{"id":91697,"date":"2026-02-24T15:08:43","date_gmt":"2026-02-24T20:08:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/?p=91697"},"modified":"2026-02-25T11:14:36","modified_gmt":"2026-02-25T16:14:36","slug":"yaron-lischinskys-brother-jewish-hockey-stars-jack-and-quinn-hughes-among-guests-at-trumps-state-of-the-union","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/yaron-lischinskys-brother-jewish-hockey-stars-jack-and-quinn-hughes-among-guests-at-trumps-state-of-the-union\/","title":{"rendered":"Yaron Lischinsky\u2019s brother, Jewish hockey stars Jack and Quinn Hughes among guests at Trump\u2019s State of the Union"},"content":{"rendered":"

By GRACE GILSON<\/p>\n

(JTA) \u2014 Among the guests expected to attend President Donald Trump\u2019s State of the Union Address Tuesday evening are Hanan Lischinsky, the brother of the Israeli embassy staffer killed last summer, and the Jewish Olympic hockey star brothers Jack and Quinn Hughes.<\/p>\n

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The U.S. Capitol is shown on February 24, 2026 in Washington, DC. U.S. President Donald Trump is scheduled to deliver the annual State of the Union address this evening before a joint session of Congress. (Win McNamee\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Trump\u2019s address is expected to tout the accomplishments of his second term in what he has said will be a \u201clong speech\u201d centering on the U.S. economy. In the decades-long history of the State of the Union address, it has become customary for the president and lawmakers to invite guests who have personal ties to prominent political issues.<\/p>\n

This week, House Speaker Mike Johnson announced that he had invited several guests to the address including Hanan Lischinsky, the brother of Yaron Lischinsky, the Israeli embassy staffer who was shot and killed outside of the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., last May along with his girlfriend and fellow embassy staffer Sarah Milgrim. (Milgrim was an American, while the Lischinskys are German-Israeli.)<\/p>\n

\u201cThese two young diplomats of the Israeli Embassy, devoted to the cause of peace and to one another, had their futures stolen in a violent act of antisemitism. Yaron\u2019s brother, Hanan Lischinsky, has shown remarkable courage in shedding light on the extremism that took his brother\u2019s life,\u201d Johnson said in a statement. \u201cI am honored to invite him as my guest for President Trump\u2019s State of the Union address.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trump also invited the U.S. men\u2019s hockey team to attend the address during a call with the team shortly after their Sunday win over Canada at the Winter Olympics. The call ignited a backlash when the team laughed as Trump said, \u201cWe\u2019re going to have to bring the women\u2019s team,\u201d referring to the U.S. women\u2019s gold medal hockey team, joking that if he did not he \u201cprobably would be impeached.\u201d The women\u2019s team later declined the invitation.<\/p>\n

Jack Hughes, who scored the game-winning goal on Sunday that earned the U.S. men\u2019s team its first gold medal since 1980, as well as his brother and U.S. teammate Quinn, both welcomed the invitation.<\/p>\n

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Jack Hughes #86 and Quinn Hughes #43 of Team United States celebrate winning the gold medals after the team\u2019s 2-1 overtime victory in the Men\u2019s Gold Medal match at the 2026 Winter Olympic games. (Gregory Shamus\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re so proud to represent the U.S. and when you get the chance to go to White House and meet the President, we\u2019re proud to be Americans and that\u2019s so patriotic,\u201d Jack Hughes told the Daily Mail. \u201cNo matter what your views are, we\u2019re super excited to go to the White House tomorrow and be a part of that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Florida Jewish Republican Rep. Randy Fine, who drew calls last week from Jewish officials for his censure or resignation after posting on X that \u201cthe choice between dogs and Muslims is not a difficult one,\u201d said one of his guests at the State of the Union will be his father\u2019s seeing-eye dog, Sadie.<\/p>\n

\u201cSadie being with us allows my father to live his life, and she has turned into part of our family. Dogs Make America Great. I will fight like hell against anyone who wants to take them away,\u201d wrote Fine in a post on X.<\/p>\n

Other prominent Jewish lawmakers have also announced their invitees to the State of the Union, including New York Sen. Chuck Schumer, who is bringing Dani Bensky, a survivor of the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m proud to bring Dani Bensky, New Yorker and survivor of Jeffrey Epstein\u2019s abuse, as my guest to the State of the Union to demand the truth. Dani has turned unimaginable pain into unrelenting advocacy,\u201d wrote Schumer in a post on X. \u201cSurvivors deserve justice. Trump must end the cover-up and release the full Epstein files\u2014NOW.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sen. Jacky Rosen, a Nevada Jewish Democrat, announced on Monday that she had invited Vania Carter-Strauss, a small business owner and nurse practitioner, as her guest to highlight the impacts of the Trump administration\u2019s cuts to Medicaid and tariffs.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m so grateful to be joined by Vania at the State of the Union to highlight the real impact of these cruel policies, and I will continue to speak out against any actions that raise costs for hardworking Nevadans,\u201d said Rosen in a statement.<\/p>\n

Jewish Democratic Illinois Rep. Brad Schneider has also announced his invitation to Rick Woldenberg, the CEO of Learning Resources who was a plaintiff in the Supreme Court case that ended last week in Trump\u2019s tariffs being overturned.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen harmful policies raise costs and hurt American businesses, patriotic Americans like Rick fight back,\u201d said Schneider in a post on X.<\/p>\n

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