Israeli Embassy Staff Victim Yaron Lischinsky Was "Brilliant, Curious": Envoy

Yaron Lischinsky, one of the two Israeli staff members killed outside the Capital Jewish Museum in DC, was a brilliant and curious student, Ron Prosor, Israel's ambassador to Germany, said on Thursday.

Mr Prosor said he taught Mr Lischinsky during his master's at the Reichman University.

In a long post on X, Mr Prosor wrote, "Yaron, born in Nuremberg, wasn't just a colleague. I had the privilege of having him as my master's student at Reichman University. Bright, curious, engaged."

Describing Mr Lischinsky, he said that he was a Christian who served in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and chose to dedicate his life to the State of Israel and the Zionist movement, supporting the Jewish people's right to have their own state.

He further said that Mr Lischinsky represented Judeo-Christian values and set an example for young people around the world.

"Chanting "Free Palestine" is not just a slogan, it's a call to action to target Jews wherever they are," Mr Prosor said, adding, "We will not let terror win."

"May the memory of Yaron and Sarah be a blessing."

Yaron and Sarah— working together at the Israeli Embassy in Washington D.C.— were murdered in a terrorist attack outside the Jewish Museum.
A young couple with a bright future planning their life together.

Yaron, born in Nuremberg, wasn't just a colleague.
I had the privilege of… pic.twitter.com/0fu3usprAF

— Ambassador Ron Prosor (@Ron_Prosor) May 22, 2025

Nissim Otmazgin, a humanities professor at the Hebrew University, said Mr Lischinsky dreamt of becoming a diplomat. According to the German-Israeli Friendship Society, Mr Lischinsky was fluent in German. 

Volker Beck, the president of the society, paid tribute to Mr Lischinsky, saying, "His interest in German-Israeli relations and ways to achieve peaceful coexistence in the Middle East brightened the environment around him."

According to the BBC, one of his friends, Jenny Havemann, called Mr Lischensky a nice, modest, calm, and friendly man. 

Mr Lischinsky and his colleague and partner, Sarah Milgrim, an American working for the Israeli embassy, were shot dead on Wednesday night by a man named Elias Rodriguez. According to the reports, Rodriguez walked past the victims and shot them in the back multiple times. 

He reloaded and fired again, shooting a total of 21 bullets. As police arrived, Rodriguez admitted to the shooting, saying, "I did it for Palestine; I did it for Gaza."

Yechiel Leiter, the Israeli ambassador to the US, said the couple was set to get engaged in 10 days.