Bonded by work and love, Israeli Embassy colleagues' lives cut short by gunman

They were colleagues, and they were a couple, days away from a marriage proposal.

But the interwoven lives of Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim were brutally cut short Wednesday evening, when the two Israeli Embassy staffers were shot while leaving a reception for young diplomats at the Capital Jewish Museum.

The suspect told police he ''did it for Palestine,'' according to court documents filed Thursday as he was charged with murder. He didn't enter a plea.

Milgrim, a 26-year-old American from Kansas, had devoted her burgeoning career to bringing people together to look for ways to promote peace and combat climate change, those who knew her say.

Lischinsky, a 30-year-old Israeli citizen who spent some of his childhood in Germany, had a deep attachment to Israel and an interest in bridging cultural and religious divides.

He had bought an engagement ring and was just days away from proposing to Milgrim on a planned trip to Jerusalem, according to Israeli Ambassador Yechiel Leiter.

''A young couple with a bright future, planning their life together,'' said Ron Prosor, a veteran Israeli diplomat who knew Lischinsky.

Lischinsky grew up partly in the German city of Nuremberg and moved to Israel at 16. He served in the Jewish state's military ''and chose to dedicate his life to the state of Israel," said Prosor, who taught Lischinsky at Israel's Reichman University. Lischinsky earned a master's degree in government, diplomacy and strategy there.

''He embodied the Judeo-Christian values and set an example for young people worldwide,'' Prosor said on X.

A friend, David Boskey, recalled Lischinsky as someone unafraid to broach hard questions in order to interrogate his own convictions.

He met Lischinsky in 2017 in Jerusalem at a Messianic Jewish congregation, where they would often end up talking together about life and faith, Boskey said. The Messianic movement — popularly known as Jews for Jesus — incorporates Jewish symbols and practices, but Israel considers Messianic Jews to be practicing another faith.

''He was looking to see where he was going to go in life, asking questions about calling and about identity and about what he was going to study, where he was going to work, what he wanted to pursue in life,'' Boskey said. He described Lischinsky as ''a truth-seeking type of person, mixed with a very, very kind and gracious willingness to serve other people.''

There, he worked as a research assistant whose responsibilities included keeping track of important events and trends in the Middle East and North Africa, his LinkedIn profile said.

He said he advocated for interfaith dialogue and intercultural understanding and was an ''ardent believer'' in deepening Israel's ties with the Arab world through the U.S.-brokered agreements known as the Abraham Accords.

On Instagram, his bio included a yellow ribbon symbolizing the struggle to free the hostages taken by Hamas during its Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel that ignited the war in the Gaza Strip.

Milgrim's Instagram bio also had a yellow ribbon, as well as a passage, in Hebrew, from the biblical Book of Deuteronomy: ''Justice, justice you shall pursue.''

Sarah Milgrim

''She had a passion for Judaism and for Israel, and she wanted to do some good,'' said Marcia Rittmaster, the former youth director. She recommended Milgrim for a Jewish leadership internship upon the young woman's graduation from high school.

Milgrim went on to the University of Kansas, where she earned a bachelor's degree in environmental studies in 2021 and was a warm, uplifting presence at Shabbat dinners and holiday gatherings at the Chabad Center for Jewish Life.

''She believed in connections, in building community and bringing people together,'' Rabbi Zalman Tiechtel said. He said she loved asking questions, enjoyed insightful conversations and ''was filled with so much love.''

After graduating, Milgrim worked at at a Tel Aviv-based organization centered on technology training and conflict dialogue for young Palestinians and Israelis, according to her LinkedIn profile. It said she had been trained in religious engagement and peacebuilding by the United States Institute of Peace, an organization that promotes conflict resolution and was created by the U.S. Congress.

After earning a master's degree in international affairs from American University in 2023, she went to work at the Israeli Embassy, where her job involved organizing events and missions to Israel.

''She was exceptionally talented, exceptionally passionate, really kind, extremely well-organized and very effective. And she's the kind of young leader that, really, this nation and the world needs,'' Mizrahi said.

A standing-room only crowd gathered for a vigil for Milgrim in her hometown Thursday night.

Her college roommate related how her friend was an animal lover who faithfully walked her dog, took care of her pet rabbit and was a member of the beekeeping club. She was a passionate advocate for the environment, Amanda Birger said.

''She was very tactful about how she used her voice, which sometimes came off as cautious,'' Birger said. ''But when it looked like wasn't speaking up, it's because she was trying to keep the peace.''

She was ''the ultimate peacemaker in her personal life and her professional life,'' Birger said.

''She stood so proudly in her Judaism. She wore it with a smile, happily educating anyone who asked about it. She made me want to be more Jewish,'' Birger said.

Sheila Katz, CEO of the National Council of Jewish Women, said Milgrim was a point person for her organization with women's groups, LGBTQ communities and multi-faith groups.

''She accomplished so much in her short life, and she deserves to be remembered for all the things she brought to this world,'' she said.

Before her work at the embassy, Milgrim was studying whether friendships between Arabs and Israelis could promote peace, Katz said.

''We knew something like this could happen,'' she said. ''I just don't think we thought it would happen to her.''