US Reform group says it opposes death penalty for shooter who killed Israeli embassy staffers

The US Reform movement’s Religious Action Center (RAC) sends a letter to US Attorney General Pam Bondi stating the group’s opposition to the death penalty for Elias Rodriguez, who is accused of killing two Israeli embassy staffers in Washington, DC, earlier this year.

Rabbi Jonah Dov Pesner, the group’s director, writes to Bondi: “I write to you with a heavy heart to urge that in holding accountable the murderer of Sarah Milgrim and Yaron Lischinsky, you do not seek the death penalty. Even in this most heinous circumstance, we cannot endorse the further taking of human life.”

The letter points out that Milgrim grew up in the Reform movement in Kansas City.

“Despite the pain of Sarah and Yaron’s murders and despite the hateful motivation behind their deaths, we believe that the death penalty is a stain upon civilization and our religious conscience. For the past 2,000 years, with the rarest of exceptions, Jewish courts have refused to punish criminals by depriving them of their lives,” the letter says. “Both in concept and in practice, Jewish tradition found capital punishment repugnant, and we continue to do so today.”

“We pray that as you work to hold the perpetrator accountable for his actions, you ensure he is both punished for his crimes and is never again a threat to Jews or anyone else. As you do so, do not compound the already deep pain by pursuing the taking of another life,” the letter says.

US prosecutors said earlier this month that they were examining a possible death sentence for Rodriguez.