Yaron Lischinsky, a Christian who served in the Israel Defense Forces, and Sarah Lynn Milgrom, a Jew, died Wednesday at the hands of Elias Rodriguez after leaving an event at the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C.
"I did it for Palestine," he told police after his arrest. "I did it for Gaza."
The couple were set to be engaged.
President Trump has expressed his outrage and promised justice for the slain staffers, and according to U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, people in the Jewish homeland are "devastated."
"It's just a horrific tragedy, an act of terror, and another way in which we have to recognize Jewish people all over the world are being singled out for these kind of horrible attacks," he says.
He also urges parents of students who have been radicalized at elite colleges to take a bold step: bring them home!
"If you've got kids in some Ivy League school, and you're paying a fortune to have them on the campus screaming, yelling, and saying ridiculous things like 'from the river to the sea' – if they're out there supporting the savages of Hamas, I'd say call them, tell them to pack up their things, and get home," Huckabee advises. "They're going to get a hard labor job until they do a little history search and find out exactly what they're protesting and what they're protesting for."
Huckabee says a lot of "idiotic people" do not seem to understand the difference between right and wrong, but it should not be that complicated.
The enemy is at work 24/7
Jan Markell is founder and director of Olive Tree Ministries, a Messianic Jewish ministry based in Minnesota. She says the murder of Lischinsky and Milgrom should be a wakeup call about the extent of Jew hatred around the world.
"There are just more and more and more Jew-haters all over the world; and I think in one sense it's another wakeup call for Americans who generally don't see these things quite so up close," she tells AFN.
"I think it's a good reminder to Americans what's going on literally in dozens and dozens of countries all over the world," she continues. "Jews are being hunted down, [they're] being gunned down – and the Bible says that two categories of people are going to be attacked: Jews and Christians."
The ministry leader offers one reason why so much violence is being perpetrated against the Jews.
"I can only assume that what God loves, Satan hates – and Satan hates all things that have a tie to God and God's end-time plan, which the Jews do," says Markell. "They're at the center of it, as the nation of Israel is – and so the enemy is busy 24/7 trying to exterminate them."
Markell is host of the radio program "Understanding the Times."
As for the self-confessed killer, Attorney General Pam Bondi, a career capital prosecutor, told Fox News the Trump administration is seeking the death penalty. Rodriguez has been charged for two counts of murder in the first degree. Additional charges are likely, prosecutors said Thursday.
