SCOOP: Anti-Semitic murder of Israeli diplomats by Biden donor sends shockwaves on the Hill

THE LOWDOWN:

• A deranged anti-Israel gunman opened fire outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., where young Jewish professionals gathered for an event hosted by the American Jewish Committee (AJC).

• The twin murders made immediate headlines across America. Both victims were well-known in their circles, and Milgrim had met with EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin as recently as two weeks ago in his office.

• President Donald Trump condemned the murders in the strongest terms, saying these “horrible D.C. killings, based obviously on antisemitism, must end, NOW!”

• The murders also sent shockwaves through Capitol Hill. Rep. Randy Fine (R., Fla.), the House’s newest Jewish member, told the Reporter that this shooting “is the end result of the radical left refusing to acknowledge that ‘Free Palestine’ is nothing more than a call for Muslim terror.”

A deranged anti-Israel gunman opened fire outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., where young Jewish professionals gathered for an event hosted by the American Jewish Committee (AJC).

The gunman, whose name the Washington Reporter will not give the time of day, donated hundreds of dollars to President Joe Biden’s campaign in 2020. He allegedly murdered an Israeli Christian, Yarón Lischinsky, and a Jewish American, Sarah Milgrim, before reportedly walking into the event with a red keffiyeh and shouting “free Palestine.”

The twin murders made immediate headlines across America. Both victims were well-known in their circles, and Milgrim had met with EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin as recently as two weeks ago in his office.

Zeldin, who is Jewish, said after the event that Milgrim struck him “as a young woman filled with life and positivity” and that he was “heartbroken to learn she was one of two tragically murdered last night by a Jew-hating radical screaming ‘Free Palestine.’”

President Donald Trump condemned the murders in the strongest terms, saying these “horrible D.C. killings, based obviously on antisemitism, must end, NOW!”

“Hatred and Radicalism have no place in the USA,” he said. Some Democrats, by contrast, like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D., N.Y.), struggled to mention the apparent motives behind the attack.

The Trump administration itself was on the scene almost immediately. Attorney General Pam Bondi and U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro were on sight, and Dan Bongino, one of the FBI’s top officials, said that the “act of terror has the full attention of your FBI.”

“Targeted acts of anti-Semitic violence are typically carried out by spineless, gutless cowards,” Bongino said. “And the penalties will be harsh as we tighten up this investigation and run down any additional leads.”

Their leadership was appreciated by Jewish groups, like the Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC), which said that it wants “those responsible for this heinous attack [to] be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, and we have full confidence in the Trump administration to deliver swift and righteous justice.”

Adar Rubin, director of mobilization for End Jew Hatred called for swift justice. “The horrific murder of two Israeli Embassy staffers is not only a devastating act of violence—it is a deliberate, targeted act of violent Jew-hatred that demands more than words of sorrow. The Department of Justice must act immediately, impose the maximum consequences possible against Elias Rodriguez, and prosecute this hate crime under domestic terrorism statutes to reflect the true gravity of the threat. Anything less sends a dangerous message that Jew-hatred is tolerated in America.”

The murders also sent shockwaves through Capitol Hill. Rep. Randy Fine (R., Fla.), the House’s newest Jewish member, told the Reporter that this shooting “is the end result of the radical left refusing to acknowledge that ‘Free Palestine’ is nothing more than a call for Muslim terror.”

“The public forgets that the majority of atrocities on October 7th were conducted by so-called Palestinian civilians,” Fine said. “They have told us repeatedly that they want global intifada and last night we saw that here in Washington.”

“This is a culture that is fundamentally evil and must be defeated absolutely,” Fine added.

Rep. David Kustoff (R., Tenn.), another Jewish Republican, said that “last night’s shooting outside of the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington D.C., killing two Israeli Embassy staff members, is a horrific act of anti-Semitic terrorism.”

“We must remain united in calling out and confronting this rising tide of hate,” Kustoff said.

Rep. Darrell Issa (R., Calif.) told the Reporter that the shooting was “an act of unspeakable anti-Semitic evil carried out in the capital city of the free world. It must be condemned and we must resolve to find and stop the terror of history’s oldest hatred.”

Others in Congress told the Reporter that there is a through line between anti-Semitic protests on college campuses to those of the shooter. Rep. Austin Scott told the Reporter in an interview that the shooting was “horrible.”

“I mean, he clearly committed something that's a hate crime, and I hope the prosecutors prosecute them to the full extent of the law,” Scott told the Reporter. “And I hope it's a very quick prosecution.”

“Unfortunately, this is becoming all too commonplace, and I will tell you that when you look at what the Ivy League institutions have done in going even beyond allowing and, I would say, almost promoting the anti-Israel protests in the country, I think this is the end result of cities and universities and other things allowing these anti-Semitic protests to continue unimpeded.”

Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R., Okla.) told the Reporter that he “was horrified to learn of the brutal terrorist attack that took place outside the Jewish Museum in Washington last night which claimed the lives of two Embassy staff.”

“This type of anti-Semitic evil has taken off since the October 7th attacks, and must be condemned in the strongest possible terms,” Mullin said. “Terrorist sympathizers have no place in America, or anywhere on this Earth.”

“May Yarón Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim rest in peace,” he added.