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FLASH ALERT: UNITY OF FIELDS FLYER CIRCULATES ON SOCIAL MEDIA, INCITING VIOLENCE AGAINST JEWISH COMMUNITIES AND ESTABLISHMENTS. RISKS OF COPYCAT ATTACKS AFTER COUPLE MURDERED

Ashley Snyder, Amelia Bell, Lydia Baccino | Extremism and CENTCOM teams

Naureen Salim, Editor; Elena Alice Rossetti, Senior Editor

May 23, 2025


Free Gaza Graffiti[1]


The Counterterrorism Group (CTG) is issuing a FLASH ALERT to all law enforcement and Jewish communities after Unity of Fields, a radical far-left, anti-Zionist network, published a flyer created by “political prisoner”[2] Elias Rodriguez. The flyer is calling for action against the “perpetrators and abettors” who have “forfeited their humanity” as they witness the “atrocities” aimed at the Palestinians.[3] This flyer states, “They call it terror if you are dispossessed and have only your own two hands and each other and your rage.”[4] Concerns about the call to action follow the attack on four individuals leaving an event at the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington DC, by Elias Rodriguez.[5] Law enforcement should prepare for copycat attacks inspired by Rodriguez to occur at synagogues, within Jewish communities, and other Jewish establishments.  


CTG is on HIGH alert for increased violence targeting the Jewish community and Israeli diplomats following the recent attack on four individuals, killing two Israeli embassy staff members, outside the Capital Jewish Museum. Since the shooting, a call for action and manifesto is circulating online, labelling the Jewish community as “perpetrators and abettors”, VERY LIKELY leading to an increase in anti-Semitic discourse, social media rhetoric, and risk of copycat-style attacks. The attack LIKELY signifies a growing dissatisfaction with the US government’s response to the ongoing Israeli-Hamas conflict, VERY LIKELY leading to extremist individuals carrying out attacks under the guise of perceived moral justice. The ideological motivation behind the attack will ALMOST CERTAINLY escalate tensions between pro-Israel and pro-Palestine groups, LIKELY increasing demonstrations and clashes. Law enforcement will VERY LIKELY need to monitor online platforms for distribution and interaction with this manifesto to identify and prepare for potential similar lone-actor attacks and coordinated plots on Jewish places of worship, populated areas, events, and buildings, including embassies.


Introduction  

On Wednesday, May 21, 2025, at approximately 2115 local time, Elias Rodriguez opened fire on a group of four individuals leaving an event at the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington DC.[6] The attack killed two of the four individuals, Israeli citizen Yaron Lischinsky and American citizen Sarah Milgrim.[7] Before the attack, security personnel, for reasons that are currently unclear, escorted Rodriguez out of the museum during the event,[8] which was aimed at finding ways to bring peace to the Middle East.[9] He stayed outside the museum for some time before approaching the four individuals and pulling a gun on them as they exited the building.[10] Immediately after the shooting, event attendees welcomed and comforted Rodriguez, believing he was a witness to the shooting, as he reentered the museum.[11] Following a brief conversation with attendees about whether he liked the museum, Rodriguez pulled out a keffiyeh, a traditional Arab-male headdress that has come to signify solidarity with the Palestinian movement, and said, “I did it. I did it for Gaza,” before shouting, “Free Palestine.”[12] Police quickly entered the museum and arrested him.[13] Authorities charged Rodriguez on the federal and local levels, with charges including murder of foreign officials, causing death through use of a firearm, discharging a firearm during a crime of violence, and two counts of first-degree murder.[14]


An X account belonging to Rodriguez became public knowledge after the attack, with posts including pro-Palestinian and anti-Israeli rhetoric.[15] Rodriguez had reposted videos of speeches from Hassan Nasrallah, the late third secretary-general of Hezbollah.[16] Additionally, two of Rodriguez’s posts contained writings similar to a manifesto.[17] A group called the Unity of Fields has turned this manifesto into a zine, a self-published magazine written by non-professional writers on a specific subject,[18] and has published it on their website.[19] 


Unity of Fields, formerly known as Palestine Action US, describes itself in its X biography as an “Anti-imperialist propaganda front for the international popular cradle of resistance.”[20] The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) labels the group as “radical far-left, anti-Zionist direct action network that engages in and/or promotes aggressive, targeted protests and the defacement of property belonging to Jewish and non-Jewish organizations and individuals it considers supportive of Israel or Zionism or complicit in Israel’s alleged actions.”[21] Recent calls for action are in line with previous online activity: in February 2025, the group posted on X a newspaper clipping of a bomb planted in a park where the Israeli bowling team was planning to play in Northern Ireland.[22] The attached caption read, “Expand your horizons of what 'Palestine solidarity' looks like. Solidarity is material action."[23] The group openly “praises” the perpetrators of the October 7 attack and other attacks against Israelis.[24] 


Analysis

The public nature of Elias Rodriguez’s X account will almost certainly result in more users viewing his manifesto, likely increasing inspiration for violence-based attacks in support of Palestine. This call to action will likely build on the perceived inaction and failures of Western governments regarding the Palestine situation, likely prompting extremist individuals to act directly, feeling they need to take the lead. The availability of Rodriguez’s manifesto will likely inspire others with violent aspirations against the Jewish community to take action, very likely increasing anti-Semitic acts both in-person and online. Previously hesitant users will likely view online support for Rodriguez’s manifesto as affirmation of their opinions, likely increasing the number of users expressing support for the Palestinian cause with violent rhetoric and actions. Users reposting Rodriguez’s manifesto will almost certainly widen its reach, likely creating a cycle of violent inspiration and attack in support of Palestine.  


The Unity of Fields website’s publication of Rodriguez’s manifesto almost certainly encourages other Palestinian supporters to use it as inspiration for future attacks. By choosing to publish the manifesto on an uncensored website instead of monitored social media platforms, Unity of Fields is very likely enabling more people to access the document despite its violent content, even if law enforcement removes the original post from X. This expanded and unmonitored reach will very likely motivate extremist viewers to create their own manifestos and attack plans, likely reducing their fear of detection or removal by social media platforms.


The alignment of Rodriguez’s attack with the upcoming summer months will likely contribute to increased levels of violence between groups with pro-Palestine and pro-Israel sentiments. The combination of longer daylight hours, good weather, and temperature-related level of aggression will very likely contribute to the number of individuals partaking in pro-Palestine and pro-Israel gatherings, likely increasing the potential for violent clashes between groups. Individuals from either group looking to conduct violent attacks will likely view the larger group's participation as prime conditions to act, very likely putting activists from both groups at risk. Protestors who believe the US government and law enforcement have not done enough to contain their group’s opposition will likely attempt to control their dissenters, very likely leading to violent confrontations.  


Recommendations

The Counterterrorism Group (CTG) recommends law enforcement heighten security measures and monitoring around synagogues and other Jewish establishments to deter any violence. Heightened measures should include increased patrols around these areas, with the formation of community outreach programmes so local citizens can address concerns. Law enforcement should instruct citizens to inform law enforcement of any suspicious activity in the vicinity of any Jewish establishment, including the gathering of individuals, based on the high potential of protests occurring.

 

Social media platforms should ensure full and clear accessibility to reporting mechanisms of harmful content. Platforms should increase monitoring protocols of users and attach warnings regarding the possibility of deleting posts inciting violence or spreading hate. Social media platforms should work collaboratively to implement a shared hashing database to track trending terms and monitor their use and engagement of users. Law enforcement should work collaboratively with social media platforms to monitor hate language and the users engaging with these posts. This should enable law enforcement to better identify whom to monitor while having evidentiary support for the beginning of any investigation.


CTG’s Extremism analytical team will continue to analyze and monitor developments, such as statements, threats, attacks, or further circulation of posts inciting violence. This team will work closely with CTG’s Digital Targeter program and the Worldwide Analysis of Threats, Crime, and Hazards (WATCH) team to gather additional information in real-time and warn the public in the event of threat escalation or attacks.


CTG assesses that the current threat climate is HIGH for the increased likelihood of attacks aimed at Jewish communities and establishments. Jewish communities across the US will likely be impacted, considering the circulation of this call to action on social media. Protests will likely occur, with the risk of violent actions likely increasing as Jewish communities prepare for Shavuot, from June 1 to June 3. Any future protests planned and carried out for the Palestinian cause will likely attract supporters of the Israeli cause, likely resulting in wide-scale protests with a heightened possibility of violence occurring.


Analysis indicates that there is a HIGH PROBABILITY that Unity of Fields will ALMOST CERTAINLY continue to call for action against individuals they perceive as perpetrators and abettors of anti-Palestinian sentiment. Pro-Palestine and pro-Israel groups will VERY LIKELY continue to have violent clashes in the coming months. Synagogues will VERY LIKELY experience heightened security to combat online and physical threats. Social media platforms will ALMOST CERTAINLY see an increase in violent pro-Palestinian rhetoric in support of Rodriguez’s manifesto.

[1] Free Gaza Graffiti, generated by CTG Member

[3] Ibid

[4] Ibid

[5]  What we know about the DC shooting where 2 staff members of the Israeli Embassy were killed, AP, May 2025, https://apnews.com/article/israel-embassy-jewish-museum-shooting-9e77d16a88d634b0dde5b2455c96dddf 

[6] Ibid

[7] Ibid

[8] Suspect in fatal shooting of 2 Israeli Embassy staff in D.C. wasn't on police's radar. Here is what we know., CBS News, May 2025, https://www.cbsnews.com/news/israeli-embassy-staff-shooting-suspect-elias-rodriguez-washington-dc/

[9] US Jewish museum shooting suspect was mistaken for witness, BBC, May 2025, https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cz63g3441wgo 

[10] Ibid

[11] Witness describes encounter with alleged shooter at Capital Jewish Museum, CBS News, May 2025, https://www.cbsnews.com/video/witness-describes-encounter-with-alleged-shooter-at-capital-jewish-museum/ 

[12] Ibid

[13] Ibid

[14] Federal Charges Filed After Deadly Shooting of Israeli Diplomats in D.C., US Attorney’s Office, May 2025, https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/federal-charges-filed-after-deadly-shooting-israeli-diplomats-dc 

[15] What we know about the DC shooting where 2 staff members of the Israeli Embassy were killed, AP, May 2025, https://apnews.com/article/israel-embassy-jewish-museum-shooting-9e77d16a88d634b0dde5b2455c96dddf

[16] @revolutionaryem, X, October 8, 2024, https://x.com/revolutionaryem/status/1843816482897309744 

[19] “Escalate For Gaza Bring The War Home,” Unity of Fields, 2025, https://unityoffields.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/eliasrodriguez-1.pdf 

[20] @unityoffields, X, https://x.com/unityoffields 

[21] Unity of Fields: What you need to know, Anti-Defamation League, February 2025, https://www.adl.org/resources/article/unity-fields-what-you-need-know 

[22] Ibid

[23] Ibid

[24] Ibid

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