Before delving into other talking points at Thursday’s press briefing, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt condemned the murder of an Israeli embassy couple on Wednesday night in the nation’s capital.
“President Trump is saddened and outraged over the brutal murder of two Israeli embassy staff here in Washington, D.C., last night,” Leavitt said.
The Center Square reported on the killing of two young Israeli embassy staffers Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Lynn Milgrim Thursday morning. Lischinsky had been a research assistant at the embassy for close to three years and Milgrim worked in the embassy’s department of public diplomacy for less than two years, according to their LinkedIn profiles. Lischinsky was planning on proposing to Milgrim next week in Jerusalem, according to the White House.
Leavitt quoted Lischinsky’s father Thursday afternoon in a statement.
“They were in love. One for the other. The embassy told us they were like a star couple at the embassy. I never expected something like this. He had his whole life before him,” Daniel Lischinsky said.
The couple was gunned down leaving an event Wednesday night at the Capital Jewish Museum. The police have the suspect, Elias Rodriguez from Chicago, in custody. Police said the 30-something Rodriguez had been observed chanting “Free, free Palestine” earlier in the evening and repeated the refrain once in custody, according to reports.
The administration denounced the couple’s murder as an act of antisemitism.
“The evil of antisemitism must be eradicated from our society,” Leavitt said. “Hatred has no place in the United States of America under President Donald Trump.”
Leavitt said she spoke to the attorney general Thursday morning, who assured her “The Department of Justice will be prosecuting the perpetrator responsible for this to the fullest extent of the law.”
