The Capital Jewish Museum reopened to the public Thursday, just over a week after a shooter gunned down two Israeli Embassy staff members leaving an event there.
The museum at 3rd and F streets in downtown D.C. reopened at noon. Supporters left flowers and notes on what was an emotional day for many.
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WATCH HEREThe mission of the museum is to explore the Jewish experience in D.C. and the region, and to provide someplace where visitors can learn and reflect.
Museum leadership said Thursday morning that with that mission in mind, it’s critical to reopen so that work can continue.
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SIGN UP “Today’s reopening is not simply a return to normal; it is an act of resilience. It is a declaration that we will not allow hate to silence our voices or diminish our commitment to building a better future,” Chris Wolf, president of the museum’s board of directors, told visitors.
Wolf dedicated the museum’s future work to the shooting victims, Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim.
Mayor Muriel Bowser also addressed the crowd.
“I am grateful to look around and see the values of our city reflected here,” she said.
Lischinsky and Milgrim were shot and killed the night of Wednesday, May 21, as they left an event hosted by the American Jewish Committee. Elias Rodriguez, of Chicago, was charged in the murders denounced as an act of antisemitic violence.
Sue Stolov spoke at the event held at the museum the night the couple was killed.
“It was filled with the beautiful faces of young people, talking, sharing, lively, engaged,” she recalled with a smile. “And then suddenly it wasn’t.”
