Israeli FM 'throwing fuel into bonfire' by linking fatal DC shooting with critics of Gaza war

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00:00Hello, everyone. I'm François Picard. He chanted free, free Palestine after his arrest,

00:16a 31-year-old Chicago man, the lone suspect in the shooting death of two Israeli staff members

00:22who were killed outside a Jewish museum in the U.S. Capitol where an event was about to take

00:30place. Karis Garland has more. A street corner in the heart of the United States Capitol,

00:39now a crime scene. Two people were shot dead while leaving an event at the Capitol Jewish Museum on

00:45Wednesday night. Some of those attending the event described the initial confusion after hearing

00:50gunshots. They said the assailant was let into the museum at first believed to be a victim before

00:55he started chanting free Palestine. It was about 9.07 when we heard gunshots and then a man comes in.

01:04He looks really distressed and people are talking to him and trying to calm him down. When the cops

01:12actually came in, he said, I did this. He said, sir, I'm unarmed. He put his hands up. He grabbed a red

01:19coffee out of his pocket and started the free Palestine chants. You know, there's only one

01:23solution and to fought a revolution. Police identified the suspect as a 30-year-old man

01:28from Chicago who was not previously known to law enforcement. Prior to the shooting,

01:33the suspect was observed pacing back and forth outside of the museum. He approached a group of

01:39four people, produced a handgun and opened fire, striking both of our decedents. According to

01:46Israel's ambassador to the U.S., those killed in the attack were staff members of the Israeli embassy,

01:52a young couple about to be engaged, identified as Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgram.

01:58On a post to his social media platform, U.S. President Donald Trump offered his condolences

02:03to the families of the victims and said the attack was obviously based on anti-Semitism.

02:09The Israeli foreign minister echoed this and went further, saying the shooting was inspired by

02:14rhetoric about Israel's war in Gaza. There is a direct line connecting anti-Semitic and

02:19anti-Israeli incitement to this murder. His libels about genocide, crimes against humanity

02:27and murdering babies paved the way exactly for such murders. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

02:35Netanyahu said he had ordered beefed-up security measures at Israeli diplomatic missions worldwide.

02:43Well, for more, let's cross to Washington and correspondent Fraser Jackson. Fraser, what's the latest?

02:51A very different scene here today. And now we were here in the very early hours of the morning,

02:57up until about two o'clock in the morning when police started to wrap up the crimes. And you can see

03:01now those police cars have been replaced by media outside of the Jewish museum here. There is a

03:09significant media presence. This really has caught the attention of the media from around the world.

03:14But we're learning more, along with investigators, about the profile of this man. 30-year-old Elias

03:20Rodriguez, born and raised in Chicago. A LinkedIn profile to his name shows him as working at the

03:27Chicago-based American Osteopathic Information Association. Now, the officials have not confirmed

03:34that that is indeed the profile of the man who is being held in custody. But that association has

03:41released a statement saying, we are shocked and saddened to learn that an employee has been arrested

03:47as a suspect in this horrific crime. As a physician organization dedicated to protecting the health and

03:54sanctity of human life. We believe in the rights of all persons to live safely without fear of violence.

04:00Now, this man was previously unknown to police. And it's not currently known whether he is residing in

04:07Washington or whether he came here specifically for this attack. All of those kind of details,

04:12investigators are still working out. But we've heard from the Attorney General of the United States,

04:17Pam Bondi, who says that he will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. And we know that federal

04:23prosecutors are looking into this. And there are possible charges of hate crimes along with murder

04:29as well that he could potentially be facing. Some judicial sources that I'm hearing from as well also

04:34saying that it's a potential death penalty case. So some movement today. But of course, the investigation is

04:40still in the relatively early stages. And they are still ongoing, those investigations.

04:45And what's the mood on the day after?

04:47It's extremely somber here. We've seen a lot of press. Of course, like I said, this is captured media

04:56attention. But we're also seeing a lot of people who are wandering the area with T-shirts that say

05:01things like fight anti-Semitism. Some people draped in the Israeli flag as well. But of course,

05:07this kind of reflects the wider mood that a lot of Jews in America have been feeling. There has been a

05:13rising spiral of anti-Semitism in the United States ever since the October 7th attacks back in 2023.

05:20A lot of that, of course, sparked in part by the response that Israel gave to those attacks and those

05:26images of devastation that we've seen coming out of Gaza that, of course, has sparked public debate.

05:32And the rhetoric on both sides has become extremely heated. And it has become more than ever a very

05:38polarizing issue. So the mood quite somber. We're going to hear more from officials later on in the

05:44day. Donald Trump will be speaking at the White House to the White House pool within the next few

05:50hours. And we're also going to be hearing from Caroline Levitt, the press secretary at the White

05:54House. So we're likely to get more reaction from U.S. officials on the record rather than just

06:00statements. But of course, the feeling here really one of shock, anger and annoyance and frustration

06:07that these kind of hate crimes can happen. Fraser Jackson, reporting live there from Washington,

06:15D.C. We'll, of course, be crossing back to you when we know more. Let's get reaction from Israel

06:21with former Israeli diplomat, columnist Alan Pincus. Thank you for speaking with us here on France 24.

06:28Alan Pincus, I don't know if you can if you can hear us. The yeah, there you are. Perfect. The

06:44first off, you were stationed in the United States in the past. Your reaction to what happened?

06:52It's terrible. It's horrible. It's a terror attack. It is, you know, it's unimaginable and

06:59unspeakable. And the fact that it takes place in D.C. I worked at the embassy in D.C. in the late

07:061980s. You know, it's terrible. You know, it brings it's enmeshing a few elements here. Anti-Semitism,

07:20violence, the the availability and easily accessible weapons. You know, the whole the whole thing

07:29is is all included in one big tragedy. Trying to make something political and trying to extrapolate

07:40from this, I think, is somewhat both premature, but but primarily a mistake.

07:46We have Fraser Jackson was telling us earlier how it's too soon to say whether this couple,

07:51because they were a couple, was was singled out or were they the victims of of bad luck in this

07:58instance, because he pointed the gun at them. But they were going to get engaged to be married.

08:03Yeah. Look, I don't know the details. I mean, obviously, the Washington Metropolitan Police and

08:11the FBI will interrogate the the assailant, the the suspect, and they'll find out whether or not

08:21this was random. I mean, definitely he was there because he knew there was an event because and he

08:27knew there would be Jews and or Israeli embassy personnel, whether or not these particular two

08:34were targeted. I have no idea. But you know what? In all due respect, it doesn't matter. The man

08:40murdered two Israelis for the mere fact that they were Israelis. And that's and that's that's the

08:45bottom line here. Yeah. You're saying it's too early to draw all the conclusions. However,

08:52the French foreign ministry has reacted very sharply after remarks by Israel's foreign minister,

09:00Gideon Sarr, accusing unnamed European officials of, quote, toxic anti-Semitic incitement.

09:07And he blames a hostile climate on what happened in Washington on Wednesday evening. Your reaction to that?

09:14I think it's it's complete and utter nonsense and and unnecessary incendiary pontification.

09:24This has nothing to do with political statements made by France, the UK, Canada and the joint statement

09:32they made two days ago or by the EU Commission made two days ago. And this is not about.

09:39By the way, Francois, part of his criticism, the foreign minister's criticism was directed inward

09:46to opposition leader, one of the opposition leaders, Yair Golan, who just two days earlier

09:55accused the government of freely killing noncombatants and babies, he said, in Gaza. And that is why the

10:03government, the foreign minister in this particular instance, is trying to link the two.

10:08Oh, well, the French and the British and the Israeli opposition say all these things. And they

10:14emboldened and they empowered this this type of act of violence that that is absolute nonsense. He's

10:24saying this for political expediency and political reasons. And, you know, you would imagine that at

10:29the time you would hope rather that at a time like this, cool heads would rain. No, the exact contrary.

10:36He's just throwing fuel into the bonfire.

10:40You referenced that, those remarks made to on the radio two days ago by opposition politician,

10:48Yair Golan. Let's take a listen to that clip.

10:52Sure.

10:53I said this morning that we are a sane country that does not kill children. When ministers in this

11:01government celebrate the death and starvation of children, we must say so. I was referring solely

11:07to the most failed government in Israeli history, not to the IDF. Our mission is to ensure that Israel

11:12remains a sane country that does not kill children, either as a hobby or as a policy.

11:17Now, he's a former army general. Let me ask you, is that a minority point of view we just heard?

11:28That's a very good question, because if you look at the polls, it's a minority. It's like 20 percent,

11:3325 percent of the Israeli public as it is reflected in polls. But many, many voters, I would say above 50

11:41percent, feel extreme uneasiness and discomfort with the pictures they're seeing from Gaza.

11:49You know, and the reports coming out of indiscriminate, some writes, some exaggerated, but

11:56nonetheless, the reports coming out on indiscriminate bombings throughout 2024 and 2025. This is not

12:03a one-off incident. And so I think a lot of people feel, you know, they cringe when they hear him say

12:12this because they feel uncomfortable. Because you have to remember, Francois, in Israel, the military,

12:17the IDF is everyone. It's me. It's my neighbors. It's my daughters. It's my brothers. It's my father.

12:25So people feel uncomfortable when they're being told, when they see that this is what the IDF is doing at

12:31behest of the government and following a government policy. Yet, while cringing, they feel very

12:38uncomfortable admitting that this is what they're doing. Because if you admit that this is what we're

12:43doing, then you're doing it. Nonetheless, if you dig deeper, I'm sorry, into the polls, you will see that

12:52at least 50 percent of the public feels extraordinarily uncomfortable with these pictures coming out of

12:59Gaza in the last year. And that, of course, is not mutually exclusive from people justifying the war on its own merits.

13:06There's the last year, but there's also the last week where ever since Donald Trump went to the Gulf,

13:14the deaths have been by the dozens, according to authorities in the Hamas-controlled Palestinian

13:21territory. 52 killed this Thursday. That's just this Thursday. Why is it so intense, the airstrikes in the last week?

13:32I wish I had an intelligent answer to give you, Francois. I honestly, candidly do not. I don't understand what the

13:39purpose of this military offensive is. I don't understand what could be conceivably attained,

13:47what military objectives could be attained. It seems as an act of defiance by Mr. Netanyahu

13:58against the background of Mr. Trump, President Trump's trip to Saudi Arabia, the UAE, the United Arab Emirates,

14:05in Qatar, to show that the business as usual, we're going on, we have a mission. It's been 19,

14:12almost 20 months since October 2023 that Israel has been doing this. I just failed to see what is

14:21the objective of this. And by the way, I'm not some kind of lone voice who says the emperor has no clothes.

14:28A majority of former major generals, heads of Mossad, heads of the General Security Services also ask

14:36these questions day in and day out. What is it that Israel is trying to achieve with this military

14:43objective? I mean, if the idea is to occupy the entire Gaza Strip, okay, fine, I'm against that. But

14:49I understand the logic. Go ahead and do it. But they're not doing it. They're just bombing.

14:54And so I honestly have no clear answer. I know I, for someone who doesn't have a clear answer,

15:01I spoke too much, but I don't. We had in the Oval Office on Wednesday,

15:07when Donald Trump was with the South African president, he was, he kind of, he didn't,

15:13he didn't criticize or condone what was going on in the Gaza Strip when asked about it.

15:20Yeah. At this point in time, with, in light of this attack that took place on Wednesday evening,

15:27will that somehow change the Trump administration's policy towards all this?

15:34I doubt that. I mean, you know, it's very difficult for anyone, me included, to discern

15:41accurately what it is that Trump has in mind. But I'll tell you this, Francois, the most dangerous

15:47thing that he could do is become indifferent, become aloof, become oblivious to what's going on.

15:53Come out, come out with a statement a few days from now saying, basically, you know, I did my best,

15:59I tried. If these two, if the Palestinians and the Israelis want to bang their heads against the wall,

16:05they could be my guest, call me when you're ready. I'm out. I have Ukraine, I have Greenland,

16:11I have tariffs, I have immigration, I have China, I have other things to attend to.

16:18On the other hand, conversely, he's under, I don't know, I don't know if I can call it pressure,

16:24because I don't know the exact specifics, but he's certainly under the influence and the sway

16:31of the Saudis, the Emiratis and the Qataris to do something about this. And as you know,

16:36in the next few days, the Saudis and the French are convening some kind of a workshop or open

16:43conference to somehow draw or somehow sketch out an idea how to end the war. I think Trump could be

16:55amenable and receptive to such an idea. He wants this over. And at this point, he sees that Israel is

17:03is not playing along and is not being a team player as far as he is concerned. So I'm sure

17:10he's angry and displeased. What he will do, I don't know.

17:17Alan Pincus, many thanks for speaking with us from Tel Aviv.

17:21Thank you, Francois, always.

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