People attend a candlelight vigil on May 22, 2025 at Lafayette Square across from the White House in Washington, D.C. in memory of Sarah Milgrim and Yaron Lischinsky, shot dead on May 21.
Photo: Mandel Ngan / AFP
Israel’s PM says Europe is stoking antisemitic sentiments by spreading lies about the war against Hamas.
In a wide-ranging video address on Thursday evening, Benjamin Netanyahu suggested it was no coincidence that the killing of a young couple outside Washington D.C.’s Jewish museum by a pro-Palestine (apparently Marxist) activist has followed on from European leaders’ demands for Israel to end its war against Hamas terrorists, as well as their buying into “Hamas’ propaganda” on aid entering the Strip.
The Israeli prime minister pointed in particular to the false claim that 14,000 Palestinian babies would die in 48 hours because of aid blockades, saying:
The press repeats it. The mob believed it. And a young couple is then brutally gunned down in Washington.
Last night in Washington something horrific happened.
A brutal terrorist shot in cold blood a young beautiful couple – Yaron Lischinsky and Sara Milgrim. Yaron had just bought an engagement ring for Sarah. He was planning to give it to her in Jerusalem next week. They were… pic.twitter.com/FFdMwlacJ9
— Benjamin Netanyahu – בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) May 22, 2025
The leaders of France, Britain and Canada—who this week threatened to take “concrete actions” if Israel does not stop a new military offensive against Hamas—have responded furiously to the claim they “have all, in different ways, emboldened the forces of terror through their failure to draw moral red lines.”
French foreign ministry spokesman Christophe Lemoine attacked these “completely outrageous and completely unjustified remarks,” adding that “France has condemned, France condemns and France will continue to condemn, always and unequivocally, any act of antisemitism.” The government in Britain—from which half the national Jewish population is reportedly considering fleeing—also said it “doesn’t recognise” the accusations, while Canada’s new prime minister, Mark Carney, said he was “appalled” by the shooting.
Elias Rodriguez has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder, murder of foreign officials and firearms offenses following the shooting in Washington, video footage from which shows him chanting “free Palestine.”
Netanyahu also said on Thursday that by criticising the expansion of Israel’s offensive, these leaders are emboldening Hamas.
They want Israel to stand down and accept that Hamas’s army of mass murderers will survive, rebuild and repeat the October 7th massacre … [They] may think that they’re advancing peace. They’re not. They’re emboldening Hamas to continue fighting forever.
Michael Curzon is a news writer for europeanconservative.com based in England’s Midlands. He is also Editor of Bournbrook Magazine, which he founded in 2019, and previously wrote for London’s Express Online. His Twitter handle is @MichaelCurzon_.
