Chicago man charged in slaying of two Israeli embassy staff in DC. Manifesto found - National & International News - THU 22May2022 -

Chicago man charged in slaying of two Israeli embassy employees in DC.

Supreme Court deadlocks 4-4 on publicly-funded religious schools.

The Treasury will soon mint its last penny, at least for now.

Chicago man charged in slaying of two Israeli embassy employees in DC

Last night, two young employees of the Israeli embassy in Washington DC were gunned down after leaving an event at the DC Jewish Museum. A suspect, 30-year-old Elias Rodriguez, was apprehended at the scene shortly thereafter, and has now been charged with two counts of first degree murder.

The victims have been identified as Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Lynn Milgrim. According to the Israeli ambassador, they were a couple and Lischinsky had recently purchased an engagement ring. There is no indication yet as to whether the shooter knew that they were Israeli embassy employees.

Witnesses: Rodriguez “disoriented and panicked” after shooting

According to DC police, Rodriguez was seen before the shooting pacing back and forth in front of the museum. Surveillance footage apparently caught Rodriguez on film killing at least one of the victims. A witness told Jewish Insider that Rodriguez then entered the museum in a seemingly “disoriented and panicked” state. Museum employees assumed that he was a bystander and needed assistance. Rodriguez apparently repeatedly urged bystanders to call the police.

For about 10 to 15 minutes, museum employees and event organizers engaged Rodriguez in conversation and informed him that he was at the Jewish Museum. Witnesses said that he then abruptly started screaming “I did it, I did it. Free Palestine. I did it for Gaza”. He opened his backpack and produced a red Keffiyeh and was detained.

Video of Rodriguez’s arrest shows him looking around, and when he finds a camera pointed at him, he shouts “Free free Palestine” before being taken away.

Manifesto found

Journalist Ken Klippenstein located and published Rodriguez’s manifesto on his website. The 900-word document details Rodriguez’s justification for his crime. He cites the ongoing “atrocities committed by Israelis against Palestine” which he says, “defy description and defy quantification”. Rodriguez also alluded to the high death toll in Gaza from direct violence, starvation and preventable disease, and the lack of action by the international community to prevent it.

Disturbingly, he also writes that “those of us against the genocide take satisfaction in arguing that the perpetrators and abettors have forfeited their humanity”. This seems to be more representative of Rodriguez’s state of mind and point of view than of the largely non-violent pro-Palestine movement”.

Despite claims from both US and Israeli officials that Rodriguez’s alleged attack was motivated by “antisemitism”, the manifesto suggests that Rodriguez was motivated by anger over Israel’s actions in Gaza rather than actual hatred of Jews.

Still, if Rodriguez believed he was striking a blow in support of the pro-Palestine movement, his alleged actions will almost certainly have exactly the opposite effect.

Supreme Court deadlocks 4-4 on publicly-funded religious schools

A dramatic 4-4 decision by the Supreme Court has decided the fate of a key case on the separation of church and state. The case was brought by two Catholic archdioceses in Oklahoma who were attempting to establish a Catholic public charter school, which like other charter schools would receive state funding. The school, calling itself Saint Isidore Catholic Academy, would promote overtly religious teachings. This would, in effect, have created the nation’s first publicly funded religious charter school.

The Oklahoma Supreme Court had previously ruled that the establishment of this school would violate state and federal laws separating church and state. The Supreme Court’s split decision leaves the Oklahoma Supreme Court’s ruling in force.

The Supreme Court did not reveal how each justice ruled. Presumably, one of the court’s conservatives (potentially chief Justice John Roberts) voted with the courts three liberals. Justice Amy Coney Barrett recused herself from the case. She did not give her reasoning, but she is known to be close to one of the attorneys representing the two Catholic archdioceses.

The US Treasury will soon mint its last penny, at least for now

Today, the Department of Treasury announced that it had issued its final order of pennies this month and that it will move to end future production. This followed an executive order from President Donald Trump earlier this year to end production of the one cent coin.

Advocates against government waste have long called for the scrapping of the penny. Due to the rising costs of both materials and labor, each penny now costs 3.7 cents to produce. The Treasury says that halting production of new pennies will lead to an immediate savings of $56 million per year.

The nickel also costs more than its face value to produce- about 13.78 cents per 5-cent coin.

While each president has the authority to set policy for the Treasury and US Mint, abolishing the penny permanently would require an act of Congress.