By Joel Goldenberg
The Suburban
Montrealers turned out in large numbers outside the Israeli consulate at Westmount Square Thursday to mourn victims of terrorism Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim, who both worked for the Israeli embassy in Washington, D.C.
The two were killed, allegedly by 31-year-old pro-Palestinian radical Elias Rodriguez, Wednesday night as they left a Jewish event held in Washington. The two victims were about to be engaged to be married.
The vigil in Westmount, organized by Congregation Shaar Hashomayim, had been quickly organized and successfully drowned out less than a half-dozen anti-Israel protesters who were moved from the event area by the SPVM.
Before the vigil, Israeli Consul-General Paul Hirschson told The Suburban that May 21 was a “terrible day for the Israeli Foreign Ministry.
“For over 20 years, we didn’t lose anybody. Now we lost two people on the same night.”
Hirschson also advised the Montreal community to “be aware, be on guard, see what’s going on around you.
“We lower our heads in mourning and sadness, but we hold our heads up high in pride with the fact we know we’re on the right side of history!”
Rabbi Adam Scheier of Shaar Hashomayim Synagogue and Rabbi Reuben Poupko of Beth Israel Beth Aaron Synagogue both said the killing came as no surprise.
“We’re here in anger, sadness and pain!” Rabbi Scheier said. “This young couple was on the cusp of a life together, of building a family and a home! These were beautiful souls who dreamed about peace and hope for everyone! These were peacemakers slaughtered in cold blood!”
The Rabbi added that “no one can say we didn’t see this coming!
“It’s not a surprise when we stand in this very place, where the [anti-Israel protesters] continue to yell slogans of hatred, genocidal slogans, wishing the destruction of another people!…Shame, shame on them!”
“Shame, shame!” the vigil attendees yelled at the nearby protesters.
Rabbi Poupko asked how anyone could be surprised at the murders “after 19 months of listening to murderous chants across North America, on every campus and in every city!
“We told you for months that those chants are calls for violence. That ‘free Palestine!’ means a country free of its Jews, it means ‘kill the Jews’; ‘globalizing Intifada’ means kill the Jews and, on Wednesday night, that man proved it!
The Rabbi added angrily, “we’ve told you, Montreal, for 20 months now, what those chants mean!
“We told the Mayor, who hasn’t listened to a word! We told the Mayor, protect your city! And she sits in her office and does nothing!”
Rabbi Poupko also criticized Prime Minister Mark Carney, who recently joined France’s Emmanuel Macron and Britain’s Keir Starmer in a one-sided statement against Israel.
“We have a Prime Minister who doesn’t have the right to say the words ‘State of Israel’! One word to the Prime Minister of Canada! Stop talking! You’re not hurting us, you’re bringing shame and dishonour to Canada when you open your mouth!”
Rabbi Poupko also asked the protesters where Hamas and Hezbollah terrorist leaders who attacked Israel are now.
“You want to know where they are?! Check your pagers!”
The Rabbi said those who support Israel “know what we stand for!
“We’ve heard the howls of the hatred, of the jackals and you know what, we’re still here!”
Concordia student Ashley Steinwald slammed the media for its coverage of Israel, especially since the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas terrorist attack on Israel.
The murders “are what antisemitism looks like in 2025!” she said.
“And it’s not just coming from extremists! It’s coming from our streets, our schools, our so-called institutions of higher learning and every media outlet that chooses to twist the truth instead of telling it! We got here because the media spent the last seven months and honestly the last 75 years spreading lies about Israel and the Jews! The consequences are fatal! Libellous propaganda is not just words, it is bullets!”
The vigil also included songs sung by Nathaniel Abitbol and prayers sung by Cantor Yitzhak Epstein. n