After my speech, Yaron approached me. He was thoughtful, insightful, kind, handsome. Twenty-four hours later, he was gone.
Yuval David
(JNS)
On Wednesday night, terror found its way into the heart of Washington.
Outside the Capital Jewish Museum in D.C., during an event hosted by the American Jewish Committee, a young couple was brutally gunned down—shot multiple times by a radicalized terrorist who shouted “Free, free Palestine” after he pulled the trigger. Sarah Milgrim, 26, and Yaron Lischinsky, 30, were murdered for being, or being perceived as, Jews.
Zichronam Livracha. May the memory of Sarah Milgrim and Yaron Lischinsky forever be a blessing.
They were two beautiful souls in love, expecting to build a future together. Staff members of the Israeli Embassy to the United States, they were optimistic and dedicated. They came to celebrate community, diplomacy and Jewish vitality. Instead, they were slaughtered.
I write this with tears in my eyes and an aching heart—as a Washingtonian, as a Jew, as a Zionist. As someone who believes in the beauty of our people and the promise of tomorrow.
But grief is not the only emotion I feel. There is urgency. There is duty. And there is the unshakable clarity passed down through generations of Jewish resilience: We must act. Each of us, all of us. For our people. For our future.
Just a day before the attack, I met Yaron.
We were both at the Middle East Forum conference in D.C., where I spoke about the very danger that would claim his life. As a speaker in a panel discussion, I addressed how radical Islamist terror movements have hijacked the language of justice and human rights, infiltrating Western progressive spaces, manipulating compassion into complicity, and radicalizing the ignorant and angry.
I warned that many so-called “pro-Palestinian” chants are not cries for peace; they are calls for violence. That Jews are increasingly unsafe—in Israel, in Europe, in the United States. That democracy itself is under siege.
After my speech, Yaron approached me. He was thoughtful, insightful, kind, handsome. We spoke—man to man, Jew to Jew—about the threats facing our people, our countries and our shared values. He was vibrant, full of promise and deeply committed. I thought, “What a remarkable man with such a meaningful future.”
Twenty-four hours later, he was gone. Shot alongside his partner in an act of pure evil.
This was not senseless violence. It was targeted, ideological and premeditated. It was a terrorist attack.
Fueled by calculated disinformation and incitement, Palestinianism has become a Trojan horse for global Islamist extremism. and Western institutions—paralyzed by fear, confused by moral relativism and seduced by performative activism—have enabled its spread.
The slogans of the street are not expressions of peace. They are marching orders for hatred.
And we, the Jewish people, have seen this before. Still, we cannot stay silent. We cannot afford complacency.
This tragedy demands accountability—not just from within our community but from the governments and institutions that profess to stand with us. Why was there not more security? How could this happen in the capital of the United States, outside a Jewish museum, during a Jewish event? These questions are not rhetorical. They require answers.
According to the FBI’s 2023 hate-crime report, 60.4% of all religiously motivated hate crimes in the U.S. targeted Jews, even though Jews make up just 2.4% of the population.
The Anti-Defamation League tracked 8,873 incidents of Jew-hatred in 2023—a 140% increase from 2022 and the highest number since the organization began keeping records in 1979. The surge in antisemitism has only intensified in early 2024, with hundreds more incidents recorded in schools, colleges and major cities.
This proves a devastating truth: Jews in America are not safe. Not in synagogues. Not on college campuses. Not at Jewish events. Not even in the heart of the nation’s capital.
The United States has failed to fully protect its Jewish citizens. We are targeted too often. And our grief is compounded by the knowledge that this attack, like so many others, could have been prevented.
This is why I continue my work—as a journalist reporting on rising extremism; as a news commentator clearly engaging in fact based scrutiny; as a speaker and panelist at policy and diplomatic forums; as an adviser to leaders and institutions fighting antisemitism, anti-Jewish hatred and bigotry, and terrorism; and through my social-media platforms, where I amplify voices committed to truth and justice. These efforts are not born of necessity but are movement-building, aiming to inspire Jews and allies to do more for our people and causes.
We must meet this moment with heartbreak and with hope.
To my friends and partners in Jewish advocacy at the American Jewish Committee and the Capital Jewish Museum: I know this is an unbearable time. What you built was meant to uplift and connect. It became a crime scene. But you are not alone. You are not to blame. And your strength is needed now more than ever; your work is paramount.
This tragedy sharpens our collective purpose. It lights within us a fire—not of rage but of resolve.
The Jewish people are not just survivors. We are creators, builders and dreamers. We carry the responsibility of our ancestors and the hopes of our children. Our cultural survival is not only for us; it’s a vital defense of Western democratic values.
Israel stands firm while much of the world falters. And we, the global Jewish people, carry with us the moral clarity and spiritual defiance needed to confront darkness with light.
Sarah and Yaron are no longer with us. But their memory must become a mission. We must build a world where no Jew is murdered for being a Jew, and where no ally is targeted for standing with us. Where love, like theirs, is allowed to grow old.
May their memory be a blessing. May our tears lead to truth. May our grief become our grit.
Image: Police tape cordons off the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., after the shooting of Israeli Embassy staff members Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim, following an evening event hosted by the American Jewish Committee, May 21, 2025. Credit: Sdkb via Wikimedia Commons.
