Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Lynn Milgrim, two employees of the Israeli embassy in Washington, were murdered on Wednesday night at a Jewish conference of the American Jewish Congress.
According to Israeli Ambassador to the United States Yechiel Leiter, the two victims, who were a couple, were about to get engaged.
"He bought a ring and planned to propose to her in Jerusalem. A beautiful couple who came to spend an evening at Washington's cultural center."
Lischinsky was born in Germany, but moved to Israel at 16. He served as a research assistant in the embassy's policy department and was responsible for monitoring trends and events in the Middle East and North Africa. He held a Bachelors in International Relations and Asian Affairs from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a Masters in Diplomacy and Conflict Studies from Reichman University in Herzliya.
Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar announced that he had spoken to Lischinsky's father, Daniel, on Thursday morning, telling him “his son was a warrior on the diplomatic front who fell just like a soldier on the battlefield.”
A fellow student from the Reichman MA program told The Jerusalem Post that Lischinsky was "a special human" and a "great friend."
"Yaron lived the Israeli dream and was serving his country with great honor."
Israeli TV Personality Aaron Morali eulogized Lischinsky, whom he met on Birthright. "Young kids from Germany full of questions about Israel, I'll never forget how you looked at this country with fire in your eyes and love in your heart," he wrote on Instagram.
Moral said his friend always told him "Israel is our home, no matter what."
"You dedicated your life to serving his country," he continued, "you dedicated your life to peace, to connection, to building bridges, to making people feel seen and loved."
Lischinsky had a "golden heart" and was "full of light," Morali added.
Atar Porat, a friend from Model UN at Hebrew University, told the Post that he didn't think there was one person that didn't love Lischinsky.
"He was friendly, polite, erudite, always willing to learn, very humble, just the good guy," he told the Post.
"It was always a pleasure to see him." Porat added that his friend had deep-rooted values and believed in peace and dialogue.
"I was privileged to continue to know him and see how passionate he was about Israel advocacy and diplomacy," another friend from MUN at Hebrew U – Batya Brownstein – told the Post. "Even though we didn’t stay in touch frequently, we did speak from time and time and I was so proud of his achievements. The way he and Sarah were murdered stands in such stark contrast to the light he shone."
Sarah Lynn Milgrim
Prior to working in the Embassy's public diplomacy department, Jewish-American Sarah Lynn Milgrim worked for Tech2Peace, where she researched processes of peace with an emphasis on the roots of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
She had a BA in Environmental Studies from the University of Kansas, a Master's in International Affairs from American University and a Master’s in Natural Resources and Sustainable Development from The University for Peace.
On her LinkedIn, she stated that her passion lay at the intersection of peacebuilding, religious engagement, and environmental work, and that she was "eager to contribute to organizations dedicated to bridging divides, promoting religious harmony, and advancing sustainable practices."
Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi, the founder of The Israel Project, called Milgrim a "wonderful leader."
"She was smart, high energy, kind, and passionate about Tikkun Olam. Recently, I was at a climate event she organized. Just last week I was on the phone with her to do more climate work. She was amazing and had a bright future. May her memory – and that of her fiancé Yaron Lischinsky be a blessing always."
“Yaron and Sarah were our friends and colleagues. They were in the prime of their lives,” the Embassy of Israel to the USA wrote on X.
“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 can express the depth of our grief and horror at this devastating loss. Our hearts are with their families, and the embassy will be by their side during this terrible time.”
