Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld visited the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C., on March 21, 2024, to offer prayers for the safe return of hostages. During his visit, Herzfeld faced harassment from protesters who allegedly tried to drown out his voice with loud megaphone sirens.
Subsequently, the rabbi was wrongly accused of stalking but later cleared of all charges. The accusers were then required to cover his $182,000 legal expenses. Despite this outcome, Herzfeld criticized the inadequate response of the D.C. authorities to antisemitism, particularly following the tragic deaths of Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim.
“There seems to be a recurring trend of the D.C. government failing to take sufficient actions to protect the Jewish community. I conveyed this sentiment to Mayor Bowser, emphasizing that we have reached a point where decisive measures must be taken,” Herzfeld shared with Fox News Digital.
A protester waves a Palestinian flag at Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld as he tries to pray in front of the Israeli Embassy on March 22, 2024. (Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld )
After the reported statements by Rodriguez, and what he was heard shouting in a viral video, Herzfeld told Fox News Digital that it gives D.C. Jews “even more reason to be scared.”
“So, nobody’s talking about taking away the rights to free speech. Everybody has the right to speak in a way that’s part of society, in a way that does not endanger and threaten people. And now we know that those people who were at the at these rallies, which were being done in a frenzy, a threatening, intimidating manner, there’s a reason why people are scared, because some people who associate with them are violent, and this person who went and killed, murdered.”
“On the streets of D.C. to people who supported Israel, this person was associated with that group. He shouted free Palestine. And so now we have even more reason to be scared as these free Palestine protesters are giving carte blanche on the street of D.C.”
National Park Service workers attempt to remove graffiti at Union Station on July 25, 2024, in Washington, D.C. (Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)
In response to a Fox News Digital request for comment, Bowser’s office referred to the mayor’s remarks at a news conference on May 22 following the shooting.
“We are here to echo what the U.S. attorney has said, that this crime will not be tolerated in our city,” Bowser said. She also lamented that D.C. has had “practice standing together as a community to fight antisemitism both in hate speech and hateful acts.”
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, who also spoke at the press conference, said she would not tolerate violent crimes such as the deadly shooting in front of the Jewish museum.
