Authorities have “tentatively” identified Chicago resident Elias Rodriguez, 31, as the accused who gunned down two Israeli diplomats in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday night.

According to police in the U.S. Capitol, on-site security detained Rodriguez near the Capital Jewish Museum, about 12 blocks east of the White House, after he allegedly opened fire on four people leaving an event there.

Israeli Embassy employees Yaron Lischinsky, 30, and Sarah Lynn Milgrim, 26, were killed. Their ages aren’t immediately available, but the Israeli Ambassador to the U.S., Yechiel Leiter, said they were a young couple about to be engaged. The two other individuals, both American women, escaped physically unharmed, according to officials who spoke to

CNN

.

Yaron and Sarah were our friends and colleagues. They were in the prime of their lives.

This evening, a terrorist shot and killed them as they exited an event at the Capital Jewish Museum in DC.

The entire embassy staff is heartbroken and devastated by their murder. No words… pic.twitter.com/2HytKDp8Fr

— Embassy of Israel to the USA (@IsraelinUSA) May 22, 2025

Washington Metropolitan Police Chief Pamela Smith said witnesses reported Rodriguez pacing back and forth in front of the building before the incident.

Once in police custody, Smith said the suspect “implied he committed the offence” and told officers where he’d disposed of the handgun he’d allegedly used, which has since been recovered.

“The suspect chanted ‘Free, free Palestine’ while in custody,” Smith told reporters during

a press conference.

Smith also said Rodriguez, who is believed to have acted alone, hasn’t had any previous interactions with metro police.

“We don’t see anything in his background that would have put him on our radar at this time,” she added, but officials will conduct a “deep dive” to learn more.

Rodriguez is reportedly being interviewed by Washington police and the FBI, per CNN. The Israeli embassy is also working with law enforcement.

Smith said it’s too early to discuss a possible motive and didn’t answer whether Rodrigues travelled to D.C. with the intent to carry out this act.

In response to reports by media outlets such as

The Independent

and

NDTV

that he is an active member of the Party of Socialism and Liberation, a U.S. communist party and offshoot of the Marxist-Leninist Workers World Party, the group denied any current involvement.

“We reject any attempt to associate the PSL with the DC shooting,”

they posted on X

. “Elias Rodriguez is not a member of the PSL. He had a brief association with one branch of the PSL that ended in 2017. We know of no contact with him in over 7 years. We have nothing to do with this shooting and do not support it.”

We reject any attempt to associate the PSL with the DC shooting. Elias Rodriguez is not a member of the PSL. He had a brief association with one branch of the PSL that ended in 2017. We know of no contact with him in over 7 years. We have nothing to do with this shooting and do…

— Party for Socialism and Liberation (@pslnational) May 22, 2025

• Two Israeli embassy staffers killed in shooting outside Jewish museum in Washington
• This is what ‘globalize the intifada’ looks like

Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark nationalpost.com and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here.

As the possibility of a strike on Friday looms, the Canada Post and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) have several points that they cannot agree upon.

The Crown Corporation received

notice of a strike on Monday

. It presented the union with new proposals for both of its bargaining units, Urban Postal Operation (UPO) and the Rural and Suburban Mail Carriers (RSMC), on Wednesday. The

union said it would be reviewing the offers

, and said it had extended a two-week truce to Canada Post. However, the corporation refused that request, and a strike on Friday remains a possibility.

As the review of the proposals are underway, the union said later on Wednesday that the offers “fall short.”

Among remaining sticking points are weekend work, benefits, wages, dynamic routing, and load levelling. The union also said that Canada Post would be “taking away the 5-minute wash-up time.”

Canada Post echoed this statement in

a summary of its new global for employees in the Urban unit

. The corporation said: “We’re removing the 5-minute wash-up time before the meal period.”

Here’s what to know.

What is five-minute wash-up time?

Five-minute wash-up time refers to time when employees can get ready before they have a meal.

“Employees shall, during working hours, be allowed five (5) minutes paid wash-up time before the meal period when the nature of their work makes it necessary,”

according to the Agreement between Canada Post Corporation and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers

.

In a section about “unproductive time” in

Canada Post’s written submission to the Industrial Inquiry Commission (IIC) in February

, the corporation says part of the Urban agreement allows for “five minutes of paid wash-up time to allow employees to wash their hands before a meal period when the nature of their work makes it necessary.” The commission was created to examine the key issues between both parties with a series of public hearings.

However, Canada Post has removed wash-up time from the new Urban offer currently under review.

Why is five-minute wash-up time such a sticking point between Canada Post, union?

Rafael Gomez, University of Toronto professor and director of the Centre for Industrial Relations & Human Resources, said in an emailed statement to National Post on Thursday that the issue “only inflames members and makes it more likely we will have another strike.”

“I guess management is saying, ‘Any worker is free to wash up after a shift is done, but why should “I”

 

(i.e., the employer) be asked to pay if the shift is done? Wash up on your time…no one is stopping you,’” he said.

He continued: “While on the other side, the union is saying, ‘Remaining healthy and ready to work another shift IS something “you” (i.e., the employer) should care about and hence pay for.’”

What has the union said about five-minute wash-up time?

The union said that “handwashing is a small but significant part of ensuring a safe, healthy and respectful workplace for all postal workers,” in an emailed statement to National Post on Thursday.

A final

report by ICC

 cited reasons why there was a breakdown in negotiations ahead of the union’s last strike in November 2024.

Canada Post, according to the union, was “indifferent and unresponsive to its legitimate bargaining demands.” One of the concessions that the corporation was seeking included

“

the elimination of the 5-minute wash-up period.”

What are Canada Post’s reasons for getting rid of five-minute wash-up time?

Per the report, none of Canada Post’s competitors “enjoyed five minutes of paid wash-up time or paid lunches.”

“Canada Post proposed elimination, which would not impact take-home pay but would reduce unproductive time,” the report stated, speaking to the reason why the corporation wanted to get rid of five-minute wash-up time.

Canada Post did not immediately respond to National Post’s request for comment.

• Canada Post’s new offers ‘fall short,’ union says as review ongoing
• Sabine El-Chidiac: Canada Post union addicted to irrelevancy

Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark nationalpost.com and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here.

The Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) is reviewing offers presented by the Crown Corporation as a potential strike looms.

A 72-hour strike notice was issued on Tuesday, with the deadline set as Friday midnight for a planned strike.

If the postal workers hit the picket lines, this would be their second strike in less than six months. The

last strike was in November

and lasted 32 days after both the parties failed to reach a consensus. In December, the workers were ordered back to work by the Canada Industrial Relations Board.

Canada Post rejects strike delay offer from the union

A two-week pause on the strike was proposed by the union, according to CUPW negotiator Jim Gallant. But

Canada Post did not agree to the proposal

, pushing for the union to agree to its offers submitted Wednesday.

The new offers include a wage increase of 6 per cent in year one for current employees, 3 per cent in year two, and 2 per cent in year three and year four, respectively, or 13.59 per cent compounded, per a news release.

“The offers also provide employees with better income replacement for leave under the short-term disability program, and six added personal days locked into the collective agreements,” Canada Post said in a statement.

Under these offers, the statement elaborated, the current employees would keep their defined benefit pension, job security provisions, health benefits and post-retirement benefits, vacation (up to seven weeks) and pre-retirement leave, cost of living allowance that protects against the effects of unforeseen inflation, and work schedules.

• Canada Post urged to end door-to-door mail delivery. What other countries have considered it?
• Canada Post turns down potential strike delay offer from union

Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark nationalpost.com and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here.

OTTAWA — The federal government has summoned Israel’s ambassador to Canada to explain why Israeli soldiers shot in the vicinity of a delegation of diplomats — including four Canadian representatives — touring the West Bank Wednesday.

“I spoke with Canada’s Head of Mission in Ramallah earlier today. I can confirm 4 of our personnel were part of the delegation in West Bank when the IDF fired shots in their vicinity. Relieved to know our team is safe,”

Foreign Minister Anita Anand

wrote on social media Wednesday afternoon.

“I have asked my officials to summon Israel’s Ambassador to convey Canada’s serious concerns. We expect a full investigation and accountability,” her statement continued.

On Wednesday morning, the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) confirmed that its soldiers had fired “warning shots” towards a delegation of individuals whom it claimed had strayed away from a pre-authorized route.

But the group was a diplomatic delegation with representatives from over a dozen countries including Canada, France, Italy, Germany and the European Union. The incident sparked widespread condemnation.

Videos of the incident circulating online show a delegation of dozens of foreign diplomats as well as West Bank and United Nations officials standing on a road blocked off by a large yellow gate in the West Bank city of Jenin Wednesday morning.

The video shows IDF soldiers suddenly firing their weapons in the vicinity of the group, which quickly dispersed back towards diplomatic and armoured vehicles parked around the corner.

The tour was organized by the Palestinian Authority and was authorized by Israel, according to foreign media reports. There were four Canadian representatives among the delegation, including the head of mission in Ramallah Graham Dattels.

In a statement, the IDF said it “regrets the inconvenience caused” by the incident and said it launched an inquiry after realizing that its soldiers had fired towards a diplomatic delegation.

“According to an initial inquiry, the delegation deviated from the approved route and entered an area where they were not authorized to be. IDF soldiers operating in the area fired warning shots to distance them away. No injuries or damages were reported,” t

he IDF wrote on social media

.

The claim that the delegation was in an unauthorized area is being met with skepticism within the Canadian government.

Representatives from France, Germany and Italy also expressed their outrage at the shots towards their diplomats and called on the Israeli government to explain itself.

“A visit to Jenin, in which one of our diplomats was participating, was fired upon by Israeli soldiers. This is unacceptable. The Israeli ambassador will be summoned to explain himself,” French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said in a statement.

The German Foreign Office “strongly” condemned the “unprovoked fire” and noted that it was lucky that “nothing more serious occurred.”

“The group was travelling in the West Bank in the course of its diplomatic work and in coordination with the Palestinian Authority and the Israeli army. The role of diplomats as independent observers on the ground is indispensable and in no way represents a threat to Israeli security interests,” read the statement.

The incident comes amid increasing pressure from countries like Canada, the United Kingdom and France for Israel to stop expanding its military operations in Gaza and restricting humanitarian aid into the territory.

The three countries released a joint statement on Monday threatening action against Israel if Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not stop its military actions in Gaza.

In their statement, Prime Minister Mark Carney, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron cited the “intolerable suffering” unfolding in Gaza, calling the announcement Israel made the day before to allow basic quantities of food into the area “wholly inadequate.”

They demanded Israel’s government halt its military operations and for Hamas to release the remaining hostages taken captive when terrorists stormed into southern Israel in October 2023.

Tuesday, Israel’s ambassador to Canada Iddo Moed told National Post his country is “quite taken aback” by Canada’s threat.

“This is unprecedented,” Moed said. “This has never happened in the past and so this is why we are taken aback. That’s an understatement, I would say.”

National Post, with files from Stephanie Taylor.

cnardi@postmedia.com

• Israel ‘taken aback’ by Canada’s threat of action over war, wants Carney to visit: ambassador
• Liberal MPs considering voting for power to trigger leadership review after Trudeau experience

Get more deep-dive National Post political coverage and analysis in your inbox with the Political Hack newsletter, where Ottawa bureau chief Stuart Thomson and political analyst Tasha Kheiriddin get at what’s really going on behind the scenes on Parliament Hill every Wednesday and Friday, exclusively for subscribers. Sign up here.

Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark nationalpost.com and sign up for our politics newsletter, First Reading, here.

Inside the Oval Office on Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump told the world he’d decided on a design for the Golden Dome, a multilayered missile defence program to counter threats to America, even those coming from foreign-controlled satellites.

The president also said that Canada wants in on a system the White House estimates

will cost US$175 billion.

Here’s what you need to know.

What is the Golden Dome?

The system is needed, Trump said, in order to protect the country from “hypersonic missiles, ballistic missiles and advanced cruise missiles.” He said it would also use “space-based sensors and interceptors,” marking the first time the U.S. will have weapons in orbit around the planet.

It will be overseen by Gen. Michael Guetlein, currently the vice chief of space operations, or Space Force, which Trump launched in 2019 as a stand-alone, sixth branch of the U.S. military.

He anticipates the “next generation technologies across the land, sea and space” to be integrated with the existing defence systems and be up and running by 2029. His second term is set to end that January.

“In about three years, once fully constructed, the Golden Dome will be capable of intercepting missiles even if they are launched from other sides of the world and even if they’re launched from space,” Trump said.

According to a U.S. official who spoke with the Associated Press on the condition of anonymity, Trump chose from three options developed by military planners in recent months, each with a different price tag depending on the amount of equipment required. It’s not clear which option Trump chose.

Initial funding for the project is embedded in a massive bill currently making its way through Congress — the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” which, if passed, would kick-start Golden Dome work with $25 billion.

A Congressional Budget Office report

released in May exploring the cost of maintaining just space-based interceptors for 20 years estimated it at between $161 billion for the “lowest-cost alternative” and $542 billion for the top tier.

In a hearing on Tuesday, Air Force Secretary Troy Meink said Golden Dome plans are “still in the conceptual stage” and no funds have been allotted.

What inspired the Golden Dome?

Amid a flurry of executive orders during his first week in office was one that called for the creation of “a state-of-the-art Iron Dome,” referencing the name often given to the systems which have been protecting Israel from missile attacks since 2011.

Unlike Trump’s ambitious plan to stop missiles from anywhere, Israel’s all-weather air defence system only intercepts short-range projectiles.

It consists of a series of surface-to-air missile batteries that use radar to detect incoming attacks and gauge whether they will hit civilian or military areas before deploying countermeasures.

Over the past 14 years, it has intercepted thousands of missiles and rockets, most fired by Hamas and Hezbollah. The success rate for dangerous threats is over 85 to 90 per cent,

according to the Israel Defence Forces (IDF).

The Iron Dome was made possible thanks to substantial financial assistance and support from the U.S. The same applies to two other components of Israel’s multitiered system — the Arrow and David’s Sling.

The former is designed for medium-range missiles and has been used against Hezbollah, while the latter handles long-range ballistic missiles and has been used to thwart those fired by Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen and by Iran itself in 2024.

The cost of a single Iron Dome interception is reportedly about $50,000, but the Arrow and David’s Sling are steeper at up to $2 million per missile.

It’s also possible that Trump was inspired by former president Ronald Reagan’s 1983 Strategic Defence Initiative (SDI), which aimed to develop a space-based defence program to protect against nuclear attack.

“The idea was dependent on futuristic technology, including space-based laser systems that had not yet been developed, although the idea had been portrayed as real in science fiction,”

the U.S. Department of State once wrote

. “As a result, critics of the proposal nicknamed SDI ‘Star Wars’ after the movie of the same name.”

Both Trump and Pete Hegseth, U.S. Secretary of Defence, referenced Reagan and SDI on Tuesday.

“We will truly be completing the job that President Reagan started 40 years ago, forever ending the missile threat to the American homeland,” Trump told reporters.

“Reagan, 40 years ago, cast the vision for it. The technology wasn’t there; now it is, and you’re following through to say ‘We will protect the homeland,’” Hegseth said to his boss.

What does Canada have to do with the Golden Dome?

During his presentation, Trump noted on three occasions that Canada wants to get in on the Golden Dome.

“So we’ll be talking to them, they want to have protection also, so as usual, we help Canada, do the best we can,” Trump said.

When asked about criticism of the project’s potential costs, Trump said Canada will “pay their fair share.”

“Canada wants to be a part of it, which will be … a fairly small expansion. But we’ll work with them on pricing. They know about it very much.”

President Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth unveiled the “Golden Dome” missile defense system, designed to intercept missiles globally, even from space. Canada will also invest in the $175 billion project, expected to be completed in three years. pic.twitter.com/x7n8QaODI1

— Geopoliti𝕏 Monitor (@GeopolitixM) May 20, 2025

In a statement provided to The Canadian Press and multiple other media outlets, a spokesperson for Prime Minister Mark Carney’s office confirmed talks about the Golden Dome and strengthening North American Aerospace Defence Command (Norad), but didn’t share any specifics or costs.

“Canadians gave the prime minister a strong mandate to negotiate a comprehensive new security and economic relationship with the United States,” the spokesperson wrote.

“To that end, the prime minister and his ministers are having wide-ranging and constructive discussions with their American counterparts.”

National Post has contacted the Prime Minister’s Office for more information.

Since returning to office and amid his rhetoric about making Canada the 51st state, Trump has repeatedly griped about Canada not spending enough on defence, particularly within NATO. Canada is one of eight member nations not meeting the two per cent of GDP benchmark first agreed to in 2014. Carney has pledged to meet the target by 2030.

— With files from The Canadian Press and The Associated Press

• Trump says Canada wants to be part of his Golden Dome missile defence shield
• Canada’s boutique military: ‘Should we not be able to defend ourselves?’

Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark nationalpost.com and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here.

OTTAWA — Liberal MPs are considering adopting for the first time Reform Act rules that would give them the power to trigger a leadership review of their new leader Mark Carney.

As first reported by POLITICO

, Liberal MPs have been quietly discussing going ahead with the rule changes in a vote — with some wanting it to happen via a secret ballot — that is set to happen at their Sunday caucus meeting, which is the first since the April election.

Liberal MPs told the National Post they are satisfied with Carney’s leadership and have no reason to believe they will be using the new powers to remove him anytime soon but want to avoid a repeat of the escalation that led to then prime minister Justin Trudeau’s resignation in January.

One MP said they have not seen any serious effort within caucus to ensure that the Reform Act rules pass, but that many want the option of using a leadership review in the future.

“I’ll tell you, the Trudeau experience is the key reason for that,” said the MP.

“We didn’t vote in favour of the Reform Act,” the person added, pointing to the caucus meeting following the 2021 election. “Had we done so, we would have avoided a lot of the problems I think, that we experienced, particularly in the past couple of years with Trudeau.”

Another MP said they did not want to “relive the situation that we just went through.”

“Everything was done sloppily,” they said of MPs’ efforts to oust Trudeau.

If adopted, the rules under the Reform Act — a law introduced by Conservative MP Michael Chong in 2015 — allow caucus to trigger a leadership review of a party leader, expel or readmit a caucus member, elect or remove a caucus chair, and to elect an interim leader.

Conservatives have adopted the rules — in part or in full — repeatedly since the 2015 election as a manner of routine. The first and only time they used them was to trigger a leadership review that led to the exit of then Conservative leader Erin O’Toole in 2022.

On May 6,

a majority of Conservative MPs voted

to adopt the option to trigger a leadership review but said it should not be seen as a warning to current leader Pierre Poilievre.

Alex Marland, a professor at Acadia University who specializes in political party discipline, said it is “refreshing” to see the Liberal caucus consider taking back some of its power.

“It really shows that Justin Trudeau had an incredible hold over the caucus,” he said. “The fact that they’re having an open conversation about it shows some scarring resulting from what happened with the end of his leadership.”

There are, however, some limitations to this newfound freedom. Voting on the Reform Act rules usually happens in public, for everyone to see, which could deter some MPs who have their sights on a promotion from openly seeking a future leadership review.

As one MP explained, if the vote is open, Carney’s first impression of some MPs voting in favour of the Reform Act might be that those caucus members will want to throw him out.

“I’ll be honest with you: I’ll vote for the Reform Act if it’s a secret ballot. If it’s not a secret ballot, then our hands are tied, because we have ambitions,” said the MP.

Liberal MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith — who was just recently dropped out of cabinet and wrote on X

it was “impossible not to feel disrespected”

— said he has always voted in favour of the Reform Act and will be voting once again to enact the rules on Sunday.

“This isn’t about casting doubt on anyone’s leadership, whether it was Trudeau or Carney,” said the Toronto MP. “I mean, I think the idea is accountability to caucus on an ongoing basis. I think that’s a good thing. So, I’ve always supported the measures and will continue to.”

Unlike some of his Liberal colleagues, Erskine-Smith said that his view on the Act “isn’t coloured by recent experience.”

Marland said in many ways, the Liberals’ vote on the Reform Act will be a “test.”

“If we see that the Liberal caucus votes to empower itself, then the Liberal caucus is saying to everybody that we do not want to have a prime minister who has all this power centralized in the Prime Minister’s Office, as has been the case in the past,” he said.

“But the very fact that we’re talking about it and questioning whether the Liberals will go along with it really supports the general pattern, and the general pattern is of MPs relinquishing their power to the centre,” he added.

Despite wanting to vote for the Reform Act rules, some MPs are quietly hoping that the prime minister will give them permission to empower themselves.

“We’re quite enthusiastic about Carney, and we would be even more enthusiastic if he came out and said, ‘Look, I’m going to show you just one more way I’m different from Justin Trudeau. Go ahead, let’s pass this Reform Act, because I think that caucus matters and there should be a check on the power of a leader,’” said one of the MPs.

“That would really blow people away.”

National Post

calevesque@postmedia.com

Get more deep-dive National Post political coverage and analysis in your inbox with the Political Hack newsletter, where Ottawa bureau chief Stuart Thomson and political analyst Tasha Kheiriddin get at what’s really going on behind the scenes on Parliament Hill every Wednesday and Friday, exclusively for subscribers. Sign up here.

Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark nationalpost.com and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here.