a “depraved act of anti-Semitic terrorism.” He said harming diplomats and Jewish communities crosses a red line. “We are certain the authorities in the U.S. will act.”
US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a post on X that the perpetrators will be brought to justice.
“Two Israeli Embassy staff were senselessly killed tonight near the Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C. We are actively investigating and working to get more information to share. Please pray for the families of the victims,” Noem said in a post.
Washington D.C. Police Chief Pamela Smith identified the attacker as 30-year-old Elias Rodriguez of Chicago, Illinois and said the attacker shouted “Free Palestine” after he was arrested.
According to Smith, the two victims were shot as they were leaving the event at the museum, located near FBI headquarters in the nation’s capital. Rodrigues was seen walking back and forth outside the Jewish Museum before approaching a group of four people, pulling out his gun and opening fire.
He then entered the museum, where he was detained by security. He showed the guards where he had discarded his gun and indicated he was behind the shooting.
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee described the attack as a horrific act of terror.
“This abhorrent attack is a terrible act of anti-Semitic terrorism,” said Israeli President Isaac Herzog. “I send my deepest condolences to the families in this difficult time and pray for the recovery of the wounded. We stand with the Jewish community in Washington and across the United States, and I wish to send comfort and strength to the entire embassy staff. The United States and Israel will always stand united in defending our peoples and our shared values. We won’t let terror and hatred break us.”
Netanyahu: All Of Gaza Will Be Under Israeli Security Control
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a press conference in his office on Wednesday (21st) for the first time since December 2024.
The Prime Minister noted at the beginning of his remarks that Israel has a very organized plan for the war and emphasized that there are still 20 hostages who are certainly alive.
He stressed that “if there is a chance for a temporary ceasefire to bring back hostages, we are ready for it.” This being said, he stated that Israel will continue to hit Hamas with full force. “Operation Gideon’s Chariots began five days ago. Ask the residents of Sderot and the Gaza envelope – their houses are shaking from the force of the IDF’s fire.”
The Prime Minister declared: “our forces are seizing more and more territories in Gaza. At the end, all of the territories in the Gaza Strip will be under Israeli security control.”
Regarding the entry of humanitarian aid, Netanyahu stated that we need to prevent a humanitarian crisis. I hear from the close friends of our country: “We will give the support, including the Security Council, but there’s one thing that we won’t accept: we will not accept a humanitarian crisis in Gaza.”
Regarding the Iranian nuclear talks: “We are in full coordination with the US and hope that there will be a deal that will prevent Iran from enriching uranium. But Israel maintains the right to defend itself against the regime that seeks its destruction.”
The prime minister admitted that “10% of the aid trucks that go into Gaza are seized by Hamas.
Asked how it is possible to ensure that the hostages would not be harmed by the fighting, he answered: “We are working not to harm the hostages, and we are investing a lot of effort to get the hostages out. The military and diplomatic pressure and trickery will bring results.”
Terrorists In Gaza Launch Multiple Missiles At Israel
Sirens sounded on Wednesday afternoon (21st) in the southern coastal city of Ashkelon. The IDF announced that it intercepted one missile that was launched by Islamic Jihad terrorists from the northern Gaza Strip. No injuries were reported.
The IDF wrote in a statement: “Following the sirens that sounded in the Lakhish area, one projectile that was identified crossing into Israel from the northern Gaza Strip was intercepted by the IAF.”
Later in the evening, sirens sounded in the Gaza envelope communities of Netiv Ha’asara and Zikim.
Following those alarms, the IDF reported that “three projectiles were identified from the northern Gaza Strip. The rockets did not cross into Israeli territory and fell in the Gaza Strip with no injuries reported.”
Earlier in the day, the IDF reported that troops, based on IDF and ISA intelligence, were continuing operational activity against the terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip, dismantling terrorist infrastructure sites and eliminating terrorists as part of Operation Gideon’s Chariots.
Over the past day, the IAF struck over 115 terror targets throughout the Gaza Strip. The targets included launchers, military structures, tunnels, terrorist cells, and additional terrorist infrastructure sites.
Simultaneously, the Israeli Navy, in cooperation with ground troops, conducted strikes on terror targets in northern Gaza.
Economy Minister Barkat Urges Qatar’s Removal As Mediator Over Hamas Ties
Qatar is a “wolf in sheep’s clothes” that uses its money to buy influence worldwide, Economy Minister Nir Barkat said at The Jerusalem Post Annual New York Conference this week.
“If we look at geopolitics, there is the evil axis, starting from Iran, and including Qatar,” Barkat said. He accused Qatar of spending a “trillion dollars” to “be perceived as a sheep” while actually backing Hamas.
“This is why I supported a bill that was recently green-lit by the government to deem Qatar a “terror-supporting state,” Barkat said.
“The lesson from October 7 is that there are no more gray areas,” Barkat said, and that “Qatar wants Hamas to succeed.” He said that was the reason he had demanded that it cease to function as a mediator in the Israel-Hamas hostage negotiations.
Barkat also stated that, in addition to Muslim states in the region, the Palestinians in the West Bank may attempt to enter the Abraham Accords.
“One day, hopefully not far off, Arabs in Judea and Samaria will want to leave the Palestinian Authority and attempt to join the Abraham Accords. After October 7, there is no gray – if they collaborate with Israel, we would love to help them look like Dubai. If not, they will look like Gaza,” Barkat said.
He refrained from going into details, but said this was a sentiment he shared with settler leaders in the West Bank. He called it “very entrepreneurial and out of the box,” and said that the prime minister, other ministers, and friends around the world” supported the idea.
Strong Majority Of Americans Continue To Back Israel, New Poll Finds
An overwhelming share of Americans continue to support Israel during its ongoing military campaign against the Hamas terror group in Gaza, according to a new Harvard CAPS/Harris poll.
Seventy-seven percent of Americans across all age groups support Israel over Hamas, mirroring previous results in the Harvard-Harris poll. In April, 75 percent of Americans indicated support for Israel over the terrorist group.
Supermajorities of both political parties also support Israel, with 72 percent of Democrats and 81 percent of Republicans stating that they stand with the Jewish state.
Furthermore, a staggering 77 percent of self-described independent voters backed Israel over Hamas.
Despite enjoying popularity from the overall American population, support for Israel differs significantly among age brackets.
A whopping 92 percent of Americans over the age of 65 support Israel over Hamas. Among ages 45-54, support for the Jewish state drops to 75 percent.
A significant number of younger Americans indicate support for Hamas over Israel, raising concerns that the US alliance with the Jewish state could be under threat in the future.
Among those in the 25-34 age bracket, 65 percent support Israel and 35 percent support Hamas. Within the 18-24 age cohort, only 54 percent back Israel, compared to 46 percent who support Hamas.
Furthermore, 54 percent of Americans support US President Donald Trump’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war, a three-point uptick from the electorate since April.
However, 59 percent of respondents stated that Trump will “not solve” the war in Gaza, compared to 41 percent who believe the opposite.
Trump resumed sending 2,000-pound bombs to Israel after the Biden administration placed a partial arms embargo on the Jewish state amid an onslaught of democratic pressure.
However, in recent weeks, the Trump administration side-stepped Israel while brokering a ceasefire deal with the Houthi terrorist group in Yemen, which has been launching strikes at the Jewish state in solidarity with Hamas.
Despite the copious amount of media coverage on the ongoing war in Gaza, only 5 percent of Americans agree that the Israel-Hamas conflict is an “important issue facing the country today.” according to the poll.
BDS Movement Ruled Unconstitutional In Germany
Germany’s top agency against extremism and espionage ruled on Monday (19th) for the first time that the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement is unconstitutional and should therefore be banned.
The Berlin Office for the Protection of the Constitution, in its annual report, minced no words in condemning the anti-Israel group.
The goal of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign is… ultimately, to abolish the Israeli state,” it stated. “The unifying ideological leitmotif of the network behind the BDS campaign is thus the negation of Israel’s right to exist.”
This raison d’etre directly clashes with one of Germany’s core principles in a post-Holocaust world, with former chancellor Angela Merkel stating in 2006, for example, that the Jewish state’s right to exist was a German national interest.
The report noted that the movement’s leadership were designated terror groups, saying, “Its governing body, the BDS National Committee, includes among other organizations, the terrorist organizations Hamas and PFLP (Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine).
It specifically called out the communist PFLP for “playing an important role as a bridge between Islamist and secular anti-Israel opponents of the constitution.”
Its pro-Hamas line became obvious following the invasion the group led into Israel on October 7, 2023, when thousands of terrorists murdered, raped, and burned to death 1,200 people, the vast majority unarmed civilians, sparking the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip.
“Supporters of BDS in Berlin justified and/or glorified the attack” the report said.
While anti-Semitism is outlawed in Germany, Jew-hatred is also included in the movement’s anti-Israel campaigns.
In its pro-Hamas protests over the last year and a half, “signs with stereotypical anti-Semitic imagery were repeatedly displayed,” the report stated.
Germany’s parliament had already recognized the group’s problematic nature in 2019, passing a resolution entitled “Resolutely oppose the BDS movement – combat anti-Semitism,” and withdrawing federal financial support from “organizations that express anti-Semitic views or question Israel’s right to exist.”
In November, the government passed an amendment to an existing law in order to close loopholes that had allowed state funding to slip through to organizations promoting BDS.
