Statement from Christine Beresniova, Executive Director, CAJM and CAJM Board of Directors

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

Media Contact: Lisa Kranseler, Executive Director, WSJHS, lisak@wsjhs.org or 206-774-2277

Statement from Christine Beresniova, Executive Director, CAJM, and the CAJM Board of Directors

The shooting at the Capital Jewish Museum is a devastating, hateful attack on the freedom and identity of the Jewish community. The victims were attending an event hosted by an American Jewish organization at a museum that celebrates Jewish values, democracy, and the contributions of Jews to society. This kind of indiscriminate terror is what extremist antisemitism looks like in action. We are heartbroken, and our hearts are with the families of Yaron Lischinsky, 30, and Sarah Lynn Milgrim, 26.

This act is an affront to the entire museum world—a shattering of the American community's trust in museums as safe spaces for dialogue and gathering. We stand with our proud network of Jewish museums on the front lines daily, offering holistic, nuanced, and authentic conversations about the Jewish experience—varied and human.

We urge all museums today to reaffirm our shared professional commitment to work toward a world free from antisemitism and to use the power of museums to promote dialogue over division.