In recent days, a devastating truth has begun to break through the fog of official denials and diplomatic euphemisms: 14,000 Palestinian babies could die in Gaza within 48 hours if Israel’s total siege continues. That stark warning comes not from activists or opposition politicians, but from Tom Fletcher, the United Nations’ top humanitarian official. And as pressure mounts on Western governments complicit in the starvation of Gaza’s children, a suspiciously timed escalation is being weaponized to silence dissent.
On May 21st, two Israeli embassy staff were shot dead in Washington, D.C., near the Capital Jewish Museum. One of them, Yaron Lischinsky, was a former soldier in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), according to his LinkedIn profile. He was also reportedly a German immigrant to Israel — a detail often omitted from public commentary, but one worth noting in the context of the narrative now being shaped around his death.
Almost immediately, Israeli officials framed the shooting as an act of antisemitic terrorism. Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar described the killings as a result of “absolutely toxic antisemitic incitement” and declared that Israeli missions abroad were now targets of “antisemitic violence.” Minister Amichai Chikli blamed Western leaders, including those of the UK, France, and Canada, for “emboldening the forces of terror” by condemning Israel’s offensive in Gaza and calling for humanitarian aid to be restored.
But there is reason to question the narrative Israel is working rapidly to cement. According to multiple sources, the shooter reportedly shouted “Free Palestine” during the attack. That phrase — a rallying cry of the global movement against the Israeli siege of Gaza — is a political statement, not a racial or religious one. The framing of the act as inherently antisemitic fails to reflect the content of the shout, which directly referenced the policies and actions of the Israeli state, not the Jewish people as a whole.
This distinction matters. There is a profound and dangerous difference between protesting a government’s actions and targeting people for their religion. If, as it appears, the shooter was reacting to Israel’s conduct in Gaza — conduct many experts now classify as genocidal — then characterizing the motive as antisemitic may be both misleading and politically expedient.
Lischinsky’s background further complicates this narrative. Being a German national-turned-Israeli citizen, he was not a Semite in the ethnolinguistic sense often invoked in discussions of antisemitism. This fact underscores the broader issue: the term “antisemitism” is increasingly being stretched beyond recognition to shield the Israeli state from accountability — even when the critique or act in question is explicitly tied to Israel’s military actions, not Jewish identity.
The timing of the shooting is also raising eyebrows. It came amid mounting international condemnation of Israel’s starvation blockade on Gaza and within hours of aid officials warning of a looming mass death of infants. Israel’s leaders are now attempting to reframe all dissent — even from heads of state — as hate speech, a tactic which neatly dovetails with the agenda laid out in Project Esther.
The recently leaked Heritage Foundation policy blueprint aims to criminalize pro-Palestine activism by branding it as “material support for terrorism.” Written by Trump-aligned operatives Victoria Coates, Robert Greenway, and Daniel Flesch, and coordinated closely with Israeli officials, Project Esther envisions a United States where the Department of Justice is empowered to surveil, prosecute, and financially dismantle pro-Palestine organizations, student groups, and media outlets.
Already, elements of this plan are being executed. Foreign students are having visas revoked, universities are facing funding threats, and social media companies are being pressured to censor Palestine-related content. As the Heritage Foundation’s team boasted, “It is no coincidence that we called for a series of actions… and they’re now happening.”
While the U.S. narrative turns inward toward “terror threats,” the reality in Gaza grows increasingly apocalyptic. The siege has now spanned months, with Israel blocking food, medicine, and water — a flagrant violation of international law. UN trucks filled with baby formula and nutritional supplements sit idle at the border, unable to enter. Fletcher warned that 14,000 infants are likely to die in the coming days if nothing changes.
And yet, Israel’s leadership is focused not on altering its military strategy, but on controlling the optics. Prime Minister Netanyahu admitted as much in a recent video message: “We need to do it in a way that they [our allies] won’t stop us.” Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich went further, boasting that Gaza is being “disassembled” and left in ruins. He promised only minimal, symbolic humanitarian relief — “a handful of bakeries” handing out pita bread — designed not to stop the famine, but to stop the photos of famine.
This is not a campaign to stop Hamas, critics argue. This is a campaign to destroy a people — and to destroy any political movement that opposes that destruction.
Even prominent Israelis are beginning to speak out. Former IDF general and Knesset member Yair Golan warned that Israel is on track to become a global pariah, likening its conduct to that of apartheid South Africa. In response, Netanyahu accused him — a Jewish Israeli — of “antisemitic blood libels.”
And yet, in London and Washington, the response remains muted. The UK has suspended trade negotiations and summoned the Israeli ambassador, but continues to sell arms to the very government it publicly scolds. U.S. officials have largely echoed Israeli talking points while quietly implementing the measures laid out in Project Esther.
The shooting in Washington is now being cynically instrumentalized — not to reflect on how Israeli policy has radicalized global opinion, but to justify further suppression of speech and protest. By mislabeling political outrage as ethnic hatred, officials are attempting to redraw the boundaries of acceptable discourse and erase any distinction between Israel and Judaism, between criticism and bigotry, between solidarity and terrorism.
But history will not be gaslit. The facts on the ground in Gaza, the leaked blueprints for repression, and the grotesque pride with which Israeli officials describe their war of starvation will all be remembered.
As Israeli journalist Iris Leal recently wrote:
“There will come a day when everyone who remained silent about the killing and starvation — everyone who supported this disaster — will not know what to do with themselves out of shame. And that day is not far away.”