As investigations into the recent deadly shooting outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C. unfold, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) is stressing the importance of addressing and combating hatred in society.
The CEO of the ADL, Jonathan Greenblatt, expressed his belief that the tragic shooting was a predictable outcome in a country grappling with a significant presence of anti-Semitic sentiments. This observation is in line with the ADL’s annual audit, which revealed a disturbing trend of increasing anti-Semitic incidents in the United States for the fourth consecutive year in 2024.
ADL’s Senior Vice President of Counter-Extremism and Intelligence, Oren Segal, highlighted the concerning environment that has been perpetuated by the demonization and harassment of Jews and Israelis. He emphasized how the glorification of terrorist acts and violence against Israelis has contributed to creating a climate where such acts of violence can occur.
A man looks on next to police officers working at the site where, according to the U.S. Homeland Security Secretary, two Israeli embassy staff members were shot dead near the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., on May 21, 2025. (REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst)
Segal also said that since Oct. 7, the ADL has seen an increase in the marginalization of the Jewish community, including “these efforts to normalize that any Jewish person or anybody who supports Israel is a legitimate target.” He recalled that just as after Oct. 7, there were those who justified the massacre, there are those who are trying to excuse the murders of Lischinsky and Milgrim.
A police car is parked behind a yellow tape where, according to the U.S. Homeland Security Secretary, two Israeli embassy staffers were shot dead near the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., May 22, 2025. (REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein)
“I think what we need to remember is that when we have been calling out the most extreme rhetoric at protests and events around the country, we haven’t focused on criticism of Israel. We have focused on the type of language and activity that we believe, that we have seen leads to violence,” Segal told Fox News Digital. “And so, I hope that when people try to contextualize what happened in D.C., they look back at what we have been trying to say, what we have been warning about because I think if you understand how words lead to action, more people hopefully will be part of that solution in pushing back against these narratives.”
