The murder of two Israeli embassy employees outside the Capital Jewish Museum this week sent shockwaves through the Jewish community—and rightly so. The attacker reportedly screamed “Free Palestine” as he was arrested. But for Loudoun County residents, that phrase hits even closer to home. Just hours before the shooting, those very words were spoken from the dais of the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors—by none other than Supervisor Koran Saines.
This is not a coincidence. It’s a warning.
This isn't some tragic coincidence. It is a blaring siren, warning us what happens when public officials trade leadership for ideological extremism. Antisemitism is exploding across the country. The ADL reports that 2023 saw a record-breaking 8,873 antisemitic incidents—a staggering 140% increase in just one year. In this volatile climate, the words of public leaders carry immense weight. And in Loudoun, some of those words are actively helping normalize hate.
Supervisor Juli Briskman, Vice Chair of the Board, has become the face of this dangerous trend. In May, she publicly condemned Israel’s military actions while offering no recognition of the October 7 Hamas massacre that left 1,200 Israelis—many of them civilians—dead. She accused Israel of “a disdain for human life” and compared the war in Gaza to Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine. These weren’t missteps. They were deliberate political messages—ones that drew sharp rebukes from the Jewish Community Relations Council, which called on her to stop “scoring political points” and instead “make a difference.”
She didn’t stop. Months earlier, Briskman outrageously likened the deportation of violent criminal aliens to Nazi Germany’s persecution of Jews during Kristallnacht. Local media rightly called the post “outrageous, offensive, and tone-deaf.” Yet Briskman refused to apologize. The fact that a sitting supervisor could invoke Holocaust imagery to smear American law enforcement—and suffer no real consequence—should alarm every citizen.
Now, together with Saines, Briskman has gone even further. This week, the two partnered with radical organizations like Indivisible NoVA West and New Virginia Majority to rally against Loudoun’s Sheriff’s Office. Saines took it a step further by inviting constituents to report on any county investments that might justify “divestment”—a wink to the antisemitic BDS movement that seeks to economically isolate Israel.
This isn’t leadership. It’s incitement.
These are not isolated incidents. They are part of a growing pattern of these Loudoun leaders giving a platform to paid, out-of-county activists who fill public comment with anti-Israel vitriol. Their speeches go unchecked, their lies unchallenged, and their hatred is etched into the public record. This is how violence starts—not with bullets, but with permission.
And yet, in this darkness, one voice has refused to stay silent: Supervisor Kristen Umstattd. A Democrat, Umstattd has been the lone elected official willing to call out antisemitic rhetoric for what it is. She has defended Jewish residents, challenged hate speech, and demanded accountability. For that, she has been attacked—but she has not wavered. Loudoun owes her thanks. The rest of the Board? Their silence is deafening—and dangerous.
We cannot wait until this happens in Loudoun. The road from rhetoric to violence is short. October 7 happened because people in power looked away. May 21 happened because people let their hatred fester unchecked. If we don’t stop this now, if we don’t demand accountability from leaders like Briskman and Saines, the next atrocity won’t be on the news. It will be on our streets. If history has taught us anything, it’s that hate ignored becomes hate empowered.
Enough.
Briskman and Saines have used their offices not to unify Loudoun, but to divide it. They have amplified antisemitism, emboldened extremists, and abandoned their duty to protect every member of this community.
Not here. Not now. Not ever again.
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