ICYMI: SCN Responds to Targeted Attack Outside Capital Jewish Museum

In the immediate aftermath of last week’s deadly shooting of two Israeli Embassy staff members outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., SCN launched a rapid, coordinated response, working closely with the Metropolitan Police Department, the FBI, and key communal partners.

From real-time threat assessments to the issuance of updated security recommendations, SCN has maintained close contact with its national network of security directors, community leaders, and law enforcement agencies. SCN also hosted a briefing for security professionals, liaisons, and public safety partners, which drew over 500 participants nationwide.

SCN’s National Director and CEO, Michael Masters, engaged with major media outlets to provide timely and accurate updates on the incident and its broader implications for the current threat environment and Jewish communal security posture.

As authorities continue to investigate what has been classified as an act of terror, SCN remains focused on strengthening preparedness, reinforcing vigilance, and supporting resilience across Jewish communities nationwide.

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Evening Edition: Israeli Embassy Staffers Killed In D.C. Terror Attack

Two Israeli embassy staffers were shot and killed Wednesday evening in a targeted attack outside the Capital Jewish Museum. The suspect has been identified as 30-year-old Elias Rodriguez of Chicago who shouted “Free, Free Palestine” while being taken into custody by law enforcement.

The victims were identified as were identified as Yaron Lischinsky, an Israeli citizen, and Sarah Milgrim, an American woman, the young couple were about to be engaged. FOX’s John Saucier speaks with Michael Masters, CEO and National Director Of The Secure Community Network, which serves as the official safety and security organization for ‘The Jewish Community In North America’, who says the threat against the Jewish community is extremely high following this tragedy and the rest of the country needs to listen to what these attackers say, because it does reveal who they truly are.

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Chicago Shooter In D.C. Jewish Museum Attack Part Of Growing Antisemitic Threat, Leaders Warn

NBC 5 Investigates has learned how the confessed shooter from Chicago managed to fly from O’Hare International Airport to Washington, D.C. with the gun that he would use Wednesday evening to open fire on people leaving the Capitol Jewish Museum.

Michael Masters, the  National Director and CEO of Secure Community Network, a Chicago group that monitors threats against America’s Jewish community and institutions, said the attack represents a nationwide problem with antisemitism that is quickly growing.

“It’s an ongoing issue every single day. You know, last month alone, over 400 threat incidents and suspicious activity reports directed against the Jewish community. We referred close to 70 individuals to our law enforcement partners who presented a clear threat to Jewish lives. And I, I would let that sink in for people, simply because someone is a member of a faith-based community, they are seeking to practice their religion in a country that guarantees religious freedom and is the hallmark of democracy,” Masters said.

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After Deadly Shooting, U.S. Jewish Security Leaders Urge Vigilance Amid Threat Of Copycats

In 2022, a shooter in Oregon sprayed a Safeway grocery store with an assault rifle, killing an employee and an 84-year-old customer. His inspiration, he said in a manifesto, was a mass shooting more than 20 years before that has animated a series of deadly attacks since — the Columbine High School massacre that killed 16 people in 1999.

After an attacker killed two Israeli embassy staffers in Washington, DC, on Wednesday, Jewish security officials fear the shooting could also inspire copycats, and urged the community to double down on security measures.

“Active shooters, individuals that undertake mass attacks, still reference the offenders in that case as inspirers of their activity,” Michael Masters, the head of the Secure Community Network, a Jewish security group, said of Columbine.

“That copycat attack issue is probably first and foremost on our mind,” Masters said. “That is the concern, and it is what I know that we are focused on, other partners are focused on, law enforcement is focused on.”

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U.S. Jewish Groups Issue New Security Guidances Following Deadly Washington Shooting

Leading Jewish organizations issued new security recommendations for the embattled community shortly after the paradigm-shifting killing of two Israeli embassy staffers outside D.C.’s Capital Jewish Museum.

The policy recommendations indicate that the widespread concerns are about the possibility of further violence stemming from the incident, which occurred outside an American Jewish Committee event advertised for young Jewish professionals and foreign diplomats.

“The targeted attack last night at a known Jewish event at a known Jewish venue hosted by a known Jewish organization represents, in our assessment, an elevation in the threat-level to the Jewish community — broadly at a time of already heightened threats,” Secure Community Network CEO Michael Masters told Haaretz.

“We have accelerated investments over the last five-to-seven years, dramatically, and unfortunately, the reality of the attack Wednesday highlighted why that is so necessary,” Masters says.

Masters’ organization — along with the Jewish Federations of North America, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), Community Security Service (CSS), and Community Security Initiative (CSI) of New York — urged Jewish groups either hosting events or open to the community to undertake several separate actions if applicable.

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‘Another Wake-Up Call,’ US Jewish Leaders Say After Gunman Kills Two Israeli Embassy Staffers In D.C.

Representatives of a stunned U.S. Jewish community said in a conference call with reporters on Thursday that current levels of protection are insufficient after a gunman shot and killed Yaron Lischinsky, 30, and Sarah Milgrim, 26, both employees of the Israeli embassy, outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., the prior night.

The ADL and the Conference of Presidents joined the Jewish Federations of North America, American Jewish Committee and the Secure Community Network in calling for more security funding and a greater federal effort to protect U.S. Jews from rising Jew-hatred. 

In the interim, the ADL, Federation, Secure Community Network, Community Security Service and Community Security Initiative of New York issued a series of recommendations to increase following the shootings.

Those include coordinating with local law enforcement, setting up security perimeters further away from events, limiting attendance to those who are pre-screened or known to the organizers, providing details about time and place only to those who have registered and considering having law enforcement officers, private security or volunteers.

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