DC Officials Go All Out to Respect Jewish Tradition in Embassy Killings

WASHINGTON (VINnews) – It was just over an hour after the horrific murders of two Israeli embassy staffers when Rabbi Mark Rosenberg got the first of what would be several calls asking him to fly to Washington DC to serve as the crime scene’s Jewish liaison.

As the director of Chesed Shel Emes Florida and a law enforcement chaplain in the Sunshine State, Rosenberg is a known presence at accident scenes and incidents involving Jewish victims. Over the years, he has forged relationships with elected officials and members of law enforcement in both Florida and Washington DC, and just three weeks ago, he testified at a Senate hearing on anti-Semitism about how hate speech can incite violence. Little did he know how prophetic his words would be.

Rosenberg had no clear picture of what kind of assistance was needed in the wake of what was clearly a terror attack in our nation’s capital, but he knew that it was crucial to have a Jewish presence at the site of the crime, as quickly as possible.

“You need boots on the ground in a tragedy, that’s a given rule,” Rosenberg told VIN News. “If people sit and wait until they are needed, then they miss opportunities.”

By 2:30 AM Rosenberg was taking off from Fort Lauderdale and heading to Washington DC, along with Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun, President Donald Trump’s pick to become the country’s special envoy to monitor and combat anti-Semitism, ambassador-at-large. After landing at their destination and dropping off their luggage, the two were at the crime scene just outside the Capital Jewish Museum by 6 AM.

While in established Jewish strongholds law enforcement is well acquainted with the religious requirements in processing fatal incidents, realities are vastly different elsewhere. Rosenberg’s request to clean the victims’ blood off the pavement so that it could be sent for burial was met with a blank stare from the Metropolitan Police Department officer stationed at the crime scene.

“He told me that no one had said anything about a cleanup,” recalled Rosenberg. “They aren’t familiar with things like this like they are in Florida and New York.”

Rosenberg reached out to Florida Senator Rick Scott, who was all too familiar with processing a crime scene with Jewish victims, having worked together with Rosenberg at the 2018 Parkland school shooting. As he waited to hear back from Scott, Rosenberg went to the Metropolitan Police Department to discuss the situation, but noticing someone who seemed to be staring at him left feeling a little unsettled. Finally, the man approached Rosenberg, asking him if he was the rabbi, and whether he could be of any assistance.

“He turned out to be a detective with the intelligence division,” said Rosenberg. “I didn’t think he could help, but five minutes later someone else came down. He turned out to be the commander of the whole department and he offered his help as well.”

Rosenberg explained that he needed just five minutes to assess the crime scene to decide what needed to be done to ensure that the victims were accorded proper respect. The commander agreed to accompany Rosenberg to the crime scene, which was surrounded by hundreds of news photographers. Having come without any equipment or supplies for the job at hand, Rosenberg made a quick trip to a nearby store before getting down in his suit pants and dress shoes to clean all the blood off the sidewalk.

Also joining Rosenberg outside the Capital Jewish Museum was Attorney General Pam Bondi. Having served as Florida’s attorney general at the time of the Parkland shooting, Bondi had already learned all about religious sensitivities inherent in a murder scene from Rosenberg seven years ago.

“She told me that it was of the utmost importance to her religiously to do whatever we could for them,” said Rosenberg. “At least that way we could give them the respect they deserve.”

Rosenberg’s previous assessment that time was of the essence proved to be true as he cleaned up the crime scene. In addition to morning rains potentially washing away the blood that remained on the sidewalk, the Metropolitan Police Department was close to wrapping up their last canvas of the scene as Rosenberg did what needed to be done.

“They didn’t know anything about what needed to be preserved,” explained Rosenberg. “They were ready to wash everything down when they finished. If I had taken a 7 AM flight, I never would have gotten there in time to do it.”

The remainder of the day was a blur of activity, with family members of the two victims flying into Washington DC, meeting with staffers at the Israeli embassy, and expediting processes at the medical examiner’s office so that both Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim can be buried without delay. Lischinsky’s body was being flown back to Israel on Thursday night, with Milgrim’s remains being sent to her family in Kansas.

Rosenberg was grateful to the many people he interacted with throughout the day from the Metropolitan Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Department of Justice, among others. All were incredibly sensitive and went above and beyond the call of duty to respect religious sensitivities, said Rosenberg.

“It isn’t every day that I work with departments who aren’t familiar with Jewish traditions but they were so accommodating,” noted Rosenberg. “No matter what I asked I didn’t get a single no. I didn’t even get a single maybe. Everything went so smoothly.”