Christian Couple Murdered to ‘Free Palestine’

On May 21, 2025, a horrific crime occurred in Washington, D.C.  A man brutally murdered a young Christian couple.

The two young people were murdered as they “were leaving a reception for young Jewish diplomats at the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, DC.”  The murderer ambushed the pair, shooting them multiple times.  The woman tried to crawl away as the murderer reloaded before finishing his deed.

Authorities apprehended the assailant at the scene.  He is shouting “Free Palestine” in videos of the arrest.

Twenty-seven-year-old Elias Rodriguez was the attacker who murdered Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim outside the museum.  Headlines buzzed with news of this tragic event.  However, few news outlets discussed the couple’s Christianity or their participation in the new members class at the Church of the Ascension and Saint Agnes.  The media focused on the fact that these two people, created in the image of God, were Jewish.

But Lischinsky and Milgrim were not Orthodox Jews.  They were Messianic Jews – Jews who believe in Jesus Christ as the Messiah – Jewish Christians.   According to Google, worldwide there are about 350,000 Jewish Christians. This is just over two percent of all the Jewish people in the world.

While the murder was horrific, the young couple’s beliefs might also be good reason for Christians to pause and take some time to reflect on the Jewish roots of Christianity and the ongoing scourge of antisemitism.

Not a Paradox

In today’s modern world, few consider that a person can be both Jewish and Christian.  Some might even call it a paradox.  But a few minutes of thought easily rebuffs this notion.

Stating the obvious, Jesus Christ was a Jew, born in Bethlehem, raised in Nazareth, and practicing the traditions of Judaism.  St. Joseph and the Virgin Mary, both Jews, taught Him these practices.

Just after Christ’s Ascension, the Christian Church was undeniably predominantly Jewish.  All of the Apostles were Jewish.  Even Paul, the great missionary to the Gentiles, was a Jew trained as a Pharisee under Gamaliel.   

The early Church debated heavily on weather gentiles must first become Jews in order to become Christians.  The answer to that debate is well known, as most Christians today are gentiles.

The Acts of the Apostles recounts how Peter, guided by a vision, baptized the Gentile Cornelius.  Moreover, Cornelius was a Roman Centurion.

This Baptism signaled that Christ’s salvation was for all people, not just Jews.  Paul’s missionary journeys further opened the Church to Gentiles.

Christianity’s Jewish Foundation

Be that as it may, the growth of the Church among Gentiles did not erase the Jewish foundation of Christianity.  References to the Hebrew Scriptures saturate the New Testament.  The sacrament of the Eucharist is rooted in the Passover meal.  Many Catholics do not recognize much of the meaning in the New Testament which is steeped in Jewish tradition.

Christianity seeks the conversion both Jew and Gentile.  All souls are invited to encounter Christ’s redemption.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church affirms this universal call, stating that God “desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (CCC 851).

The Chosen People and Antisemitism

Both the Old and New Testaments affirm that the Jewish people are the Chosen People of God.  The coming of Christ did not change this.  The Jewish people remain God’s Chosen.  This is a truth that Christians must honor and respect.

However, throughout history, people have twisted this truth into a pretext for hatred.  Jews have been scapegoated, exiled, and told to “go back where they came from.”

With the reestablishment of the modern state of Israel in 1948, some lands that once expelled Jews now called for the annihilation of Israel.  The only way one can have it both ways is through genocide.

“Free Palestine” is a cry spewed my many today who hate the Jews. But the geographic area referred to as Palestine includes the area called Judea – the area around Jerusalem that is the Promised Land. Roman colonizers chose the name “Palestine” in the second century AD to erase Judea’s Jewish identity after the Bar Kokhba revolt.

So it would seem that when Jews lose a war, others can rename the land.  When Jews retake the land, critics chastise the Jews for doing the same thing.  This one-sided tactic attempts to delegitimize Israel’s existence.

Weak Justifications

The accusation that “Jews killed Christ” has been an excuse justifying antisemitism for centuries.  But it is a gross oversimplification.

It is true that some Jewish leaders collaborated with Roman authorities to arrest Jesus and have Him executed.  Condemning all Jews for Christ’s death would require condemning of St. Peter, St. Paul, and all the evangelists, along with the early Fathers of the Church.

This is as absurd as blaming all Africans for the Atlantic slave trade because some tribes sold other tribes into slavery.  Such generalizations are not only illogical but contrary to the Christian call for redemption and forgiveness.

Antisemitism as a Canary in the Coal Mine

The murder of Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim is a stark reminder that antisemitism is often a precursor to broader persecution.  History shows that the hatred of Jews frequently signals a rising tide of intolerance.

Vandals are burning and defacing Catholic churches in the United States.  But antisemitism may be the canary in the coal mine.  It warns of the toxic atmosphere that threatens all who hold fast to faith in the one true God.

The Catholic response must be one of fortitude and charity.  Catholics are called to act as witnesses to Christ, even in the face of persecution.  The deaths of Yaron and Sarah challenge one to pray for a world where no one is murdered for their faith or heritage.