Yaron Lischinsky had purchased the perfect engagement ring for Sarah Milgrim. The 30 year-old had planned an emotional proposal for his girlfriend next week in Jerusalem.
On the evening of May 21, 2025, the American Jewish Committee hosted a peace-building reception at Washington D.C.’s Capital Jewish Museum for young diplomats. As the couple left the museum, Yaron and Sarah were fatally shot by a terrorist who yelled “Free free Palestine” as he was arrested.
Blood was spilled outside of D.C.’s Capital Jewish Museum. A place that should symbolize the rich history of American Jews is now marked by profound trauma, caused by unimaginably deep hatred. Suspect Elias Rodriguez attacked the young couple at an event that aimed to foster peace and mutual understanding.
Several media outlet headlines have emphasized Lischinsky and Milgrim’s roles as Israeli Embassy employees. While their career choices describe why the pair attended AJC’s May 21 event, they fail to encapsulate the impact of this attack. For myself and Jews around the world, Lichinsky and Milgrim’s murders mark a targeted attack on Jews. At an event hosted by an external Jewish organization on American soil, Rodriguez targeted the young couple. Rodriguez’s attack was premeditated, the man stalked the pair extensively before taking their lives.
Milgrim’s life closely resembles that of countless young Jewish Americans: Milgrim grew up in Kansas and attended the University of Kansas, where she graduated with a major in environmental studies and a minor in anthropology. She served as a leader in KU’s Hillel Center for Jewish Life over the course of her studies. Yaron, a German-born Israeli, held a Master’s degree in government diplomacy and strategy from Reichmann University. He hoped that his work in government would further peace between Israel and its neighbors.
For myself and my Jewish peers, Milgrim and Lischinsky’s stories and their horrific endings are far too personal. This attack is more than a senseless tragedy. Rather, the murders of Lischinsky and Milgrim represent a significant shift in the tides of anti-Israel and antisemitic rhetoric, the same rhetoric that has become normalized on campuses across the country.
Over the past year and a half, since the Oct. 7 terror attacks in Southern Israel and the subsequent Israel-Hamas war, the United States has seen a staggering increase in antisemitic incidents, specifically on college campuses. Unfortunately, Dartmouth is no stranger to the type of rhetoric that radicalized Rodriguez. In what I believe is a legitimization of violent terrorism — including but not limited to the Oct. 7 attacks — protesters here have chanted: “resistance is justified.” Protesters here have used slogans endorsing violent “resistance” against Israel including “freedom by any means,” “long live the student intifada” and “globalize the intifada.”
For those unfamiliar, the word “intifada” has come to describe two distinct waves of uprisings against Israel which included violent attacks: the First Intifada from 1987 to 1993 and the Second Intifada from 2000 to 2005, with the Second Intifada being characterized by more terroristic activity than the first. The Second Intifada included mass terror campaigns against Israeli civilians; terrorist groups targeted infrastructure including buses, pizza shops and hotels.
In 2003, two close family friends, Dr. David and Nava Applebaum, were murdered in the bombing of their local coffee shop. The Applebaums’ death shook the Jewish community. Once again, in 2025, the words “globalize the intifada” instill fear in the hearts of millions of Jews globally. I believe calls to “globalize the intifada” are synonymous with calls to violence against Jews globally. Messages of “support” of Hamas carry similar weight, directly defending the terror group that conducted the Oct. 7 attacks — the deadliest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust.
Disturbingly, Rodriguez’s story is not distant from our own as students. The 30 year-old graduated from the University of Illinois at Chicago with a degree in English and went on to work as an administrative specialist at the American Osteopathic Information Association. Yet, in less than a decade, Rodriguez’s “activism” evolved from seemingly benign acts of dissent to murder. His radicalization was likely fueled by language entrenched in hatred that pervades the internet, city streets and college campuses like Dartmouth. It is these insidious and pervasive statements — catchphrases to which I, and many of my Jewish peers, have become desensitized — that paved the road to the attack in D.C. Rodriguez was an ordinary young man. But evil was born out of mundanity.
As our community works to navigate unprecedentedly challenging times, I implore us to internalize the weight of our words. Our stories could have ended like Lischinsky and Milgrim’s. Easily, though, many stories could end like Rodriguez’s. Perpetuation of dangerous sentiments incites hatred, which — as we witnessed on May 21 — can spiral into death. Milgrim and Lischinsky’s murders serve as an example of how “globalizing the intifada” looks on American soil. Rhetoric that mobilizes people to violence and hatred does just that. Terror against Jews has reached Washington D.C.; Lischinsky and Milgrim’s blood stains the pavement of our nation’s capital.
Ruby Benjamin is a member of the Class of 2026 and president of the Chabad at Dartmouth. Guest columns represent the views of their author(s), which are not necessarily those of The Dartmouth.
