The fatal shooting of two Israeli Embassy staffers has left the American Jewish community reeling after more than a year of surging antisemitism.

Yuval David, a filmmaker and Jewish activist who lives in Washington, D.C., told Fox News Digital that the murders of Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim were “too close by for every Jew in America.”

“I was very close by in Washington, D.C., and the thing is, even though I was just merely blocks away, this is too close by for every Jew in America,” David said. “This is our nation’s capital. Jews now have increased security at our businesses, at Jewish schools, at Jewish synagogues, and it shows us that whatever increased security we have is not enough because two people were murdered last night.”

Sarah Lynn Milgrim and Yaron Lischinsky were about to be engaged. (Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

The Jewish activist said that he experienced antisemitism in the nation’s capital long before Lischinsky and Milgrim were fatally shot. According to the ADL’s annual antisemitism audit for 2024, David is far from the only one. The organization recorded 151 antisemitic incidents in Washington, D.C., throughout 2024.

“I personally have been yelled at, have been spit at here in Washington, D.C. on the streets of our nation’s capital. And I speak out about it very openly as I address this ever-increasing antisemitism, anti-Jewish racism, anti-Jewish hatred, anti-Jewish bigotry, which seems in the haters’ minds to be justified when they call it anti-Israel or anti-Zionism.”

Police officers work at the site where, according to the U.S. Homeland Security Secretary, two Israeli Embassy staffers were shot dead near the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., on May 21, 2025. (REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst)

David is urging Americans to realize that the hatred and attacks go beyond the Jewish community — they are also attacks on the U.S.

“Some people are saying America next, but it’s clear that America’s not next — it’s happening here right now,” David said.