The Israeli Embassy staffers who were gunned down outside Washington D.C.’s Capital Jewish Museum have been identified as a young couple, killed just before they could enter one of their happiest moments of their lives together.
Yaron Lischinsky had been gearing up to propose to his girlfriend, 26-year-old Sarah Milgrim, when they were both fatally shot in the nation’s capital Wednesday night, according to Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar. He said Lischinsky purchased a ring and that he’d hoped to pop the question while they visited Jerusalem next week.
“Yaron and Sarah were our friends and colleagues,” the Embassy of Israel said in a social media post. “They were in the prime of their lives.”
“The entire embassy staff is heartbroken and devastated by their murder,” it continued. “No words can express the depth of our grief and horror at this devastating loss.”
According to Metropolitan Police Chief Pamela Smith, the couple were leaving an event hosted by the American Jewish Committee at the museum alongside two others when a gunman opened fired on their group.
The shooter — identified by authorities as Elias Rodriguez, a 31-year-old Chicago resident — was taken into custody on the scene, at which point, he allegedly started chanting “Free Free Palestine.”
Prior to the attack, he was spotted pacing near the building. Witnesses told CNN Rodriguez waited for police to arrive, informing them that he “did it for Gaza.”
The deadly violence in D.C. on Wednesday came as Israel launched another major offensive in the Gaza Strip, the latest in the ongoing war sparked by Hamas’ invasion on Oct. 7, 2023. In addition to stoking tensions across the Middle East, the conflict has courted global controversy, including in the United States, where demonstrations have erupted on behalf of the residents of Gaza.
Incidents of antisemitism have seen an uptick nationwide since the Israel-Hamas war began. In the year after the attack, the Anti Defamation League recorded more than 10,000 acts of antisemitism, the most ever reported in a single year. It also marked a 200% increase compared to the incidents reported during the same period the year prior, which saw 3,325 incidents.
“These horrible D.C. killings, based obviously on antisemitism, must end, NOW!” President Donald Trump posted on social media early Thursday. “Hatred and Radicalism have no place in the USA.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office add that he was “shocked” by the “horrific, antisemitic” shooting.
“We are witnessing the terrible price of antisemitism and wild incitement against Israel,” he said in a statement.
According to his LinkedIn page, 30-year-old Lischinsky served in the Israel Defense Forces from August 2013 to August 2016 before earning a bachelor’s degree in international relations from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and then a master’s degree in government, diplomacy and strategy from Reichman University. He’d been working as a research assistant focusing on Middle East and North African affairs at the Israeli embassy in Washington, D.C. since September 2022, according to the profile.
Milgrim, meanwhile, earned her bachelor’s degree in environmental studies from the University of Kansas in 2021, according to her LinkedIn page. She went on to get her first masters degree at American University in international relations and her second at the United Nations’ University for Peace for national resources and sustainable development. Prior to taking on her role in the Israeli embassy’s department of public diplomacy in November 2023, Milgrim worked at Tech2Peace, a nongovernmental organization that provides tech training to young Israelis and Palestinians.
With News Wire Services
