U.S. Israeli Embassy murders leave Canada's Jews fearful over anti-Israel violence

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OTTAWA — We’re living in dangerous times.

That was the message from Israel’s ambassador to Canada after Wednesday night’s murder of two Israeli Embassy staffers in Washington, D.C.

“Dangerous times require all of us to be attentive and attuned to the spread of hate, and incitement that can lead to horrific results like we’ve seen in Washington,” Iddo Moed told the Toronto Sun on Thursday.

Yaron Lischinsky, 30, and Sarah Milgrim, 26, were leaving an event at the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington when they were shot to death.

Elias Rodriquez, 31, from Chicago, was arrested at the scene and chanted “Free, Free Palestine” as he was taken into custody.

The murders of Lischinsky and Milgrim — a couple who planned to marry — highlight the hatred and violence within the North American anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian movement, leaving Jewish communities wondering how they safe they really are.

“Challenging times mean that we have to be proud of our identity, but also aware and vigilant against the threats that are developing around us,” Moed said, adding that Canada’s Jews expect government and police to ensure they’re doing what they can to keep them safe.

“They are expecting the leadership to assure them that their security is top of the agenda, and they need to sense that, and to see that. What I’m getting from the Jewish community is that they sometimes feel abandoned.”

Noah Shack, interim president of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA), said the murders speak to the danger posed by the intensifying rhetoric of anti-Israel activists.

“What happened in Washington is the result of the predictable pattern of growing hate and incitement targeting Jews in North America,” he said. 

“While our community is resilient, this should be a wake-up call to all governments about the urgent need for action. This includes strengthening laws to tackle the open support for terrorism taking place in Canadian streets and enhancing measures to secure Jewish institutions here in Canada.”

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Prime Minister Mark Carney posted his condolences on social media, calling for action to keep Canada’s Jews safe.

“This was a targeted attack against the Jewish community — a violent act of antisemitism. This hate is intolerable, and I condemn it in the strongest terms,” he said.

“My prayers are with Yaron and Sarah, their grieving loved ones, and the entire Jewish community.”

Carney also said plans are in the works to introduce national “bubble zone” legislation to criminalize disruptive and intimidating protests around schools, community centres and places of worship.

Ayelet Razin, a lawyer and expert on international law, was a friend and colleague of Milgrim.

She told the Sun that Milgrim was a key figure in her work advocating for victims of sexual violence perpetrated by Palestinian terrorists during the Oct. 7 attacks.

“She was young, and still she took this mission head-on,” she said. “That’s the kind of person she was.”

Milgrim, Razin said, joined the Israeli embassy shortly after Oct. 7 to help combat rising levels of antisemitism in the wake of the attacks.

“It’s the same antisemitism that she took upon herself as a life’s mission to combat that got herself brutally murdered with her partner,” Razin said.

Wednesday’s murders, she added, highlight the constant threat Israelis and Jews face.

“Every Jew around the world, every Israeli, is afraid to wear a kippah, to have the Magen David on a necklace or speak Hebrew publicly — that’s (Israel’s) government recommendations when we go abroad,” she said.

“What other national or religious group has this kind of restriction that they need to hide their identity to not get harmed?”

bpassifiume@postmedia.com
X: @bryanpassifiume