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This much we know: the two were both young diplomats; they were about to become engaged; they loved their work; they were dedicated to making the case for their embattled and maligned country. But there’s much more that could be added to their brief biographies, which you can find here: “They came from thousands of miles apart to DC and found love. Then tragedy struck,” by , , and , CNN, May 22, 2025:
Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim hailed from different parts of the world, but their paths led them both to pursue careers in diplomacy and to the Israeli embassy in Washington, DC – where they found each other and fell in love.
Their love story was tragically cut short Wednesday evening, when a gunman fatally shot the couple as they were leaving an event at the Capital Jewish Museum.
Lischinsky grew up in Germany and moved to Israel before landing in Washington, where he’d worked at the embassy for a little over two years. Milgrim was from Kansas and moved to Washington to pursue a master’s degree. After volunteering in Israel for a year at an organization promoting peace and dialogue, she began working at the embassy in Washington shortly after the October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel by Hamas.
Their burgeoning relationship was well-known at the embassy, where they met, an Israeli official told CNN. They would often be seen having lunch together.
“It was the cutest love story,” the official said, adding it was “like a poster for a Netflix rom-com.”
Lischinsky, 30, had planned to propose to Milgrim, 26, in Jerusalem during an upcoming trip. The Israeli official said Milgrim hadn’t met Lischinsky’s family in Israel yet, and they planned to travel to Israel so she could meet them before they got engaged.
“A young man purchased a ring this week with the intention of proposing to his girlfriend next week in Jerusalem. They were a beautiful couple,” said Yechiel Leiter, Israel’s ambassador to the US.
Lischinsky worked in the embassy’s political section, while Milgrim helped coordinate a variety of travel to Israel, including political, religious and other groups like visitors studying climate change.
Friends and colleagues of Lischinsky and Milgrim said they were both devoted to diplomacy and the peace process in Israel. The event they were attending Wednesday was hosted by the American Jewish Committee for young professionals and was organized to discuss how multi-faith organizations can work together to bring humanitarian aid to war-torn regions like Gaza.
“Sarah was deeply involved with AJC. She’s traveled with AJC. She cared deeply for our work in the diplomatic space. And she and Yaron had a beautiful relationship,” American Jewish Committee CEO Ted Deutch said on CNN’s “This Morning” on Thursday. “It’s a tragedy of the worst magnitude that these beautiful young people were taken from us.”…
That’s a bit more about the two victims that I was glad to learn. Perhaps you will be, too.
This is so sad. What a cruel and violent system of things we are living in at the moment. My condolences to the families of Yaron and Sarah.
I hope they sleep safe in “the everlasting arms”, safe in God’s memory, and that they have a wonderful awakening ahead of them when the time comes. It is the awakening promised in the Hebrew Scriptures:
“Your dead will live.
My corpses will rise up.
Awake and shout joyfully,
You residents in the dust!
For your dew is as the dew of the morning,
And the earth will let those powerless in death come to life.”
Isaiah 26:19
Hindsight is 100% correct but the event should have had a ton of security – and the D.C. police should have been alerted and asked to be nearby. The terrorist who murdered them had bought a ticket for the event – now, guests have to be VETTED..