Two staff members at the Israeli Embassy in Washington, DC, were killed Wednesday night near the Capital Jewish Museum, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said.
“Two Israeli Embassy staff were senselessly killed tonight near the Jewish Museum in Washington DC,” Noem said in a post on X. “We are actively investigating and working to get more information to share.”
Two people believed to be connected to the Israeli Embassy in Washington, DC, were shot Wednesday night near the Capital Jewish Museum, according to a source familiar with the situation and a law enforcement source. Another law enforcement source told CNN that two people were killed.
DC Police said its investigating a shooting across the street from the FBI’s Washington Field Office, which is located near the museum. The Israeli embassy is working with law enforcement.
The Israeli ambassador was not involved in the incident and was not at the location when the shooting happened, an embassy spokesperson told CNN.
US Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a post on social media that she and acting US Attorney for DC Jeanine Pirro have arrived to the scene of the shooting outside the Capital Jewish Museum.
Ted Deutch, the CEO of the American Jewish Committee, said his organization was hosting an event at the museum on Wednesday evening.
“We are devastated that an unspeakable act of violence took place outside the venue,” he said in a statement. “At this moment, as we await more information from the police about exactly what transpired, our attention and our hearts are solely with those who were harmed and their families.”
Israel’s Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon reacted to media reports of the shooting on Wednesday, saying in a statement on X, “The fatal shooting that took place outside the event that took place at the Jewish Museum in Washington, DC – in which Israeli embassy employees were also injured – is a depraved act of anti-Semitic terrorism.”
Police are advising people to avoid the area in Northwest DC.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
I've known people who work in embassies and yeah, a lot of those roles are most admin and organisational and accounting rather than being diplomats. But the fact that they were still working for the Israeli government at this point, isn't like working for the DMV. They're an essential cog in a genocide machine that only continues to exist and be tolerated because of the diplomatic connections they have with the US, the embassy in question.
It's adventurism sure, but it is targeted. A high ranking diplomat might have more impact in terms of narrative, but would be just as disposable and replaceable to the Israeli regime. Most 'diplomats' for a pariah regime, in a friendly country, are basically just payoff positions for members of the boys club. And if this makes the people who do the actual work of making the mechanism work more likely to want to leave the job, all the better.