The father of the woman who was gunned down near the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., along with her boyfriend, has said his daughter was involved in trying to bring peace between Israel and Palestine.
According to the New York Post, the suspected murderer Elias Rodriguez, reportedly yelled “Free, free Palestine,” after he was arrested for his alleged role in the shootings Sarah Milgrim, and Yaron Lischinsky.
Robert Milgrim, Sarah’s father, said Rodriguez’s actions were antisemitic, and didn’t help Palestine because his daughter was actively helping Palestine.
“Last night, she was attending an affair to figure out how to get more aid into Gaza,” Milgrim told The Post. “The night she was killed, she was trying to help the situation – that’s the irony.”
Milgrim shared that his daughter was deeply committed to her work at the Department of Diplomacy, dedicating several Summers in Israel to collaborating with peace-building organizations aimed at fostering unity between Palestinians and Israelis.
Sarah earned a master’s degree in international affairs from American University, along with another in natural resources and sustainable development from the University for Peace. Before joining the embassy, she conducted research on peace-building efforts between Israelis and Palestinians while working with Tech2Peace in Tel Aviv.
Milgrim said that his family has been utterly devastated by the tragedy, made even more heartbreaking by the revelation that Lischinsky had been preparing to propose to Sarah the following week.
“We didn’t even know about it. She was leaving on Sunday to Israel to meet his family. They were going together,” Milgrim said. “She was happier now than she ever was in her life. She was truly in love with Yaron and vice versa.”
According to the Daily Wire, Israeli Ambassador to the United States Yechiel Leiter also said the couple were about to get engaged.
“The couple that was gunned down tonight in the name of free Palestine is a couple that was about to be engaged,” Leiter said. “The young man purchased a ring this week with the intention of proposing to his girlfriend next week in Jerusalem. They were a beautiful couple who came to enjoy an evening in Washington’s cultural center.”
