Cliff Notes
- Israel’s leadership has condemned recent antisemitic shootings in Washington DC, linking them to global protests and media narratives that incite hatred against Jews.
- Politicians, including Yair Lapid and Gideon Sa’ar, accuse international leaders of enabling antisemitism through perceived appeasement and failure to address anti-Israel rhetoric.
- Isaac Herzog, Israel’s president, has called for unity and urged an end to domestic political disputes amid the increasing tensions surrounding the violence.
Israel-Gaza latest: Two Israeli embassy workers shot dead in Washington DC by suspect who shouted ‘free Palestine’
By Alistair Bunkall, Middle East correspondent, in Jerusalem
Israel is understandably in shock, following the murder of two young diplomats in Washington DC on Wednesday night.
Politicians in Jerusalem have condemned the antisemitic shootings and mostly blamed global protests, media coverage and international politicians for fuelling hatred against Jews and spreading “modern blood libels”.
Yair Lapid, the official opposition leader, said it was “a direct result of the incitement we’ve seen at protests across the world”.
Gideon Sa’ar referred to leaders and officials abroad, especially in Europe, who “surrender to the Palestinian terrorist propaganda”.
‘Israeli minister blames France, Britain and Canada’
Israel’s diaspora minister went further, saying “we must also hold to account the irresponsible leaders in the West who give backing to this hatred – whether through appeasement, double standards or silence”.
“French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney have all, in different ways, emboldened the forces of terror through their failure to draw moral red lines,” he said.
Yair Golan, an Israeli opposition politician, pointed the finger at Benjamin Netanyahu, and said his government is “fuelling antisemitism and hatred of Israel, and the result is unprecedented political isolation and danger to every Jew in every corner of the globe”.
Golan himself is being blamed by Itamar Ben Gvir and others after his claim this week that Israel “kills babies as a hobby”.
It was Isaac Herzog, Israel’s president, who tried to draw the country together by saying in a statement that “domestic Israeli political views have no significance” and urged Israelis to “stop this ugly mudslinging”.