“‘Free, free, Palestine’– the chilling slogan shouted by a Washington attacker after murdering two Jewish museum-goers – exemplifies the death-driven hatred of antisemitism,” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday.
Speaking at the International Conference to Combat Antisemitism in Jerusalem, Rubio condemned the chant as an “emblem of Jew-hatred” and warned that there can be no compromise with antisemitism.
The top US diplomat began by expressing gratitude to Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar for the invitation and regretting that he could not attend in person.
He recalled Golda Meir’s quip that “it took Moses 40 years to find the only place in the Middle East with no oil,” then added, “Israel’s wealth lay not under the ground, but in its people,” whom he described as “exiles, pilgrims, and dreamers from around the world” who “made the desert bloom into a hi-tech superpower.”
He contrasted Israel’s success with its neighbors’ choices, saying they “failed to appreciate how following Israel’s example could have brought prosperity to the region. Instead, they chose war. They decided to impoverish their people in a futile effort to destroy Israel. They succeeded in the former while failing in the latter.”
Turning to the scourge of antisemitism, Rubio called it “the world’s oldest bigotry, and given that we are all here today, it is also the world’s most futile.” He traced its historical roots from pharaohs and emperors to Adolf Hitler, “an idea he shares with Hamas today,” and noted that “these regimes and empires have crumbled into dust, but Israel stands and the Jewish people prospers.”
He added, “I pray for the day when the entire world will recognize the futility of antisemitism, when leaders will abandon self-destructive hatred and forge a new future in partnership with Israel.”
Modern antisemitic violence
The US secretary of State highlighted the most recent act of modern antisemitic violence in America’s capital: “The importance of the words ‘Never Again’ were brought home to every American last week when Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim were murdered in cold blood outside of the Capital Jewish Museum here in Washington, DC,” he said.
He recalled that the shooter “proudly screamed ‘Free, free, Palestine,’ words that now serve as a battle cry for the death of Jews, the destruction of Israel, and the horrors we must never again allow.”
Rubio warned that there could be no “compromise with antisemitism” or “nuance” separating hatred of Israel from hatred of the Jewish people: “Those who call to boycott Israel are calling for the boycott of their Jewish neighbors and classmates. Those who call for violence against Israelis are calling for violence against Jews. Those who call for the destruction of Israel are calling for the destruction of the Jewish people.”
Looking ahead, Rubio invoked the Abraham Accords under US President Donald Trump’s leadership as a model for regional cooperation. “Under President Trump, the United States will stand with the Jewish people,” he said, noting that his administration “implemented a vigorous new visa policy that will prevent foreign nationals from coming to the United States to foment hatred against our Jewish community” and has held “international organizations and nations accountable for rhetoric against Israel.”
He closed on a hopeful note: “One can imagine a Middle East in which the Abraham Accords eventually reign. Thank you for the opportunity to address you.”
The conference, led by Sa’ar and featuring envoys, foreign ministers, and Jewish community leaders from dozens of countries, is taking place during Israel’s presidency year of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance.