This morning, we woke up to the tragic news of Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim, the Israeli Embassy couple who were murdered at yesterday’s American Jewish Committee Reception in Washington, D.C..
Born in Israel and raised in Germany, Yaron Lischinsky held degrees in international relations and politics. “He was a devout Christian,” said Dr. Ronen Shoval, Dean of the Argaman Institute for Advanced Studies in Jerusalem, “but he had tied his fate to the people of Israel.” According to Professor Otmazgin of Hebrew University, where Lischinsky earned his bachelor’s degree, Lischinsky dreamed of becoming an Israeli diplomat. “He saw that as his calling”, recalled Otmazgin.
Sarah Milgrim worked in the Israeli Embassy’s Public Diplomacy Department and was a lifelong advocate for sustainability and interfaith partnership. During her undergraduate studies at the University of Kansas, where she majored in environmental science, Milgrim was a student leader at the campus’s Hillel. She went on to earn a master’s degree in international affairs and sustainable development, and was prestigiously certified in Religious Engagement in Peacebuilding through the United States Institute of Peace. Before her position at the Israeli Embassy, Milgrim worked with Tech2Peace, an Israeli organization providing high-tech and dialogue-based training for Israelis and Palestinians on the ground.
The targeting of attendees at an American Jewish Committee Reception at the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C, is inherent antisemitism, regardless of the religious identities of those murdered, and must be reprehended as such. As we mourn, grieve, and remember Sarah and Yaron, we must honor the wholeness of their beautiful souls.
Cover image via Ha’Am Staff
