Israeli envoy calls Washington killings "anti‑Semitic terrorism," faults U.N. official for "incitement"

Israel's Ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Dunham, on Monday condemned the killing of two members of diplomatic staff in Washington, D.C., and said comments by a U.N. official helped fuel a climate that led to the attack.

The ambassador said, "Last week, 2 young people on the diplomatic staff at East Verses Embassy in Washington, DC, Yaron Elishinski and Sarah Lynn Milgram, were murdered on the street as they were leaving the capital Jewish Museum. They were a couple. Yaron was planning to propose this week in Jerusalem. They were gunned down in cold blood by a terrorist screaming, free Palestine." He called the episode "an act of anti Semitic terrorism."

Why it matters: Dunham linked public statements at international fora to on‑the‑ground violence, saying inflammatory remarks can be a form of incitement. He singled out a U.N. official, Tom Fletcher, and criticized a series of claims Fletcher made, saying one — that "14,000 babies will die in the next 48 hours" — was a lie later retracted and that such statements have consequences.

Dunham said of those remarks: "When U.N. officials like mister Tom Fletcher accuse Israel of genocide, when they irresponsibly claim that quote, and I quote it now, 14000 babies will die in the next 48 hours. They are not engaging in advocacy. They are engaging in incitement." He added that Fletcher "quietly retracted it, but the damage was already done. It is no coincidence that this statement was made just 2 days before Yaron and Sarah were murdered. We cannot ignore the world that reckless remarks play in fueling violence. Mister Fletcher and others like him must be held accountable."

During questions, Yvonne Mariotti of News asked whether Dunham felt pressure from European allies and from public protests, noting that "Your own former prime minister has accused Israel of carrying out war crimes" and that hostage families were protesting in Tel Aviv. Dunham responded, "Well, we're not bombing the people of Gaza. We are fighting a a terrorist organization," and reiterated Israel's stated aims: recovering hostages and removing Hamas from power.

The ambassador repeated that Israel would continue operations that it characterizes as necessary to secure hostages and defeat Hamas, saying, "We will not stop defending our people. We will not abandon our hostages who have been held for 600 days now. We will not apologize for fighting back against the all."

Reporting context: this account is based on Dunham's televised remarks and his answers to reporters at the United Nations press briefing. The transcript records his characterization of the Washington killings, his comments about statements by U.N. officials, and his remarks in response to questions about international pressure. The briefing included questions from multiple reporters; the article attributes direct quotes only to speakers who spoke on the record in the transcript.

Less critical detail: Dunham identified the victims by name and described them as diplomatic staff assigned to an "East Verses Embassy in Washington, DC" in his remarks; the transcript used that phrasing. The U.N. official Dunham criticized, Tom Fletcher, is referenced by name by Dunham; the transcript records that Fletcher retracted at least one of the contested statements.