The fatal shooting outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington D.C. happened only blocks from FBI headquarters, but Jewish organizations say similar incidents could happen anywhere, including in Chicago.
Leaders in Chicago's Jewish community said the shooting is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to antisemitism.
Stream NBC 5 for free, 24/7, wherever you are.
WATCH HERE"We have seen an increase in brazen rhetoric and words and protests and so we are upset about what occurred, we are heartbroken about what occurred, but we are not surprised," said David Goldenberg, regional director of the Anti-Defamation League Midwest.
The shooting didn't surprise him, Goldenberg said, because his organization tracked 336 antisemitic incidents last year in Illinois, up 59% from 2023.
"Here in the city of Chicago, we have seen a near 400% increase in antisemitic incidents over the years," Goldenberg said. "So real significant."
Those antisemitic incidents have taken various forms.
"It can be verbal assaults, it can be physical assaults," said Lonnie Nasatir, president of the Jewish United Fund of Metro Chicago, "it can be as heinous as the shooting in West Rogers Park a few weeks back where a man was targeted as he was going to Shabbat services on Saturday morning solely because he was Jewish."
Local
A Chicago man was charged in the deaths of two Israeli Embassy staff members outside the Capital Jewish Museum. Following the shooting, Chicago police implemented extra security precautions, stationing squad cars in front of Jewish locations citywide.
Feeling out of the loop? We'll catch you up on the news you need to know with the Chicago Catch-Up newsletter.
SIGN UP Beth Ida Stern, regional director of American Jewish Committee of Chicago, the local chapter of the same group that hosted the event Wednesday night in D.C., said the answer is not more cops, but more understanding.
"Our latest data showed that 77 percent of American Jews do not feel safe as Jews in the United States," Stern said.
"We are all in this together, and the reality is that hatred towards Jews is the same as hatred towards any group for their religion," she said.
On Friday, a group of leaders held a press conference on "real-life implications of continued antisemitic rhetoric" following the shooting.
"I worry about people becoming numb to these incidents," Goldenberg said, "but here is the thing: When you become numb to these incidents, you don't just have two people who have been murdered, you have a lot more."
