Israel Ganz, head of the Binyamin Regional Council and chairman of the Yesha Council, was at the scene of the Washington, DC terror attack just minutes before two Israeli Embassy employees were murdered late Wednesday night.

In a statement following the attack, Ganz expressed deep sorrow: “I wish to offer condolences to the families of those murdered in this vile attack. In Washington, at the heart of the free world, I am once again exposed to the horror of terror.”

“This truly proves that this is not a battle over territory or borders,” he emphasized. “It is a war for our very existence as a people.”

Ganz also addressed the global rise in antisemitism: “This heinous murder outside the Jewish museum marks a peak in the growing wave of global antisemitism - antisemitism that receives international support from world leaders in Europe, who are rewarding Hamas’ murderous terror and legitimizing the terror group and its despicable ideology.”

Israel’s Foreign Ministry confirmed that two Israeli embassy employees were killed in the shooting, and that the assailant, identified as 30-year-old Elias Rodriguez from Chicago, has been apprehended. The attack took place during an event hosted by the American Jewish Committee at the museum.

Witnesses reported the shooter was wearing a keffiyeh and shouted “Free Palestine” during his arrest. NBC reported that the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force is involved in the investigation.