The tragic shooting outside the American Jewish Committee (AJC) Young Diplomats conference in Washington, D.C., which claimed the lives of two young Israeli embassy employees, has been condemned by CyberWell, an independent nonprofit dedicated to combating online antisemitism and Holocaust denial.
Tal-Or Cohen Montemayor, CyberWellโs Founder and Executive Director, expressed profound sorrow for the victims, a young couple who were reportedly planning to become engaged in Jerusalem, and their families. She emphasized that this horrific act of terror is a direct consequence of the widespread normalization of radical, violent, and pro-terror content on social media platforms.
โAt CyberWell, we are horrified by the recent terror attack outside of the American Jewish Committee (AJC) Young Diplomats conference,โ Montemayor said. โWe stand in full solidarity with our partners at AJC and the grieving families of the two victims of this act of terror.โ
The attacker, identified as Elias Rodriguez, a 30-year-old man from Chicago, reportedly shouted โFree, Free Palestineโ while being taken into custody. Witnesses described him wearing a kaffiyeh during the attack, which took place outside the Capital Jewish Museum, a prominent Jewish cultural institution in Washington, D.C. The victims, Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim, were staff members of the Israeli embassy attending the event focused on fostering diplomatic and humanitarian ties in the Middle East and North Africa.
CyberWell has been sounding the alarm since the Hamas massacre on October 7, 2023, about the unchecked proliferation of antisemitic and terror-glorifying content online. Montemayor explained that social media platforms have been systematically hijacked by Hamas supporters and their apologists, allowing hateful narratives to flourish with devastating real-world consequences.
โSince October 7 and for more than a year and a half during the ensuing war, their platforms have been hijacked by Hamas and their apologists with devastating consequences,โ she said. โThe result is an act of bloody terrorism on US soil.โ
The nonprofit highlights the alarming rise of Hamasโ inverted red triangle symbol spreading across social media feeds, often accompanied by calls to โethnically cleanse Jews from the River to the Seaโ and incitements to Intifada in the United States. CyberWell warns that this is no longer merely a digital crisis but a pressing national security issue.
โThe onus is on American tech companies to act,โ Montemayor urged. โIt is past time for decisive leadership against the use of our favorite apps and services to promote and glorify terror. This is no longer just a digital crisis; it is a national security crisis, which clearly and tragically has led to real-world consequences.โ
The FBI and the Washington Metropolitan Police Department are actively investigating the attack. Authorities have reassured the public that there is no ongoing threat. The American Jewish Committee, Israeli Embassy officials, and U.S. political leaders have condemned the attack as an act of antisemitic terrorism.
CyberWell continues to work closely with social media platforms, governments, and Jewish organizations worldwide to identify, report, and remove antisemitic content. The organizationโs open live database of antisemitic posts and its advanced monitoring technology provide critical insights into the evolving nature of online Jew-hatred.
This tragic shooting serves as a stark reminder that the failure to curb online antisemitism and terror glorification can lead to deadly violence. CyberWell calls on policymakers, tech companies, and the public to unite in combating this growing threat to Jewish communities and democratic societies.
This article is based on verified information from CyberWellโs May 2025 press release, official statements from the American Jewish Committee, the FBI, and police reports, and recent media coverage.