The recent shooting of two Israeli Embassy staff members in Washington, D.C., following a Jewish event on Wednesday underscores the ongoing challenges faced by American cities in safeguarding Jewish communities and sites. These locations have been frequently targeted by extremists and terrorists over the years.
Anti-Jewish hate crimes have reached unprecedented levels, according to FBI data shared by the Anti-Defamation League. Notable incidents include the Tree of Life synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh in 2018 and the terrorist attack carried out by Hamas on Israel on October 7, 2023.
Large police departments, like the NYPD, have been focused on target-hardening efforts to improve safety in and around Jewish landmarks for years.
“Regrettably, for decades, Jewish and Israeli-themed locations and events have required extra vigilance,” stated Paul Mauro, a retired NYPD Inspector. “This necessity has only intensified after 9/11, the Tree of Life shooting in Pittsburgh, October 7, and numerous other incidents.”
Mauro told Fox News Digital that visible security measures may have influenced the decision to attack outside the venue rather than within the building.
“The fact that the story is that he was pacing around out front, and that the event was going on right there, and then he decided to do it outside?” he said. “He traveled all the way from Chicago to do this?”
NYPD Counterterrorism Unit officers stand alert outside the Israeli Consulate in New York City, May 22, 2025. This is part of an increase in security at Jewish organizations nationwide after an Israeli couple was killed in Washington, D.C. (Kevin C. Downs for Fox News Digital)
He noted that the venue and organizers did have some security measures in place. The invitations were encrypted and limited. At least one off-duty MPD officer was inside for security.
The officer, who was wearing a police vest, may have scared the suspected gunman from opening fire inside the building, he said.
“I think he saw the security and said, ‘I’m better off not going in there and getting shot myself,'” Mauro speculated. “He didn’t decide to shoot it out. He decided to pull a Mangione. He wanted to live.”
Luigi Mangione, a 27-year-old Ivy League grad turned suspected killer, is accused of gunning down UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson from behind after stalking him in Manhattan. He allegedly had a manifesto outlining his disdain for the health insurance industry in his backpack when police arrested him at a Pennsylvania McDonald’s days later.
Security officers surround the Israeli Embassy in Washington, DC, on May 22, 2025, following a shooting that left two people dead. Two Israeli embassy staffers, identified as Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Lynn Milgrim by the Israeli foreign ministry, were shot dead late May 21, outside a Jewish museum in Washington by a gunman who shouted “free Palestine,” authorities said, with US officials and Israeli diplomats expressing shock and outrage over the killings. (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)
A possible manifesto from Rodriguez was being investigated by the FBI to verify its authenticity, Deputy Director Dan Bongino revealed on X Thursday.
The Jewish community has also taken its own measures to increase security.
Texas resident David Katz, a former DEA agent and the CEO of the Global Security Group, uses his expertise on active-shooter response to train Jewish volunteers to protect their own synagogues on the side.
NYPD Counterterrorism Unit officers stand alert outside the Israeli Consulate in New York City, May 22, 2025. This is part of an increase in security at Jewish organizations nationwide after an Israeli couple was killed in Washington, D.C. (Kevin C. Downs for Fox News Digital)
“I can’t believe, still, that someone could be pacing in an agitated manner outside a major Jewish institution and no one challenges the guy?” he told Fox News Digital. “No one calls the police to even interview him?”
An outside presence is a key aspect of security that Katz teaches, he said.
“In my synagogue, one of the volunteers would simply go out and say hi,” he explained. “Engage the person and see how they respond. You look for body language clues while scanning for concealed weapons. We would have back-up volunteers ready to act. Everyone is armed and everyone is trained.”
