When Speech Turns to Action

On the evening of May 21, Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Lynn Milgrim were murdered in cold blood in a horrifying act of antisemitic violence. They were leaving an event hosted by the American Jewish Committee at the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, DC. No, it wasn’t an AIPAC event or something at a museum for Israeli history, not that such details should ever matter. The facts are stark: two young people leaving a Jewish event organized by a Jewish institution at a Jewish space, were killed for being perceived as Jewish (Yaron was actually a Christian). No more, no less. Full stop.

My heart breaks again at the unjust loss of Jewish life, something tragically familiar in our people’s long history. And yet, I am not shocked. Not surprised. Because this is what happens when antisemitism is ignored, downplayed, normalized, and even celebrated.

Let me be clear: this is not about fair and legitimate criticism of Israel or its policies during wartime. Plenty of American Jews who care deeply about Israel also demand changes to the current government’s approach. This is not about critique. It is about hatred.

I’m talking about the deeper rot. When Grammy-winning artists go viral for songs quoting Adolf Hitler. When mainstream media outlets platform voices that spew blood libels and apply double standards to Israel while remaining silent about active genocide in Sudan or ethnic cleansing in Azerbaijan. When protesters target ultra-Orthodox synagogues that are officially non-Zionist in the name of anti-Israel activism. This is not accountability. This is Jew-hatred.

In Jewish mysticism, there’s a teaching that thoughts, words, and deeds are the garments of the soul. They reflect our innermost values and shape how we move through the world. When we allow conspiratorial ideas about Jewish power and collective blame to spread unchecked, when words and images cast Jews as dangerous or lesser, it should not surprise anyone when those ideas manifest in violence.

The silence has gone on long enough. It is time for the non-Jewish world to say, “Never Again!” Not as a slogan, but as a commitment to standing against the burning of the Jewish house, wherever and however it happens. We are not even 100 years past the Holocaust, and yet only 39% of 18–34-year-olds globally recognize it as a historical fact. This matters, because forgetting makes repeating easier. So if you see antisemitism in your community, call it out. If given a chance to platform hate, deny it.

History does repeat itself — and the Jewish people, exiled and exiled time and time again, know this all too well.