What To Know About The Murder of Sarah Milgrim z"l and Yaron Lischinsky z"l in Washington, D.C.

American Jewish Committee (AJC), the global advocacy organization for the Jewish people, today posthumously honored Sarah Milgrim (z”l) and Yaron Lischinsky (z”l) with the Ofir Libshtein Bridge Builder Award.

AJC remembers Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim with deep sorrow and profound gratitude—for lives that embodied courage, compassion, and an unshakable belief in a better future.

In Jewish tradition, memory carries responsibility. To remember is to speak names, to honor life. So as we reflect on Sarah and Yaron, we hold on to the generosity of spirit they lived with, not the hatred that ended their lives. And we honor their memories by carrying forward what they strived for: the steady pursuit of a secure, thriving Israel, a peaceful Middle East, and a vibrant, enduring Jewish community–even in the face of enormous resistance.

One year after the horrific murders of Sarah Milgrim (z”l) and Yaron Lischinsky (z”l) outside of the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., following an American Jewish Committee (AJC) ACCESS D.C. Young Diplomats reception, we continue to mourn the loss of these two bright and caring people and the future stolen from them and their loved ones.

“Sarah Milgrim (z”l) and Yaron Lischinsky’s (z”l) young lives and full potential were horrifically stolen on May 21 outside the Capital Jewish Museum after they left an AJC event. This deliberate and heinous act was a deeply personal tragedy for their families and for the entire AJC community. It was an assault on the values we hold as Americans, as Jews, and as members of a shared society. Their families deserve justice and healing. We are grateful for the vigor with which the Department of Justice has proceeded thus far, and are confident that it will diligently continue its pursuit of justice for this murderous hate crime.

We remember Sarah Milgrim and Yaron Lischinsky through the voices of those who knew them. Hear about Sarah’s peacebuilding in Morocco and Yaron’s diplomatic efforts to forge stronger ties between Israel and its neighbors. Both were members of the Israeli diplomatic corps and AJC’s extended family. They were tragically murdered after leaving an AJC event in Washington, D.C.

American Jewish Committee (AJC), the Permanent Mission of Israel to the United Nations, the Consulate General of Israel in New York, diplomats, and community leaders gathered as one to remember and pay tribute to Sarah Milgrim z”l and Yaron Lischinsky z”l, two young Israeli Embassy staff members murdered last week outside of AJC’s Young Diplomats Reception at the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C.

American Jewish Committee (AJC) mourns the devastating loss of Sarah Milgrim and Yaron Lischinsky, cherished members of the AJC community, who were murdered outside of the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., last night following AJC’s annual Young Diplomats Reception.

We can't afford, America can't afford, and the Jewish people can't afford to move on. Moving on would mean capitulating to those who have, through sick and twisted logic, decided that Sarah and Yaron’s murders are acceptable "resistance" instead of brutal, deadly hatred. We will not move on. We will not be silent. And we need everyone fighting this vicious Jew-hatred with us.

After the horrific murders of Yaron Lischinsky z"l and Sarah Milgrim z"l outside an AJC event in Washington, D.C., AJC CEO Ted Deutch joined CNN with a clear and urgent warning: “Words have consequences.”

As Israel is increasingly demonized, it is imperative to examine the rhetoric being used—including Free Palestine and Globalize the Intifada—and to understand how, in certain contexts, it can escalate into real-world danger for Jews everywhere. 

In an interview with Fox and Friends following the brutal murder of diplomats Yaron Lischinsky z"l and Sarah Milgrim z"l outside an AJC event on Wednesday night, AJC CEO Ted Deutch sounds the alarm on how antisemitism is not just a Jewish problem—it's a global problem that threatens democracy and all of humanity.

In a powerful interview with MSNBC, just hours after the tragic murder of Yaron Lischinsky z"l and Sarah Milgrim z"l, AJC CEO Ted Deutch issues a clear warning: Glorifying terror leads to real-world violence against the Jewish people.

After the tragic murder of Yaron Lischinsky z"l and Sarah Milgrim z"l outside an American Jewish Committee (AJC) event in Washington, D.C., AJC CEO Ted Deutch appeared on MSNBC with a stark warning: “The world cannot tolerate this kind of hatred.”

In a moving interview with CNN’s One World, AJC CEO Ted Deutch reflects on the lives of Sarah Milgrim z"l and Yaron Lischinsky z"l—beloved members of the AJC family who were committed to building a better future for Israel and the Jewish people.

AJC CEO Ted Deutch joins CNN's Jake Tapper following the horrific antisemitic shooting outside an AJC event in Washington, D.C., where two young Jewish leaders — Sarah Milgrim z'l and Yaron Lischinsky z'l — were murdered.

As part of AJC's program honoring the Lives of Sarah Milgrim z"l and Yaron Lischinsky z"l, AJC CEO Ted Deutch shared his memories of the couple and delivered a special pre-Shabbat message of how to turn pain into purpose.

In this episode about the week following the antisemitic murders of Israeli embassy employees Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim, AJC CEO Ted Deutch shares how leaders and allies around the globe, as well as hostage families, despite their own state of grief, have reached out to offer comfort and condolences, and what we all must do to shape a new future for the Jewish people.

American Jewish Committee (AJC) and Jews around the world have been left completely shaken by events in Washington, D.C. on May 21, where two members of the Israeli diplomatic community—Sarah Milgrim z”l and Yaron Lischinsky z”l, cherished friends of AJC—were shot and killed after leaving an AJC gathering for young professionals.

On the morning of May 22, I brushed back tears as I told my daughters that two young Israeli Embassy staffers were murdered outside an American Jewish Committee event the night before in Washington, D.C. — I wanted them to hear it from me, not the news or their friends. As the AJC Dallas regional director, I’ve planned many similar events. But in more than 30 years of Jewish communal service, I’ve never felt the impact of hate-fueled violence so personally.

Rabbi Noam Marans, AJC's Director of Interreligious Affairs, offered a prayer in memory of the couple that died outside the Capital Jewish Museum Wednesday night.

Two Israeli Embassy staff were murdered outside an American Jewish Committee event by a gunman who later shouted “Free Free Palestine,” as he was being detained.

Sarah and Yaron were killed for being who they were. For showing up proudly at an event meant to foster peace and coexistence. That is the bitterest of ironies—and the most urgent of warnings. Our children are watching. Let us teach them that hatred never has the final word—so long as we refuse to be silent.

We must never let society normalize such antisemitic violence as inevitable or routine. Antisemitism — no matter where it comes from, or how it is disguised — must be condemned unequivocally. It must never be tolerated. It must never be justified. It must be confronted directly and combated relentlessly, wherever and however it appears.

AJC CEO Ted Deutch joined Speaker Mike Johnson and Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries at a bipartisan vigil on the steps of the U.S. Capitol, following the recent antisemitic attacks in Washington, D.C., and Boulder, Colorado.