The Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) held a security briefing over Zoom on May 22 addressing the shooting that occurred in Washington, D.C. the previous night where two staff members of the Israeli embassy were killed.
The two victims have been identified as Yaron Lischinsky, 30, and Sarah Milgrim, 26. Lischinsky had been planning to propose to Milgrim in the near future. The suspected shooter has been identified as Elias Rodriguez, 30; he allegedly shouted “I did it for Gaza” and “Free Palestine” and pulled a keffiyeh out of his backpack.
Julie Platt, the chair of JFNA’s Board of Trustees, began the briefing by telling viewers that “we are doing everything we can think” to support the Israeli embassy as well as Milgrim’s community in Kansas City. “We as a national Jewish community will be working and supporting and organizing for as long as we are needed,” said Platt.
Eric Fingerhut, the CEO and president of JFNA, said that he had spoken with the Israeli embassy and “they’re in shock and they’re in no position to participate themselves.” Fingerhut then gave the floor to his colleague, JFNA State Director Eli Berne, to talk about Lischinsky. Berne said he had worked at the embassy and overlapped with Lischinsky, who was born in Germany and moved to Israel, becoming a proud Zionist who served in the Israel Defense Force (IDF). His expertise was in the Abraham Accords and was particularly proud of the embassy’s work in expanding the accords and attempts to bring peace to the region. Berne described Lischinsky as being “incredibly bright” and always wearing a smile on his face.
Milgrim, Berne recalled, did “outreach on progressive issues” and worked to build bridges. “It’s not always easy working at the embassy as an American,” said Berne, adding that Milgrim did a great job and “always put a smile on the face on whoever she was interacting and working with.”
Two weeks earlier, Berne saw both of them at an event celebrating Yom HaAtzmut and that they were heading to Jerusalem to meeting Lischinsky’s parents, as he had just met Milgrim’s in Kansas City. Berne didn’t learn until last night that Lischinsky was planning to propose to Milgrim.
Jay Lewis, the president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City, said in the briefing that May 22 “has been a devastating day for the Kansas City Jewish community” and that the day has made “antisemitism incredibly real” for the community. Lewis said that the Milgrims “are very involved” in the community. He knew Milgrim when he was the Hillel director at the University of Kansas and that she had worked as an intern at the local Federation; she was committed to “making the world a better place.”
Earlier that morning, Lewis visited the Milgrim family’s house, and said that the family is “devastated” and felt “like their world has ended.”
Lewis explained that in the evening, the community had planned a screening of the documentary “October 8” and, at the Milgrim’s family urging, they were still going to show it, as they felt that the “context of the movie” explains what happened. The community will be holding a vigil for “people to come together and mourn.”
“We’re in mourning right now,” Lewis said, adding that resilience and healing will come later.
Gil Preuss, the CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington, said that Lischinsky and Milgrim were “very integrated into the D.C. community” and that the Jewish community in the District is in “incredible shock” over what happened. “We need to make sure that there is enhanced security and safety so the Jewish community doesn’t have to worry about this when going to the next event,” he said.
Michael Masters, national director and CEO of the Secure Community Network (SCN), called the shooting “an escalation in threats against the Jewish community” and that his group is “assessing potential reactions from violent extremists and groups … including the risk of copycat attacks.” He added that foreign terror organizations have been calling for attacks against the Jewish community in the United States.
Among the recommendations that Masters suggests the Jewish community take in response to the shooting is to communicate with law enforcement and Jewish organizations when events and issues are happening. He also urged Jewish community members to, when holding events, ensure that proper security is in place and to verify all registrants in advance where possible, don’t allow drop-ins, and only share event details with known attendees.
Fingerhut said that the amount of money put into nonprofit security grants has grown more than 10 times over the past five years, but said that ultimately the responsibility is on the government to protect its citizens. Since the Oct. 7, 2023 massacre, there has been “a significant escalation in the risks to our community” and that there has been “incitement” on the campuses, with similar rhetoric being deployed in school board meetings, city council meetings and public squares. Such “dangerous rhetoric” has only gotten worse and “inevitably leads to violence and incidents” like what occurred in D.C., said Fingerhut.
He called for the nonprofit security grant program to be “fully funded” and that “it does not begin to come close to the major cost of security.” Fingerhut urged the government to “assist us” and that it’s not right that the community “has to bear the full cost.” The JFNA CEO also acknowledged that the “strain on local law enforcement is extreme” and that there needs to be more police cars “circling around our institutions”; to that end, Fingerhut called for more funding on these “local issues.”
“We must enforce our laws and prosecute people who are in violation of laws regarding harassment and threatening violence.” – Eric Fingerhut
Fingerhut warned that “this incitement is a critical issue” and “is prevalent on social media … we must enforce our laws and prosecute people who are in violation of laws regarding harassment and threatening violence.”
Platt concluded the briefing by assuring viewers that “we are doing everything in our power to keep you safe” and urged viewers to stay close to their respective Federations and to “stay strong” and “be proudly Jewish.”
