Exactly one year after Israeli embassy staffers Sarah Milgrim and Yaron Lischinsky were killed outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., the American Jewish Committee said that it is working to combat dangerous rhetoric and conspiracies that lead to anti-Jewish violence.
The pair, who planned to get engaged, was killed on May 21, 2025, after they attended an American Jewish Committee young diplomats reception focused on humanitarian diplomacy and Israeli-Palestinian cooperation at the museum, located about a mile from the White House.
The Justice Department recently said that it was seeking the death penalty against Elias Rodriguez, who faces federal hate-crime and murder charges for the attack.
“We are grateful for the severity with which the Justice Department is handling this case,” an AJC spokesman told JNS. “Ultimately, when it comes to sentencing and punishment, we support the wishes of Sarah’s and Yaron’s families.”
In a statement marking one year since the staffers were killed, the AJC pointed to growing violent Jew-hatred nationwide, which followed “a constant stream of protests that demonized Jews and Israelis in the wake of the Oct. 7, 2023, terror attack.”
The AJC told JNS that it is taking a “multifaceted approach” to dangerous rhetoric, including “engaging directly with major technology and social media companies to provide clear recommendations and urgent steps to address anti-Jewish hate and conspiracies spreading online.”
It added that it is “working directly with leaders across society, from government and partner communities to education and the private sector, to help them to better understand, prevent and respond to antisemitism.”
Ted Deutch, CEO of the American Jewish Committee, stated that “the antisemitic, hate-filled attack that took Sarah’s and Yaron’s lives, and the future they were to share, was meant to intimidate, to instill fear and send a signal that publicly participating in Jewish life comes at a cost.”
“Giving into that fear would be a disservice to Sarah’s and Yaron’s memories,” he added.
The AJC described Milgrim as a “warm, compassionate leader” and Lischinsky as someone devoted to “a better, more connected and peaceful future.”
