Just days before their lives were cut short by gunfire outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, Israeli embassy staffer Yaron Lischinsky had purchased an engagement ring that he intended to give to his girlfriend and colleague Sarah Milgrim.
He never got the chance.
Instead, the couple died together when they were shot and killed by a gunman Wednesday night as they were leaving a Young Diplomats reception organized by the American Jewish Congress at the museum.
Lischinsky, 30, had planned to propose to Milgrim, 26, next week in Jerusalem, Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter said. He had planned to spend the Jewish holiday of Shavuot with his family in Israel, the AJC said in a statement.
Their deaths prompted an outpouring of grief in Israel and in Overland Park, Kansas, where Milgrim was from, according to the AJC.
Milgrim, who was Jewish, “was warm and compassionate, committed to peacebuilding and passionate about sustainability and people-to-people relations,” the AJC said.
A budding diplomat, Milgrim was also “a beloved member of the AJC-Mimouna Michael Sachs Fellowship for Emerging Leaders community, where she joined other American, Israeli, French, and Moroccan leaders focused on advancing relations in the Middle East and North Africa,” according to the AJC.
Lischinsky held a German passport, a German diplomatic source confirmed to NBC News. On his LinkedIn page, he wrote that he was 16 when he emigrated from the German city of Nuremberg to Israel.
Ron Prosor, Israel’s ambassador to Germany, wrote on X that Lischinsky was Christian. The New York Times reported he was the son of a Jewish father and Christian mother.
“He was a Christian, a true lover of Israel, served in the IDF, and chose to dedicate his life to the State of Israel and the Zionist cause,” Prosor posted. “He embodied the Judeo-Christian values and set an example for young people worldwide.”
Lischinsky was a member of the embassy’s political department and focused on Middle East issues, according to the AJC.
“Yaron always had a smile on his face and a welcoming presence,” its statement added.
Meanwhile, police were continuing to question shooting suspect Elias Rodriguez, a 30-year-old Chicagoan who was heard yelling “Free, free Palestine” after he was arrested.
“The couple that was gunned down tonight in the name of ‘Free Palestine’ is a young couple about to be engaged,” Leiter said at a late-night news conference. “The young man purchased a ring this week with the intention of proposing to his girlfriend next week in Jerusalem.”
The couple met over a year ago when they first started working at the embassy.
“Sarah and Yaron were stolen from us,” said AJC CEO Ted Deutch said. “Moments before they were murdered, they were smiling, laughing, and enjoying an event with colleagues and friends. We are in shock and heartbroken as we attempt to process this immense tragedy.”
Lischinsky and Milgrim were killed more than 18 months after Hamas militants’ Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack on Israel and its bombing campaign and ground invasion on Gaza in response.
More than than 1,200 people were killed and hundreds more were taken hostage by Hamas, according to Israeli tallies. Israel’s counteroffensive has killed more than 53,000 people in Gaza, many of them women and children, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza.
That retaliation has sparked worldwide protests against Israel and massive demonstrations on many U.S. college campuses coupled with a rise of antisemitism.
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