A New York Times opinion piece by columnist Masha Gessen is drawing backlash for framing two violent attacks on Jews in the U.S. as political acts tied to the war in Gaza, rather than antisemitic terrorism.
In the column, Gessen argues that recent assaults in Boulder, Colorado, and Washington, D.C., were motivated by anger over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict — not by a hatred of Jews. Gessen acknowledged the fear these attacks caused in Jewish communities but insisted they were inextricable from the war in Gaza and not akin to a synagogue shooting or a targeted act of antisemitism.
The response was swift and heated.
Critics say Gessen’s take dangerously minimizes the antisemitic elements of the violence. In Boulder, 45-year-old Mohamed Sabry Soliman threw Molotov cocktails at a pro-Israel rally. Witnesses say he shouted anti-Zionist slogans during the attack. One of the victims, 82-year-old Karen Diamond, died a month later from her injuries. (Diamond, a Holocaust survivor, was a well-known community figure in Boulder.)
In Washington, D.C., Elias Rodriguez fatally shot two Israeli embassy employees near the Capital Jewish Museum. As police took him into custody, Rodriguez reportedly shouted, “Free, free Palestine!”
The New York Times defended publishing Gessen’s piece, citing its responsibility to feature a range of viewpoints. But critics say that perspective comes at a cost — especially as antisemitic incidents have spiked nationwide following Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, terror attacks.
Nonetheless, Gessen contended that “violence that looks antisemitic may — even when it very effectively serves to scare a great many Jews — be something else.”
The Washington Free Beacon reports:
“Neither of these events was exclusive to Jews, as a synagogue service might be. Both events were inextricable from the war in Gaza,” Gessen wrote. “And though the violence in Boulder was wide ranging, the shooting in Washington seems to have been very specifically targeted—at two representatives of the Israeli government.”
Both attackers, however, targeted events that would attract Jews specifically. Elias Rodriguez shot and killed Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim outside the Capital Jewish Museum at point blank range and screamed “Free, free Palestine” upon his arrest. Mohamed Soliman threw two molotov cocktails—with 16 more and a makeshift flamethrower nearby—at a group that meets weekly to support Israeli hostages in Hamas captivity, injuring 15, including an 88-year-old Holocaust survivor. Soliman was caught on film yelling to “end Zionists.”
The terror attacks have reverberated across Jewish communities. Boulder-area Jews rallied after the firebombing, but told the Washington Free Beacon that the incidents have left them on edge, if not fearful.
Gessen’s column comes as anti-Semitic incidents surge across the nation, with the Anti-Defamation League reporting more than 10,000 incidents in the year after Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack, marking over a 200 percent increase. It also contradicts a piece from the New York Times editorial board, which stated, “No political arguments or ideological context can justify” growing bigotry against Jews. It also recognized that “antisemitism has become an urgent problem” leaving “Jewish Americans at a greater risk of being victimized by a hate crime than any other group.”
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The editors of the NYT make a statement of their positions in their selection of letters that they publish. The editors here are continuing the long NYT tradition of minimizing or excusing the attacks on Jews.these attacks are clearly targeted at Jews. These attacks and murders are part of “Globalizing the Intifada” whether done by a group or “lone wolves” Gaza is just an excuse for killing Jews.