After attending an American Jewish Council event for young diplomats at the Capital Jewish Museum in D.C., two young Israeli Embassy employees were shot and killed on May 21. The couple, identified as Sarah Milgrim and Yaron Lischinsky (z”l) were soon to be engaged. Milgrim was originally from Kansas and moved to D.C. to get her master’s degree, and Lichinsky was born in Germany and moved to Israel as a teenager, according to CNN.
The New York Times reported that the suspected killer, Elias Rodriguez, shouted “free Palestine” after being taken into police custody. This targeted antisemitic attack is part of the 337% increase in antisemitic attacks since Oct. 7, according to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).
“The fact that they were shot and killed because they were Jewish in our own backyard, it really hits home,” High School Principal and Upper School Campus Head Lisa Vardi said. “We’ve experienced, in our community, so much tragedy from October 7 onward.”
In response to the attack, Vardi said that CESJDS increased their security for May 22, and received a second police car in addition to one that is already on the security detail from Montgomery County.
According to Vardi, the incident was a shocking wake-up call for her as a long-time Maryland resident and a frequent visitor of D.C. As an educator to young people and as a Jew, Vardi feels personally attacked by the horrific events.
Lischinsky had purchased a ring and was planning to propose to Milgrim during an upcoming trip to Israel. Both Lischinsky and Milgrim deeply valued and hoped for Israeli-Palestinian peace, according to CNN.
Security guard Donald King said that he personally will aim to be more attentive and quick to react in the face of threat. The security team will also be implementing new deterrent protocols, which means that they will position people and objects in a way that shows potential threats that there is a high level of security in the building.
“In the times that we’re living in right now, we are dealing with threats that expand beyond the school,” King said. “And so it calls for all of us, and even me personally, to make adjustments.”
Other security adjustments to the school will include faster intake and dismissal times for students to limit the amount of time the school doors are open, and the recent implementation of the Blue Point security system. The Blue Point security system is a series of blue pull station alarms around the school that, when pressed, alert the police and send the school into lockdown.
Even though the security additions to the school over the past couple of years have been necessary, Vardi worries about how they impact students in their school environment.
“I think about, as we add on security, how that affects students, how they feel,” Vardi said. “Because five, six years ago, it didn’t feel this way.”
The increase in antisemitism in the area has felt scary to freshman Alex Plotinsky, who said he is saddened by the senseless violence in the news.
“It makes me feel a lot more vulnerable to know that there are people out there who don’t know you, but they still hate you,” Plotinsky said. “It makes me feel scared to be a Jew sometimes.”
Despite the horrible acts of violence in D.C. on Wednesday night and the need for heightened security, Vardi believes that the Jewish people can get through the hard times and be there for each other when it matters most.
“I have hope because we as a Jewish people and a Jewish community, we come together, we sit together and we have a lot of pride in who we are,” Vardi said.
