A glass of water, offered with concern to a upset man, became the involuntary symbol of the tragedy that on Wednesday evening a Washington He cost the life of a young boyfriend couple. Immediately after the shooting in front of the capital Jewish Museum, the staff welcomed Elias Rodriguez Inside, believing him a witness in a state of shock, and offered him a glass of water. Nobody imagined that that man with a lost air was the author of the attack that had just torn his life to two young officials of the Israeli embassy. The attack took place around 9 pm, at the end of an evening organized by American Jewish Committee for young diplomats. The boy lischinsky30 years old, e Sarah Lynn Milgrim26, they had just left the museum when Rodriguez opened fire. Ironically, the two were a couple engaged in Israeli-Palestinian dialogue projects. Rodriguez, 31 years old, residing in Chicago, had already been noticed before the attack as he walked nervously in front of the entrance. After the shots, he entered the museum by mixing with the guests. Not armed, visibly agitated, it was treated as a survivor. Only when he unrolled a red Kefiah and shouted «Free Palestine! I did it for Gaza “the truth emerged. The security staff stopped and handed him over to the police. He did not resist.

Washington, who were Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim: the two victims were about to marry. “He bought the ring this week”

The attack

According to the FBI, it was a “act of targeted violence”. Deputy Director Dan Bongino spoke of “anti -Semitic codardia” and promised “severe penalties”. Yesterday morning, Trump called Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to express his “deep condolences”. According to what the office of Netanyahu reported, the Prime Minister, in turn, “thanked the president for the fight against anti -Semitism in the USA”. Yesterday, almost responding to Bibi, Trump revoked Harvard certification of the program for foreign students. Trump has been at war for months with the famous and historic university, who has accused of tolerating anti -Semitism in the campus. The gesture, which follows the cut of funding for research, could be tragic for the university, whose 27% of the student body is foreigner. The Museum of the attack, not far from the Capitol, had just been selected to receive new municipal funds dedicated to safety. A few days before the tragedy, the administration of the mayor Muriel Bowser had announced a specific contribution to strengthen the protection of sensitive sites, including the capital Jewish Museum. “Many Jewish institutions – he said – are forced to spend important figures only in order to keep the doors open”. The strongest words came from Joel Rubin, a former deputy secretary of state and a well -known figure of the progressive Jewish world: “This is today the Jewish being in America. We can no longer enter the synagogue or go to an event without crossing a metal detector. We often keep secret the place where we plan to meet. Our children see all this, and grow in an atmosphere of fear. But we will not give up ». The Orthodox community has openly spoke of the “direct result” of the demonization of the state of Israel: “Whoever asks for the end of the Jewish state – wrote Rabbi Moshe Hauer – launches an appeal to violence. And that appeal was collected “.

The killer

In this case, the thirty-one year old Elias Rodriguez, a researcher graduated in English literature, who had worked for non-profit medical organizations collected it. Rodriguez was uncensored, and yet he had so extremist ideas that the same party for socialism and liberation (PSL), a Marxist-Leninist party of which he had been part of, had distanced himself from him. In recent months, he had written online increasingly radical and violent content, including appeals to “bring war to home”. He would also have published a 900 words manifesto the day before the attack. In the document, Rodriguez described the imminent violent aggression as an act of theatrical protest in response to the war in Gaza, expressed support for the Palestinian cause and criticized the hypocrisy of humanity. The manifesto ended with the phrase “Free Palestine” and a declaration of love for his family. The attack arrives in a moment of strong polarization linked to the conflict in the Middle East, but touched Washington’s heart precisely for its brutality and for the fact that it hit an evening dedicated to diplomacy and dialogue. A tragic irony, as Jojo Kalin, the organizer of the event observed: “We talked about building bridges, and we found ourselves hit by a river of hatred”.

Elias Rodriguez, who is the suspicious killer of the Washington attack. “He pretended a witness waiting for the police”