Two stories that began far apart, on two different continents, converged on a single point: service. Outside an event designed to bring people together, they were cut short. Ahead of a Masa Yom HaZikaron (Israel's national day of remembrance for fallen soldiers and terror victims) ceremony at which their story will be told, the families of Sarah Milgram and Yaron Lischinsky are asking that the conversation begin not with the moment of the attack, but with the years that came before it.
Ahead of the ceremony, their families are asking that the discussion return not to the moment of the attack, but to the years that preceded it – the values they were raised with and the path that brought them to work at the Israeli embassy in Washington.
They were asked what comes to mind when they think about them.
"What always comes to Dad's mind? how sweet he was, what a smiling, good kid he was, and how much we enjoyed each other," Daniel Lischinsky said about his late son. "But when that comes to you, grief and pain come with it."
For the Milgram family, too, the first memory goes back to the basics. "The first thing that comes to my mind is that she was a good person," Bob, Sarah's father, said. "She was dedicated to her work, a perfectionist, and she wanted to live in Israel. That was her goal."
Her mother, Nancy, added, "She was dedicated to building peace in Israel, and she believed in the ability of everyone to live together in peace, to celebrate their similarities and to respect their differences."
Values built at home
As Jewish Americans from Kansas, the family described the values they instilled in Sarah. "When she was growing up, we talked a lot about standing up for what's right," they said. "It's not enough to not be the bully – you have to stand up for the person being bullied."
Those values found real expression early in her life. After Sarah's death, two mothers reached out to Nancy and told her how Sarah had stood up for their children when they were being bullied. For the family, it was an illustration of how the values nurtured in their home had become inseparable from who she was.
For Yaron, too, home was where the guiding lines were drawn. He grew up in a family that bridged cultures – with Argentine and German roots alongside life in Israel. He spent his childhood in Germany before making aliyah with his family at 14 and settling in Jerusalem.
"He knew how to see the person in front of him. He wasn't impressed by your title," Daniel and Ruth said. "He was a gentleman, a man of pleasant manners. He knew how to listen to others. He wouldn't cut you off mid-sentence. We used to say he was a born diplomat."
Israel, identity, and mission
Sarah's connection to Israel was not accidental – it grew over years.
"When she was 10, she said she wanted to celebrate her bat mitzvah in Israel," her parents recalled. Sarah later returned to Israel through Taglit, participated in student programs there, and ultimately took part in a Masa program during which she interned at an organization focused on Israeli-Palestinian dialogue.
"She was very thorough – she invested all her energy in everything she did. She would stay up late to work on projects," her parents said.
She continued to engage with issues of dialogue and peace, the environment, and Jewish identity, until she came to work at the Israeli embassy in Washington. According to her family, even when she approached complex topics, she did so out of genuine commitment. "It was so important to her."
For Yaron, the path was different but led to the same place.
In his childhood, Yaron moved between worlds. "He was very athletic, played soccer, and was also very talented in the arts. He painted and played the violin," his parents recalled.
When he moved to Israel in adolescence, Yaron's focus shifted. "He devoted himself more to his studies. He was very serious, a perfectionist."
Service in a time of war
Yaron chose a path of public service. After serving in the military police, he went on to study international relations and Asian studies at the Hebrew University, then completed a master's degree in Middle Eastern studies and conflict resolution at Reichman University. He ultimately joined the embassy in Washington as a political analyst.
The shift to the period following the October 7 events was sharp and decisive for both of them.
Sarah, who had entered her role a short time earlier and was working on outreach to marginalized communities, found herself at the center of a complex advocacy and humanitarian effort. Her role quickly evolved to include accompanying hostage families and addressing the issue of sexual violence on October 7. That demanded not only professionalism but emotional resilience. "It took a great toll on her, but she believed in the necessity of what she was doing and wanted to continue," Sarah's parents said.
Yaron, too, operated during that period with a clear sense of mission, expanding his role well beyond what was required of him. "He volunteered to work after hours in the war room, where they worked on the horrific footage Hamas had filmed," his family said – referring to efforts to screen the atrocity videos from the October 7, 2023 Hamas massacre in order to expose Hamas' crimes to the world.
"He loved what he did, because he saw that he was doing things that mattered for the country he loved. He understood that he couldn't go serve in the reserves, so he said this was his contribution."
"They met right when Sarah started working at the embassy," her family recalled. "We later met him and liked him very much. We could see how much they cared for each other. They were always holding hands, whispering to each other, and treating each other with total respect. It was truly beautiful to watch that relationship grow."
"He was always looking for the right woman," Daniel, Yaron's father, said. "We taught him that God created one person for him, and he told his mother, 'Mom, I found her.'"
The attack – and what came after
Yaron and Sarah had spoken with their families about the possibility of marriage and moving to Israel once their posting at the embassy ended. According to their parents, Yaron was planning to propose during a visit to Israel.
In the attack on that tragic evening in May of last year, Elias Rodriguez – a radical anti-Israel activist – shot them both dead at close range outside the Jewish Museum in Washington.
Both were murdered outside an event whose entire purpose was connection – a young diplomats' gathering aimed at building bridges.
"The event was described as a meeting of young professionals and diplomats from various embassies, to explore ways to help Gazans and build peace," Sarah's parents said. "The only thing Sarah was 'guilty' of was being Jewish and being there. The killer didn't ask her what she believed in."
Yaron's father addressed the matter in terms of faith. "God is in control. Nothing in this world happens without him, and everything is in his hands." He added, "The killer did not decide when Yaron and Sarah's lives would end. That was already written – God decides these things."
Sarah and Yaron's story will be told at Masa's Yom HaZikaron ceremony, before young people from across the Jewish world who have come to Israel.
"We hope the participants will think about all the things Sarah did and what she stood for, take the torch, and continue that path," her parents said. And Yaron's parents concluded, "The message is that every child from the Diaspora, from anywhere in the world, has a place in Israel. They don't need to be afraid because of the language or their background. They are wanted here, and they can succeed."
