- 5/23/2025
Jewish lawmakers held a press briefing on Thursday on the Israeli embassy staff killed leaving Capital Jewish Museum in DC.
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00:00Driven by the idea that Washington stands for something, that in our founding as a nation, all people are created equal.
00:09Last night at this site, there was a gathering sponsored by the American Jewish Committee of young professionals,
00:16diplomatic professionals, who were dedicating their careers to the idea of building bridges.
00:24Bridges between people and bridges between nations.
00:26Jewish tradition, going back to Rabbi Hillel, famous quotation,
00:35if I am not for myself, who will be? But if I'm only for myself, what am I?
00:39The idea that we belong together.
00:43As a nation, our motto, e pluribus unum, for many one.
00:48That's the ideal we all believe in and strive for every day in this city.
00:53But there's another reality, a reality that's been true my entire life.
00:59As a young child, I remember going to synagogue on high holidays, and there would be extra security.
01:05There would be guards.
01:06In the 1970s, 80s, those guards started carrying longer guns.
01:13And in the last number of years, those guards have started appearing, not just on the high holidays, but every single day.
01:19And in the 19 months since October 7th, 2023, we have seen a rise of anti-Semitism that has been unprecedented in my lifetime.
01:34So much so to the point that people are told, don't wear an outwards display of your faith.
01:44Wear a baseball cap instead of a yarmulke.
01:46Take your Star of David and tuck it in your shirt.
01:49There is a real fear.
01:52So as we gather here today, we are overwhelming, overwhelmed by emotions.
02:00Emotions of grief at the loss of two beautiful young people who were prepared to make a life together.
02:08Heading to Israel to become engaged, to make a promise to each other for a future, united, and to have that future cut short last night.
02:22And instead, their families, rather than gathering under the chuppah, will be gathering beside a grave, saying a kaddish instead of seven blessings.
02:38We have grief, we have fear, but we're not surprised at what happened, and we are not going to back down.
02:49The resolve of all of us standing here, the resolve of every American Jew, the resolve of Jews around the world,
02:59is that we will hold on to who we are with pride and defiance.
03:06We know our place is in this city, in this country, for us, within the governing halls of the United States,
03:16and we will not let anyone tell us we don't belong.
03:24We are overwhelmed with the grief for two beautiful souls.
03:29But we must be inspired by their spirit and their example.
03:37They were here last night participating in the program about reaching out.
03:44That is who they are.
03:47That is how they will be remembered.
03:49We are here today to mark their murder, to express our sorrow.
03:57But we must stand to ensure their memory is always a blessing.
04:03We cannot let their death be in vain.
04:07We must stand up against hate, against anti-Semitism, against efforts to divide people,
04:13and instead make sure we work to unite people.
04:18Thank you very much.
04:19It's now my honor to turn over to my colleague, Jamie Raskin.
04:26I'm Jamie Raskin.
04:27I represent Maryland's 8th District, which is Montgomery County, Maryland, just next door.
04:32We've come to express our sorrow, our horror, our shock, and our outrage
04:40at the grievous anti-Semitic murder of these two beautiful young people.
04:48We've come to express our sympathy and our solidarity with their families and their friends,
04:54with everyone who has been affected by this nightmare.
04:59There is no justification ever for murder.
05:04There is no justification ever for terrorism.
05:09And we must stand unified as a community against the horror that just took place in the capital city yesterday.
05:20Anti-Semitism is a threat to Jewish people everywhere.
05:25It's a threat to other people everywhere.
05:30And anti-Semitism is the gateway to destruction of pluralism and democracy all over the world.
05:41So we must stand strong against this poison.
05:44And we must stand with the victims of anti-Semitism and every other form of racism and bigotry on Earth.
05:56And I just want to thank my colleagues from out of town who have decided to stay here
06:02in order to come to make this statement as Congress adjourns.
06:08And I want to thank Brad Schneider and Jerry Nadler for their leadership of the Jewish caucus.
06:15Sarah Jacobs from California.
06:17Like my colleagues, I'm horrified by the murder of Yaron and Sarah.
06:30May their memory be a blessing and a comfort to all who knew them.
06:34And I think it's important to talk about the significance of where we're standing today,
06:41the Capitol Jewish Museum.
06:43Because this museum serves as a hub for Jewish life, for Jewish community here in D.C.,
06:48for preserving and celebrating the rich history and culture and contributions of Jewish communities.
06:54It's a space for building community, creating dialogue and education,
06:59which is so needed to address the enduring stereotypes and misconceptions about the Jewish community.
07:05A shooting like this took lives from us.
07:09It's also meant to scare us.
07:13It's meant to take away the places where we should feel safe.
07:17It's meant so that every Jewish parent, like my brother and sister-in-law,
07:23who are dropping their babies off to a Jewish preschool this morning, take a little pause.
07:28It's meant so that every person who wears a yarmulke or a Jewish star, like I often do,
07:36wonders, should I wear this today?
07:39Should I put this on?
07:39It's meant so that every time we walk into a synagogue, into a community center, or just down the street,
07:49we wonder if we're safe.
07:53But we came here today to honor Yaron and Sarah.
07:58And to show that Jews will not shy away from public life.
08:03They are trying to scare us, but we will not be scared away.
08:06And we're going to keep working to rid the world of anti-Semitism
08:11and all forms of hatred and racism and bigotry.
08:14So that Jewish people and all people can feel safe everywhere.
08:21My colleague, Kim Schreier.
08:32Thank you for being here.
08:34I'm Kim Schreier.
08:35I represent sort of the middle of Washington State.
08:40And I am here with my Jewish colleagues, also in mourning and in sympathy with the families of Yaron and Sarah,
08:50who just came to an event last night, an event that any of us could have been at,
08:55and were gunned down because of either their religion or nationality by someone who didn't know anything about them,
09:05but targeted them for that reason.
09:08And it's a reminder.
09:10I mean, every time we start to feel safe and take a breath and feel like we're okay in this country,
09:20something happens.
09:22Tree of Life Synagogue.
09:22Tree of Life Synagogue, this absolute tragedy.
09:26And I think about, well, that's the reason that my son, since preschool, has been going to a synagogue with guards at the door,
09:35where you have to talk to somebody at the gate just to get into the parking lot.
09:39And these experiences are meant to scare us, but they're also meant as a reminder that these last 50 years have been kind of a break from thousands of years of anti-Semitism,
09:54that it's not gone, that it's been reborn since October 7th of 2023, and that we're all worried.
10:03And when it happens to one group, it means really no group is safe.
10:07And that's an important message to get across.
10:10We live in the United States of America.
10:13We have the ability to disagree, to disagree openly, to express thoughts, to protest peacefully,
10:20and political violence and hate crimes are never, ever the answer.
10:26And that just adds to the grief that we're all feeling right now for Yaron and for Sarah and for their families.
10:36Hi, I'm Laura Friedman, and I represent parts of Los Angeles.
10:44This is such a shocking and heartbreaking day.
10:47And when I saw the news early this morning of what happened last night, like my colleagues, I was heartbroken,
10:53but I also, unfortunately, was not completely shocked, because this event is one of a string of violent and despicable events
11:00that we have seen against the Jewish community for the last several years.
11:06But we can't let that become the norm in this country.
11:09It shouldn't be normal or acceptable that my synagogue in Los Angeles was tagged with swastikas.
11:15It can't be normal that my 11-year-old goes to Hebrew school on Sunday
11:19and has to have an armed guard open the door to protect a bunch of 10- and 11-year-olds.
11:26It can't be normal that after a horrific murder that everyone in this nation should be condemning,
11:32we also wake up to see online responses, thousands of people in this country,
11:40probably some of them real people, hopefully a lot of them bots,
11:43but probably some real people, justifying this murder,
11:49excusing this murder,
11:51trying to minimize this murder.
11:56That should be unacceptable to everyone in this nation.
12:00Because if, like me, if you believe that America is a place
12:03where everyone is welcome
12:05and everyone should be able to practice their religion freely,
12:08if, like me, you believe
12:11that everyone in this country should feel safe
12:15regardless of their political views,
12:18their sexual orientation,
12:19their religion or their race,
12:21if your religion commands you
12:23to welcome a stranger in a strange land,
12:26if you believe in law and order,
12:28if you're any of those things,
12:30if those are your values,
12:32there's no way that you could justify
12:34or minimize
12:36this horrific murder.
12:38or any anti-Semitic event.
12:41And we have got to,
12:43as people who hold those values as Americans,
12:46push back on the violent rhetoric
12:48that we see on the extremes in this nation.
12:53The extremist movements that we see
12:55that choose to take individuals
12:59and put them into groups
13:01that they feel are lesser than
13:03or are unwanted
13:05and refuse to see the humanity
13:07and the American-ness
13:08behind every single individual
13:10in this country.
13:13We all have a responsibility
13:14to push back on the conspiracy theorists
13:17among us
13:17who, in the case of anti-Semitism,
13:22choose to underlie their conspiracy theories
13:24with ancient anti-Semitic tropes
13:27about the Jews being controllers,
13:28controllers of media,
13:30controllers of capital,
13:31controllers of opinion.
13:33And whenever those opinions
13:35creep into the discourse online
13:37or in person,
13:38all of us have a responsibility,
13:40Jew and non-Jew,
13:41to say,
13:42no,
13:42that's not who we are as Americans,
13:44that's not who we want our nation to be.
13:46But we want a different kind of America.
13:49Because what we are seeing now
13:52is completely unacceptable
13:53and everyone should be standing up
13:55to reclaim the soul of this country.
14:00And that, I think,
14:00will take questions.
14:01All right, let's start.
14:07Mike Ryan and I with I-24 News.
14:10Republicans agree or disagree,
14:13and there are good faith disagreements,
14:14certainly with their positions on anti-Semitism.
14:17They've developed a platform.
14:19They've taken concrete actions.
14:21What, beyond slogans, platitudes,
14:24what concrete actions
14:26are Democrats proposing
14:28to deal with this rise of anti-Semitism
14:31beyond the national strategy
14:33that Mr. Emhoff put out last year?
14:35What is the plan here?
14:37You answered the question.
14:38Last year, President Biden and...
14:42Last year, the administration,
14:47under the leadership of President Biden,
14:49with second gentleman Emhoff,
14:51put out a all-of-government strategy
14:55to address anti-Semitism.
14:57Did they do anything with you?
15:00So, it's...
15:01This is something that isn't a partisan issue.
15:04Democrats and Republicans need to work together
15:06to stand up against anti-Semitism
15:09whenever it rises, from wherever it rises,
15:12and be clear that there is no room for hate in our country,
15:15that we will welcome all people into our country
15:18who believe in the ideals
15:20defined in our Declaration of Independence
15:22and our Constitution.
15:23And we have been working with that.
15:24We have a bipartisan task force
15:27fighting anti-Semitism
15:28that goes back to 2014.
15:31So, it's...
15:32Can I...
15:33Yeah, please.
15:33I'd love to jump in and add,
15:35as a senior member of the Appropriations Committee,
15:37I can run through a list
15:39for anyone who would like to know
15:42what Democrats have attempted to do.
15:45I want to just make sure
15:46that it's understood
15:47that we're here
15:48to express grief
15:50and to express our outrage
15:54about the death of...
15:56of the murder
15:57of two young,
15:59incredibly beautiful people
16:01who had their whole lives ahead of them
16:02and that this hate has to stop.
16:05And so, let's show you
16:07how we can stop anti-Semitism in its tracks.
16:10We need to all come together
16:12to increase the funding
16:14for the Office of Civil Rights
16:15and the Department of Education.
16:16When I offered an amendment
16:18last year
16:19during the appropriations process
16:21in committee,
16:23Democrats supported the amendment
16:24to increase that funding.
16:26This is the office
16:27that investigates anti-Semitism
16:30in educational institutions
16:32all across the country
16:33and, unfortunately,
16:35Republicans opposed it.
16:38We have had years and years
16:41of fighting to increase
16:43the funding
16:44for non-profit security grants.
16:45Non-profit security grants
16:47is the funding
16:49for institutions
16:50like the Capitol Jewish Museum,
16:52like synagogues
16:53and mosques
16:54and other religious institutions
16:56and non-profit organizations
16:58and JCCs across the country
16:59that, sadly,
17:00have to fund
17:01the security guards
17:03and the security infrastructure
17:05and architecture
17:06to keep congregants
17:08and participants
17:09in events
17:09that attend events
17:11like the one from last night
17:12that keep them safe.
17:14But we have not always
17:15had bipartisan support
17:17to increase that funding.
17:19We've had an administration
17:20that has for a time
17:22refused to release funding
17:23that was already appropriated.
17:25And so making sure
17:27that we actually
17:28are fully engaged
17:30in getting resources
17:31out in these communities
17:33to keep people safe,
17:34which is what I was referencing
17:35when I opened my remarks,
17:37is critical.
17:38But I'll just close
17:39on this question
17:40with this.
17:41We all need to stand together
17:43to fight anti-Semitism
17:44in any form of hate
17:45and bigotry.
17:46What we don't need
17:47is to be weaponizing
17:49anti-Semitism,
17:50to use anti-Semitism
17:52as a weapon
17:53and as an excuse
17:54to discriminate against
17:56and to perpetrate hate
17:57against other people
17:59and take away
18:00other people's rights.
18:01I just had my
18:03last two children
18:04graduate from college
18:06two weeks ago.
18:07You're welcome.
18:09They're launched.
18:11And I can tell you
18:14that we heard stories
18:16from my kids' friends
18:18and even on the campus
18:20that they attended,
18:22and I worried every day.
18:25Congresswoman Schreier,
18:26Congressman Schneider,
18:27and I sat down last year
18:29with kids from Georgetown,
18:31George Mason, and GW
18:33when the encampment
18:34was still embedded
18:36on that campus.
18:38And we heard their fear
18:39and the persecution
18:41that they went through,
18:43the halting and preventing
18:44of them from being able
18:46to cross the threshold
18:47of their classroom doors,
18:49being spat upon.
18:50And we helped make sure
18:52that we could get
18:54that encampment
18:55encampment disassembled
18:56and that we stood
18:58with students
19:00across this country
19:00to help make sure
19:02we could keep them safe.
19:03But we're not going
19:04to allow our community
19:05and anti-Semitism
19:07to be used as a weapon
19:09that will just blow back
19:10on our community
19:11like it always does
19:12for Jews,
19:13because eventually
19:14we get blamed
19:15for everything.
19:17And so, yes,
19:17we must stand
19:18against anti-Semitism.
19:19We must use resources
19:21and we need to have
19:22the whole of government
19:23plans that the Biden
19:25administration implemented
19:26to truly ensure
19:27that we can embed
19:28the fight against
19:29anti-Semitism
19:30in every policymaking decision
19:33across this country.
19:34Thank you for being here.
19:37I would just like to put
19:40an even finer point
19:42on this.
19:43I want to be really clear
19:46that what is happening
19:49right now
19:50with using anti-Semitism
19:52as an excuse
19:53specifically to crack down
19:55on institutions
19:58of higher learning,
20:00that is not acceptable
20:01to the vast majority
20:03of American Jews.
20:04It is antithetical
20:06to our values.
20:08We understand
20:09that these institutions
20:11are the institutions
20:12that support liberal,
20:15democratic values,
20:17the values that allow
20:18Jewish people
20:19in this country
20:20to thrive
20:20and accomplish
20:22for the past 50 years.
20:24And I just want to condemn
20:25using us as an excuse
20:27to crack down
20:29on free speech
20:30and to crack down
20:31on students
20:32and to deny funding
20:34for our universities
20:35that we all graduated from
20:37and we are so proud of.
20:40That is my comment.
20:42Next question.
20:42Any other questions?
20:44I apologize.
20:45Some of us have planes,
20:46so we're going to wrap it up here
20:47and we can take individual questions
20:49as we go.
20:50And none of us have slept today.
20:51Yeah, right.
20:52Thank you very much.
20:53We'll take questions
20:53off to the side.
20:54Thank you so much.
20:55Thanks again.
20:56May their memories be a blessing.