Two Young Israeli Embassy Staff are Gunned Down in Washington, DC

Many People are Finding ways to Justify it

Most of us are familiar with the horrible events that occurred last Wednesday. Two people were gunned down as they left the Capital Jewish Museum. The gunman did not flee, but waited for the police and then started yelling “Free Palestine” as he was arrested. In response US President Donald Trump said there is “no place in America for antisemitism”.

Image: Yaron Lischinsky & Sarah Milgram, murdered in Washington DC on May 21 ——Source: Times of Israel

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney took to Facebook and posted the following:

I am devastated and appalled by the murder of two young Israeli embassy staff in Washington, D.C.

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.

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

We cannot look away from the power of antisemitism and its radicalization. We must act to keep Jewish Canadians safe.

To that end, Canada’s new government will fight the horrifying rise in hate and protect our communities.

We’ll increase funding to the Canada Community Security Program and introduce legislation to make it a criminal offence to intentionally and willfully obstruct access to any place of worship, schools, and community centres; and a criminal offence to willfully intimidate or threaten those attending services at these locations.

I can clearly remember when such a statement would have been uncontroversial. But everything that Carney said in this statement has been contested.

In the comments responding to the PM’s post, there is some welcome recognition that there is no way to justify the assassination of Yaron and Sarah.

Mohammed Mohamid:

Sad, bad, tragic! No ifs or buts! Nothing justifies killing or harming innocent people, No matter who they are! Edit: to those with a "whatabout" approach: I encourage you to stay morally consistent. Care for human life and the well being of all innocent people whether in Gaza, Israel, West bank, or anywhere in the world! Being morally consistent is the only way forward!

But far more common is this sort of thing:

Bradley Jr Mianscum

This will give Benjamin “justification” to kill thousands more

and this:

Saima Jamal ·

The Israeli embassy staffer Yaron Lischinsky who was with fiance Sarah Milgrim, was Christian, not Jewish as confirmed by the Guardian and his LinkedIn profile and the killer was named Elias Rodriguez.

This would never have hapoened absent the Gaza Genocide.

Violence begets violence as night follows the day.

The bubble laws promised by Carney have also been vigorously contested wherever they have been proposed. The argument is invariably that this is an attempt to shut down legitimate protest. The Toronto city council passed such a law by a vote of 16 to 9. The Canadian Civil Liberties Union called the law a threat to free expression.

In supporting the law Toronto Counselor Dianne Saxe said:

"What is not legitimate is to use the excuse of a foreign war that Toronto Jews did not start, do not control and cannot stop to intimidate toddlers, school children, [and] people going into a synagogue," she said.

Arguing against the law Counselor Amber Morley said:

"It is not true to say that every protest that is standing for the rights and freedoms of Palestinians who are subjected to atrocities is antisemitic and anti-Jewish," she said.

Image: Anti-Israel Demonstrators protest in front of Aish Hatorah Synagogue facing Pro-Israel demonstrators in Thornhill, Ont., on March 7, 2024. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press)

Denounced for Pointing out Antisemitism

Veteran Canadian antizionist Yves Engler posted this in response to Carney’s comments:

Mark Carney labeling the assassination of two Israeli diplomats “antisemitism” highlights how unhinged from reality discussion of the subject is. Canadian politicians and the media constantly reference antisemitism but are unwilling to discuss the standing of the Jewish community.

https://yvesengler.com/?p=6743&preview=true

We commented in response to Engler’s post:

David Roytenberg

So a guy travels from Chicago, waits outside the Capital Jewish Museum and guns down a young couple that came out of the building. He says it's for Gaza. And by the standards of Yves Engler this is not antisemitism.

I am sure that Jews will be very relieved that when they are gunned down at random in the streets, as long as the killer says he does it for Palestine, it won't be because of antisemitism.

So far no response from Mr. Engler.

Antisemitism in a Popular Facebook Discussion Group

In the Canadian Politics on Facebook (a Public Group with over 8000 members) someone went looking for people’s thoughts on the DC shooting by posting this:

Emily Somma:

Netanyahu blames Canada, France, and the United Kingdom for the lone gunman's actions in the DC shooting.

Benjamin Netanyahu has launched a blistering attack on Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron, and Mark Carney, saying the leaders of the UK, France, and Canada are on the wrong side of humanity for speaking out against his inhuman actions toward Palestinian civilians, whom he prevented food and aid from reaching. This condemnation from Netanyahu comes amidst growing international criticism of Israel's treatment of Palestinians in the ongoing conflict.

For many of us who know the history of the Holocaust, it is hard to understand how Israelis can willfully attempt to cause the starvation and deaths of civilians, especially considering their own history of persecution and suffering.

Canada came to their defense, as did England and France in the 1940s. But now (in Netanyahu) we see a leader as corrupt and merciless as the dictators of the past, disregarding basic human rights and committing atrocities in the name of power and control. And once again we are coming to the aid of those being oppressed by providing humanitarian aid and advocating for peace negotiations to end the cycle of violence and suffering, except that those who were oppressed have now become the oppressors. It is a tragic cycle that must be broken through international intervention and diplomacy to ensure lasting peace and justice for all involved.

The middle paragraph contains a message we have been seeing frequently on social media. The claim of genocide by Israel is taken as given. The Jews were defended by Canada, France and England, in the 1940’s (really?!). We are just doing for the Palestinians now what we did for the Jews then. How can today’s Jews be so evil and ungrateful now? (If the Palestinians are relying on Canada, France and Britain for help, we suspect they will not be impressed by the “help” the Jews got from these countries in the 1940’s).

It’s the particular moral failure of the Jews which seems to be the main point. If someone made this argument about the Palestinians, would anyone find it persuasive? Yet this argument seems to light up the brains of certain Canadians. They think there is some deep moral insight here, which shows that Jews are particularly depraved.

The following comment is typical of the way that the DC murders are being blamed on Israel rather than on the terrorist who did the killing:

Barry Pattern

The DC shootings are a direct result of Netanyahu's inhumane treatment of the Palestinian people. The Israeli government can do what ever they want with no consequences and no response from the rest of the world. This has driven some to take action on their own if the rest of the world remains silent. If Netanyahu had not started his murderous action against the Palestinian people, I doubt the shootings would have happened and there would be less world attacks on Israeli institutions.

Here is another comment that shows the state of people’s perception of Israel

Zac Aitch

Top contributor

Netanyahu is one of the most evil people on the entire planet and he leads one of the most antisocial countries on earth. If he thinks you’re bad, rest 100% completely assured you are doing the right thing.

Both Netanyahu and Israel are icons for evil. It’s not surprising that Jews are being gunned down in the street if people believe that.

Here is one more response to the Emily Somma post quoted above:

Elayna LaBar

If there were no Canadians, French, English, etc, etc fighting and dying in World War II, then maybe Bibi and all his supporters may never have existed. What a vile, evil and outrageous idiot and coward. He owes Canada and these other countries a huge apology. We are not the nazi appeasers, are we?

Jews are so ungrateful after everything Canada did for them in World War II. We are speechless. While these views are not shared by everyone, it’s extraordinary to us that in a group with over 8000 members, nobody is pointing out how vile these sentiments are.

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This was a hard article to write. We believe in the power of words to communicate and that exchanging ideas can bridge gulfs of misunderstanding and mistrust. But the response to the murder of these two Israelis suggests that hatred of Jews is becoming deeply entrenched in the everyday discourse of ordinary Canadians. It’s hard to envision a promising future for the Canadian Jewish community if these sentiments are the norm over the long term.

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