(May 27, 2025 / JNS) Fifteen members of Israel’s parliament signed a letter on May 2 to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi requesting that she pursue the death penalty against Elias Rodriguez, the alleged killer of two Israeli Embassy staffers on May 21.

“In light of the gravity of the crime—its premeditated nature, the likely ideological motivation, and the victims’ diplomatic status—we believe it would be appropriate for you to seek the death penalty for its perpetrator,” the letter states.

“I could not stand idly by in the face of the despicable murder of Israeli diplomats in the heart of Washington, that had a clear antisemitic motive,” MK Yitzhak Kroizer of the Otzma Yehudit Party, who initiated the letter, told JNS.

“To remain silent in such a case is to abandon justice, and that is why I saw the utmost importance that a clear, ringing Israeli voice should be heard—not only to demand accountability, but also to convey a strong message: Antisemitic violence and harm to Israel’s representatives overseas will not go unnoticed,” he said.

U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Jan. 20, 2025, the first day of his second term, titled, “Restoring the Death Penalty and Protecting Public Safety,” instructing the U.S. Attorney General to “pursue the death penalty for all crimes of a severity demanding its use,” the letter noted.

Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim, two Israeli embassy staffers, were shot and killed on the evening of May 21 outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., where they were attending an American Jewish Committee event.

Israeli Ambassador to the United States Yechiel Leiter revealed that the victims were a couple about to be engaged.

A short while later, still at the scene, Rodriguez reportedly admitted to the killings. He was filmed yelling “Free Palestine” in front of the museum while handcuffed by police. The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force is leading the investigation.

Lischinsky and Milgrim, “valued members of the Israeli diplomatic mission,” were “brutally gunned down,” the MKs wrote.

“These were not random victims. The preliminary evidence, including the statements attributed to the alleged assailant Elias Rodriguez, strongly indicates that this was a targeted and hate-driven act,” they said.

The MKs expressed full confidence in the “integrity” and “professionalism” of America’s system of justice, but felt compelled to speak out.

“We did not come to intervene. We came to strengthen the call for justice,” Kroizer explained. “In light of the seriousness of the criminal act and the horrific circumstances in which it occurred, we thought that our joining would only reinforce the need for swift and uncompromising justice.”

Response to the letter has been positive, Kroizer said, with wide agreement that “when it comes to ideological, antisemitic and planned murder of state representatives, there is only one way—to bring justice in the fullest and the most decisive way possible. For terrorists, there is only one sentence and that is the death penalty.”

Although the 15 signatories are all coalition members, Kroizer said it was only due to the short timetable in which the letter was submitted that kept opposition members from joining.

“This is not a political statement, but simply a technical constraint of the moment. I am sure that my friends in the opposition also agree that terrorists deserve a death sentence,” he said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with Attorney General Bondi shortly after the shooting.

Bondi expressed her sorrow at the killing and said that the president “is personally involved in managing the response to the incident.”

She assured the prime minister that “the United States will ensure the murderer is brought to justice” and conveyed her condolences “to the families of the young couple who were soon to be engaged.”

The signatories to the letter included MKs:

Yitzhak Kroizer, Otzma Yehudit Party
Itamar Ben-Gvir, Minister of National Security, Otzma Yehudit chairman
Yitzhak Wasserlauf, Minister for the Development of the Negev and the Galilee, Otzma Yehudit
Amichai Eliyahu, Minister of Heritage, Otzma Yehudit
Zvika Fogel, chairman of the Knesset National Security Committee, Otzma Yehudit Limor Son Har-Melech, Otzma Yehudit
Tally Gotliv, Likud Party
Ariel Kallner, Likud
Eli Dallal, Likud
Hanoch Milwidsky, Likud
Nissim Vaturi, Likud
Amit Halevi, Likud
Ohad Tal, Likud
Michal Waldiger, Religious Zionism Party
Zvi Yedidya Sukkot, Religious Zionism

PHOTO: Use according to Section 27 A