Embassy staffers hate-driven killing: Letters to the Editor May 26, 2025
The Issue: Two Israeli embassy staffers who were shot and killed in Washington, DC, on Wednesday.There’s no question that America’s Jews are experiencing an unprecedented level of rampant antisemitism (“Home grown terror,” May 23).Attacks in Charlottesville (2017), Pittsburgh (2018), Poway (2019), Jersey City (2019) and Colleyville, Texas (2022) all occurred before Hamas murdered 1,200 Israelis in October 2023, igniting anti-Israel protests across America.The recent murders of Israeli embassy staffers reminded me of Mel Brooks’ take on the Inquisition: Antisemitism is here, and it’s here to stay.I cannot enter a synagogue, Jewish school or Jewish community center without being greeted by armed guards.It’s irrelevant whether a Jew supports Israel, believes that Israel has committed war crimes in Gaza and/or Palestine or doesn’t even have an opinion.Every Jew is now fair game.Paul L.
NewmanMerion Station, Pa.Elias Rodriguez has gained instant notoriety, if not outright stardom, in his killing of two Israeli embassy staffers.He has now become the poster child of antisemites and those seeking Israel’s outright destruction worldwide.Raised fists and celebrations are sure to follow, not only among Hamas and its followers but among right- and left-wing extremists both off and on campus within our own beloved country.History continues to repeat itself.And for those who think otherwise, Elias Rodriguez and his ilk will set you straight.
S.P.HershLawrenceMuch will be written and said in the weeks ahead about Rodriguez and his hate for the Jewish people and America.In America, he is innocent until proven guilty.
But I believe he should be dealt with on a federal level, and if convicted, be sentenced to death.There is no difference between him and Timothy McVeigh, who was responsible for the death of 168 men and women who perished in a violent explosion that McVeigh made and planted.It, too, was deliberate and premeditated.America must defend itself agains...