“The perfect diplomat.” 

That’s how a former colleague and friend of Yaron Lischinsky remembered him on Thursday, the day after the Israeli Embassy staff member was shot dead alongside his girlfriend, Sarah Milgrim, outside of the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington as the couple was leaving an event for young diplomats and Jewish professionals hosted by the American Jewish Committee.

“He was diligent and went to DC to pursue his dream,” Klil, who interned with Lischinsky, 29, at the Abba Eban Institute for Diplomacy and Foreign Relations at Reichman University in Herzliya, Israel, in 2020 and requested to be identified only by her first name, told Jewish Insider. The internship centered around developing a platform for diplomats to stay connected online during COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns.  

The two had an instant connection “because we both studied Asian studies and we both focused on Japan,” Klil recalled. “We spoke a lot about Israel and Asia.” 

“His English was perfect,” she said. “I started the internship a bit before him and when they brought him in I was like ‘OK, he’s going to be the perfect diplomat.’ I wish I could tell his family that he was a great guy.”  

The pair mostly lost touch after the internship, when Lischinsky — a Christian who was raised in Germany — moved to Washington to work at the Israeli Embassy after pursuing a masters’ degree at Reichman. But their interest in Japan kept the two connected via social media, where they would share cherry blossom photos — Lischinsky’s came each spring when the Japanese trees bloomed on the Tidal Basin in Washington. Klil shared her cherry blossom photos from London, where she was living after the internship. “We had a shared experience around that,” she said. 

Recently, Lischinsky’s Instagram posts featured more than cherry blossoms.

Klil took note of the photos he had been posting, posing together with Milgrim. The couple met while both working at the embassy. “Just looking at the photos from afar,” Klil said, she had a feeling the relationship was serious. Lischinsky purchased a ring earlier this week, Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter said on Wednesday night. The two victims were planning to get engaged next week in Jerusalem.

Milgrim, 26, was remembered by a former colleague and friend as “bright, helpful, smart and passionate.” 

“Sarah was committed to working towards peace,” said Jake Shapiro, who worked with Milgrim in 2022-23 at Teach2Peace, an organization dedicated to building peace between Palestinians and Israelis. 

“One small bright spot in all of this is seeing both Israelis and Palestinians that knew Sarah sending their condolences and remembering her together,” Shapiro told JI. That gives him hope that a “more peaceful reality is possible.” 

Milgrim, who was Jewish and originally from Kansas, moved to Washington to receive a master’ s degree from American University. She graduated in 2023 with a degree in International Affairs. “I am deeply saddened by this senseless act,” Jonathan Alger, the university’s president, said in a statement. “Sarah was only beginning her life’s journey, and it is anguishing that her light was taken away because of hate.” 

“Antisemitism is a scourge that must be stopped,” Alger said. 

Growing up, Milgrim was active in the small, tightknit Jewish community of Overland Park, Kan. In high school, she participated in the Orthodox Union-run Jewish youth group NCSY’s Jewish Student Union network of public school clubs. “Sarah was one of ours. And we will not forget her,” Micah Greenland, director of NCSY, said in a statement. 

“We were privileged to witness Sarah’s passion for Israel and the Jewish people firsthand through her involvement in the Senator Jerry Moran Israel Scholars program,” Greenland said, referring to the Kansas senator. 

Those who knew both of the young victims echoed that the theme of Wednesday night’s event — “Turning Pain Into Purpose,” discussing humanitarian aid initiatives, including in Gaza, and working to counter the rising tide of “us versus them” narratives — was among the topics the two were most passionate about. 

Paige Siegel, who was a guest at the event, told JI that she heard two sets of multiple shots ring out, and then an individual, who police have since identified as suspected shooter Elias Rodriguez, a 30-year-old man from Chicago, entered the building appearing disoriented and panicked, seconds after the shooting ended. 

Siegel recounted that she spoke to the man, asking him if he had been shot. He appeared panicked and was mumbling and repeatedly told bystanders to call the police. Siegel, who attended the evening with her girlfriend who is not Jewish and was attending a Jewish event for the first time, said that she felt the man was suspicious. He was sitting in the building in a state of distress for approximately 10 to 15 minutes, according to Siegel who engaged him in conversation, informing him that he was in the Jewish museum.

After Siegel said that, she said the man started screaming, “I did it, I did it. Free Palestine. I did it for Gaza,” and opened a backpack, withdrawing a red keffiyeh before being detained by police. Security footage later confirmed that the man was Rodriguez, the shooter. 

Jewish communities around the U.S. remained on high alert Thursday. Several D.C.-based Jewish organizations directed their employees to work from home. In New York, the state with the largest Jewish population, Gov. Kathy Hochul said enhanced security measures were implemented. New York City Mayor Eric Adams ordered increased NYPD presence at Jewish sites across the city, calling the murders “exactly what it means to globalize the intifada.” 

Jewish Insider’s senior congressional correspondent Marc Rod contributed reporting.