Two Israeli Embassy Staffers Killed by Gunman Yelling "Free Palestine"
The slain were a romantic couple, and he planned to propose to her next week in Israel.
Two members of the Israeli Embassy in Washington D.C. were murdered last night after 9:00pm when a gunman breached an event at the Capitol Jewish Museum and began open-firing.
The victims, Yaron Lischinsky, 30, and Sarah Milgram, 27, met while working at the Israeli Embassy. They were in a committed relationship, and before they were killed, they had planned a trip to Israel to meet Lischinsky’s family, a step before he planned to propose.
According to one source, Lischinsky "purchased a ring this week with the intention of proposing to his girlfriend next week in Jerusalem."
The two were inseparable, and their tragic demise came at the hands of a man named Elias Rodriguez, 30, who is believed to be from Chicago, Illinois. Police observed him pacing around the building before the incident, and he was chanting “free free Palestine” to police after he was apprehended and taken to the police station.
Well, that’s a possible motive, considering the couple was Jewish. But it’s unclear if Rodriguez planned to kill that couple specifically, or just wanted any victims he could find. Thankfully, museum security detained him before he could continue his rampage. Then he was taken into police custody.
He had no prior police records, as far as we initially can tell.
The suspect, identified by Physicians Against Antisemitism (PAA) — a nonprofit dedicated to exposing antisemitism in healthcare — worked for the American Osteopathic Information Association, which serves doctors of osteopathy. He had been working there for 11 months before pulling out his gun.
In an interview, the PAA warned that antisemitic people in healthcare can harm Jewish patients.
“Antisemitism has not only infiltrated the medical field at the clinical level, but also at the administrative level. Though we do not know the exact role Elias Rodriguez played within the AOIA, he worked for an organization meant to support physicians.”
“With an ideology steeped in hatred of Jews, his access to physician information put many of our medical colleagues at risk,” their spokeswoman said.
"We were shocked and saddened to learn that an AOIA employee has been arrested as a suspect in this horrific crime," American Osteopathic Association President Teresa A. Hubka and CEO Kathleen S. Creason said in a statement.
“As a physician organization dedicated to protecting the health and sanctity of human life, we believe in the rights of all persons to live safely without fear of violence."
Meanwhile, Rodriguez, when apprehended by museum security, implied he committed the murder. He cooperated and directed authorities on where to find the gun, which was recovered for evidence.
Two witnesses, Yoni Kalin and Katie Kalisher, told the Associated Press they were inside the museum the night of May 21.
They saw a man come inside looking distressed and disheveled, they said. Kalin said some people in the museum thought he needed help and brought him water. But he later pulled out a red keffiyeh and yelled "Free Palestine," then began shooting, Kalin told the AP.
Rodriguez has been taken into police custody. He is expected to make his first appearance in a federal court this afternoon, but it is unclear if he will have lawyer representation. Attorney General Pam Bondi has said that the shooter “will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
“No parents should have to be called and told that their children were violently murdered leaving a religious event at the Jewish Museum,” Bondi said.
“That should never happen in this world and not in our country.”
Many statements have poured out from Milgram and Lischinsky’s friends honoring their lives.
“Sarah was a deeply curious person, always seeking to learn and connect. She brought people together with empathy and purpose, and her dedication to building a better future was evident in everything she did” said a statement by Tech2Peace’s Esti Rozenfeld.
“Her voice and spirit will be profoundly missed.”
And her partner’s friends also touted how special Lischinsky was.
“We would sit in various coffee shops around Jerusalem, discussing religion, politics, and books,” his friend Jakub Klepek told CNN.
“We often exchanged book titles and then jokingly complained about not being able to start new ones because of our university reading lists.”
The Capitol Jewish Museum has been shut down, pending a security review, and plans to reopen in a few days. In a statement by the museum director Dr. Beatrice Gurwitz, she condemned the attack.
“In an act of horrific antisemitic violence, a gunman attacked our beloved community. This tragedy is devastating. Such acts of terror attempt to instill fear, silence voices, and erase history — but we refuse to let them succeed,” she said.
This report was brought to you by Toni Airaksinen, Senior Editor of Liberty Affair and a journalist based in Boca Raton, Florida. Follow her on X @Toni_Airaksinen, and on Instagram.
Thanks. I appreciate the information.
Isreali staffers need to be armed when working for the Isreali embassy. If they were at least they would have a chance. Whilst brain washed idiots are about.