Two Israeli embassy staff fatally shot outside Capital Jewish Museum in Washington DC: Latest updates

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has spoken with the parents of the slain embassy staffers.

Netanyahu “told the families that he shares in their deep sorrow, together with the entire Jewish People,” his office said in a statement.

The prime minister also spoke with U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, his office said.

Vice President JD Vance has shared his condolences for the families and friends of the two Israeli embassy staffers killed outside the Capital Jewish Museum last night.

Vance wrote on X: “My heart breaks for Sarah Milgrim and Yaron Lischinsky, who were murdered last night at the Capital Jewish Museum. Antisemitic violence has no place in the United States.

“We’re praying for their families and all of our friends at the Israeli Embassy, where the two victims worked.”

Speaking on Fox & Friends this morning, U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee commented on last night’s shooting of two Israeli Embassy staffers: “It is just a horrific tragedy, an act of terror, and another way in which we have to recognize Jewish people all over the world are being singled out for these kind of horrible attacks.”

Huckabee went on to push back against critics of Israel’s execution of the war in Gaza, blaming Hamas for the war dragging on.

“We’ve got a lot of ignorant, idiotic people who don’t seem to understand the difference between right and wrong,” Huckabee said. “It shouldn’t be that complicated.”

“I share the grief of the families of those murdered in the attack in Washington and support all employees of the State of Israel’s Foreign Service,” writes Yair Golan on X.

“It is Netanyahu’s Kahane Hai government that is fueling anti-Semitism and hatred of Israel, and the result is unprecedented political isolation and danger to every Jew in every corner of the globe.

“We will replace them and restore security to every Jew – in Israel and everywhere in the world.”

Here’s more on the tragic killing of Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim from Summer Woolley and James Liddell.

Ted Deutch, CEO of the American Jewish Committee (AJC), the organization hosting the “Young Diplomats Reception” event at the Israeli embassy last night, appeared on CNN This Morning with Audie Cornish.

“Last night our worst fears came true,’ he said of the DC shooting, explaining that the event the couple had attended is one “we all look forward to every year that brings together AJC’s young leaders, the American Jewish Committee’s young leaders. This year the focus was on humanitarian diplomacy.

“And all of the good feeling was shattered immediately when these two beautiful, young souls were taken by this murderer.”

He continued: “This is a horrific reminder to the Jewish community and the world that antisemitism often most times is not violent until it becomes violent. And when it does, it can become deadly. And that’s what we have to stop.”

Deutch said he was “very familiar with both of the victims” and said of them: “Yaron is an Israeli Jew. Sarah is an American Jew. Sarah was deeply involved with AJC. She’s traveled with AJC. She cared deeply for our work in the diplomatic space. And she and Yaron had a beautiful relationship.

“It’s a tragedy of the worst magnitude that these beautiful young people were taken from us. And it happened at a time when the Jewish community in the United States and around the world was feeling… very much as if the threats were rising, understanding that what starts as words can turn into violent action. And that’s what was on full, horrific display last night.”

On the question of security going forward, he said: “Sadly, because of the situation that the Jewish community faces, virtually every synagogue in America will have some kind of significant security, whether it’s a metal detector or police out in front.”

Deutch added that “everyone has a role to play” in combating antisemitism.

He and his organization put out the following messages last night:

Nancy Milgrim, the deceased’s mother, has told The New York Times that she was planning to travel from Prairie Village, Kansas, to Washington to dog-sit for her daughter ahead of her planned trip to Israel to meet Yaron Lischinsky’s parents when she heard last night’s news.

She says she opened a family locator app on her cellphone and looked for her daughter’s location, which showed her to be at the Capital Jewish Museum, where the shooting had taken place.

“I pretty much already knew,” her husband Robert Milgrim said. “I was hoping to be wrong.”

They said they were subsequently informed of her death by Israel’s Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter.

“What went through my mind is, I feel the antisemitism that has surfaced since October 7 and also since the election of President Trump,” Robert Milgrim said. “It’s just an extension of my worst fears.”

“The ironic part is that we were worried for our daughter’s safety in Israel,” he added. “But she was murdered three days before going.”

Paying tribute to Lischinsky, he said: “He was incredible. He was very much like Sarah: passionate, extremely intelligent, dedicated to what he does, always on the cause of what’s right.

“He was an idealist,” he said. “He wanted to build bridges between Israel and other countries, especially in Asia.”

Elias Rodriguez had a “brief association” with the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL), which advocated on behalf of Palestinians, the group confirmed in a post on social media this morning.

But it added that he was not a member and that his activism with them ended in 2017: “We reject any attempt to associate the PSL with the DC shooting. Elias Rodriguez is not a member of the PSL… We have nothing to do with this shooting and do not support it.”

Here’s more from James Liddell.

Here’s a moving tribute to the deceased political analyst from a close friend.