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I woke up this morning to my wife sharing the news with me about the shooting and killing of two Israeli Embassy aides, Sarah Milgrim, 26, and Yaron Lischinsky, 30, outside the Capital Jewish Museum in downtown Washington DC last night.
Lischinsky had purchased an engagement ring with which to propose to Milgrim on their forthcoming trip to Israel to meet his family.
They had been attending the American Jewish Committee’s annual Young Diplomats reception there, which featured speakers from the humanitarian aid group, IsraAID. This year, the event “focused on bringing humanitarian aid to Gaza through Israeli-Palestinian and regional collaboration.” According to the statement from IsraAID, “We, and all the attendees, gathered in the interest of finding practical solutions to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, and showing that working together is the only way forward for all the people in the region.”
Our hearts go out to Sarah and Yaron’s families and loved ones. Hamakom Yenahem Otam — may the Holy One console them among all fellow mourners of Zion and Jerusalem (the traditional Jewish expression of consolation), and Zikhronam Livrakhah — may their memories truly be a source of blessing.
I’m sorry to share that the suspected assailant, a 30-year-old man from Chicago, chanted “Free, free Palestine,” after being taken into custody.
I’m sorry to share this because it reveals and exacerbates the profound levels of antisemitism and deep tensions tearing at the fabric of our society and communities.
As I see it, this antisemitic act (Milgrim was Jewish; Lischinsky’s father is Jewish and his mother is Christian, and he was a practicing Christian) comes in a climate where Israel has been demonized, treated as the ultimate manifestation of evil in the world.
The war in Gaza, initiated in response to the Hamas-led massacres in Israel on October 7, 2023, has been deeply distressing, as has talk of annexation. The level of civilian suffering, even accounting for the difficulty of determining which deaths have been combatants and which have been civilians, has been immense. No nation should be above criticism when it comes to waging war, Israel included. Organizations like IsraAID, and others with no direct connections to Israel, are doing the hard work of trying to mitigate the harm to civilians and bring humanitarian aid to the region. Debates about how Israel should be conducting itself are legitimate and welcome.
But the criticism of Israel, the world’s sole Jewish state, comes in the context of two thousand years in which Jews have been scapegoated in a manner that shape-shifts according to the relevant communities’ value systems. When the relevant terrain was theology, Jews were Christ killers. When it was economic systems, Jews were sometimes derided as communists, in other moments, greedy capitalists. Today, on the far right, Jews are blamed for facilitating waves of immigration as part of “the Great Replacement Theory;” at the other end of the spectrum, where the ultimate evil is colonialism and imperialism, “Zionists” (in many cases used as a one-to-one substitute for Jews) are the primary antagonists and outcasts.
It’s not lost on me that the arsonist of the Pennsylvania Governor’s Residence in April of this year, at the same time as the Jewish Governor, Josh Shapiro, and his family were hosting a Passover Seder, also cited treatment of Palestinians for his motivation of the attack.
As a governor of a state, Governor Shapiro of course has no relationship to US foreign policy regarding Israel, and he has held a generally mainstream Democratic view, even fiercely criticizing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at times. But he is Jewish.
Whether or not this particular assailant had a coherent ideology (his political statements were all over the map) is besides the point; he absorbed the presence of anti-Jewish sentiment in the environment.
I am hopeful that we as a society have the capacity to overcome this type of hate; Jews are not alone in our experience of marginalization and oppression, and I am hopeful that through shared dialogue and listening, sharing our humanity with one another, we have the capacity to build bridges and reduce the hate that is present in our society. I encourage you to register for our upcoming Listening Circles, gatherings designed to foster compassionate, respectful dialogue about how recent events in Israel and Gaza have impacted our lives, in order to contribute to this effort. We start within our community, and we aim to build bridges to the broader community.
Meanwhile, concerns are often expressed about the security status of Society Hill Synagogue and other Jewish institutions when events like this take place.
Our congregation is part of the Secure Community Network (SCN), which is the official homeland security and safety initiative of the organized Jewish community in North America, and our senior staff receive daily SCN briefings and participate in SCN webinars. We have strong bonds with the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia and its Community Security Director, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), fellow local synagogues and Jewish organizations, and the Philadelphia Police. The relationships we have cultivated with our neighbors in Lawrence Court and along Spruce Street are equally important.
We have a comprehensive security plan that relies on vigilant staff, limited points of entry, and advanced security equipment and technology. As is the case with all facets of society, security is strengthened when we all take upon ourselves the responsibility of staying alert and, while we should foster an orientation of warmth and compassion, if we witness something suspicious, we should share that immediately with someone in a position of authority. One example of this sort of orientation is the simple but critical action of not admitting into the building anyone whom you don’t know as you enter or exit the synagogue.
Society Hill Synagogue is fortunate to reside in a safe neighborhood, with neighbors who share our values of safety and civility. We have always sought security preparedness without bringing undue stress on congregants, students, staff, and guests, thus allowing our synagogue to continue to be the haimish, welcoming center of communal warmth, spiritual depth, and Jewish life that it has been for decades.
Please contact our Executive Director, Sahar Oz, with any questions.
