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I Knew Yaron Lischinsky Personally; This Is What the World Lost
Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Lynn Milgrim who were shot and killed as they left an event at the Capital Jewish Museum, pose for a picture at an unknown location, in this handout image released by Embassy of Israel to the US on May 22, 2025. Photo: Embassy of Israel to the USA via X/Handout via REUTERS
Throughout my college years, Israel’s embassy in Washington, D.C., became more than just a diplomatic post — it became a home. It was a place of grounding and belonging amid the turbulence of campus life. From volunteer work to student leadership forums, from Hanukkah and Yom Ha’atzmaut celebrations to moments of crisis, advocacy, and solidarity, the embassy staff embraced me like family. Within its walls, I feel not only humbled but empowered to contribute to something larger than myself, something noble and necessary.
Two individuals, in particular, embodied the spirit of that home: Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim. While I never had the chance to know Sarah personally, I had the privilege of working closely with Yaron, whose composure and deep passion left a lasting impression on me. His bright eyes and radiant smile greeted me the first time I walked through the embassy’s doors as a volunteer, and never failed to do so afterward. In the harrowing days following October 7, 2023, when a coalition of students eagerly rallied to support the embassy, it was Yaron who welcomed us. He didn’t just open the door to a building — he invited us into a mission.
On our first day, Yaron led us into a room where students, embassy staff, and diplomats worked side-by-side for hours. The work was often emotionally taxing — each name, each story, each image of an Israeli victim, weighed heavily on us. Still, we returned the next day, and the day after that, for many weeks. Yaron was always there, smiling, ready to greet and lead.
It may sound strange to admit, but looking back, I miss those days — some of the most tragic days I’ve lived through. My commutes to the embassy were often in tears: for the murdered, the kidnapped, the wounded, the grieving families, and the ravaged kibbutzim. Yet inside the embassy, something sacred took shape. We listened to testimonies, wrote, edited, created — becoming keyboard warriors committed to truth and dignity at a time when the definition of those very words felt absent.
To Yaron, we weren’t mere volunteers or Israel advocates — we were partners, friends, and, in time, family. Amid both moral and physical crisis, he helped us find steady ground. He gave us structure and direction. He helped us translate pain into purpose. He empowered us to tell Israel’s story with clarity and conviction, to stand up against lies, and to defend the Jewish people with both compassion and courage.
The bond I formed with Yaron was forged in fire — born of grief, purpose, and shared resolve — and is one I will carry with me always. Alongside the embassy staff, he helped unify and empower a group of students reeling from trauma. Yaron reminded us that resilience is not born from comfort, but from moral clarity and strength of spirit. He reminded us that defending what is right is a duty that transcends borders and spans generations. As we now mourn the brutal act that took his and Sarah’s lives, that lesson becomes all the more urgent — and must never be forgotten.
That’s what makes the truth so devastating — a weight that sits like a stone in my heart: Yaron and his partner Sarah, whom he planned to propose to in Jerusalem this week, were taken by the very hatred they dedicated their lives to confronting. This wasn’t senseless violence in a vacuum. It was fueled by the same antisemitism and the same ideological rot that has seeped beyond Israel’s borders, infiltrated our institutions, and has now metastasized into violence that has taken their precious lives.
In memory of Yaron and Sarah, we must not look away. Every global citizen — and especially every Jew — must confront the radicalization seeping through our schools, our streets, and our institutions. We must reject the normalization of antisemitism and the moral cowardice that hides behind slogans like “academic freedom” or “free expression” to excuse this hatred and allow it to fester.
We must speak the truth and pursue the peace that Yaron lived for. Yes, we must fight for peace — because this very threat, the brutal murder of innocent, beautiful Israeli and Jewish lives, even in the streets of the free world, is now our reality. May his memory, and Sarah’s, be not only a blessing but a call to action for all humanity.
Sabrina Soffer is a recent graduate of George Washington University and works with ISGAP in Washington, D.C.
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French Official Tells Paper Arab Countries Will Condemn Hamas, Trying to Get Palestinian Statehood Recognized
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot speaks to the media on the day he attends the European Union Foreign Ministers council in Brussels, Belgium, July 15, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Yves Herman
Arab countries will for the first time condemn Hamas and call for its disarmament early next week at a United Nations ministerial event in New York, a move meant to lure more European countries to recognize Palestinian statehood, France’s foreign minister said on Saturday.
In an exclusive interview with French weekly Le Journal du Dimanche, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Jean-Noel Barrot said the move was part of a long-planned initiative between France and Saudi Arabia.
“For the first time, Arab countries will condemn Hamas and call for its disarmament, which will seal its definitive isolation. European countries will in turn confirm their intention to recognize the State of Palestine. Half of European countries have done so, all others are considering it,” Barrot told the JDD.
“The British Prime Minister has stated his intention to do so. Germany is considering it at a later stage. We will launch an appeal in New York for other countries to join us in order to set in motion an even more ambitious and demanding process that will culminate on September 21,” Barrot added.
On Thursday French President Emmanuel Macron announced France would formally recognize the state of Palestine at the U.N. General Assembly on September 21, drawing condemnation from the U.S. and Israel.
Earlier on Saturday Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni called it counterproductive to recognize a Palestinian state before it is established.
On Friday a German government spokesperson said there were no plans to recognize a Palestinian state in the short term.
At the upcoming United Nations event on Monday and Tuesday, France and Saudi Arabia plan to lay out a proposed post-war roadmap leading to a two-state solution covering security, reconstruction and governance, which will be compatible with the Abraham Accords negotiated by US President Trump, Barrot said.
The French minister added that in coming weeks the European Commission would take a tougher stance on Israel and demand a stop on building of any new settlement projects in the West Bank, and also an end to militarized policing of humanitarian aid distribution.
Barrot also called on fellow European countries to demand a removal of the financial blockade on the Palestinian authority so it can receive 2 billion euros he said it is owed.
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Jordan and UAE Drop Aid Into Gaza in First Airdrop in Months, Jordanian Source Says
An airplane drops humanitarian aid over Gaza as seen from northern Gaza Strip July 27, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Jordan and the United Arab Emirates parachuted 25 tons of aid into the Gaza Strip on Sunday in their first airdrop in months, a Jordanian official source said.
The official said the air drops were not a substitute for delivery by land.
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Trump Says Israel Will Have to Decide on Next Steps in Gaza, Pledges More Aid
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 8, 2025. Photo: Kevin Lamarque via Reuters Connect.
US President Donald Trump said on Sunday Israel would have to make a decision on next steps in Gaza, adding that he did not know what would happen after the collapse of ceasefire and hostage-release negotiations with the Hamas terrorist group.
Trump underscored the importance of securing the release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, saying they had suddenly “hardened” up on the issue, and said the US would provide more aid to the war-torn Palestinian enclave.
“They don’t want to give them back, and so Israel is going to have to make a decision,” Trump told reporters at the start of a meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at his golf property in Turnberry, Scotland.
“I know what I’d do, but I don’t think it’s appropriate that I say it. But Israel is going to have to make a decision,” he said, while also claiming, without evidence, that Hamas members were stealing food coming into Gaza and selling it.
Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu both appeared on Friday to abandon Gaza ceasefire negotiations with Hamas, saying it had become clear that the Palestinian group did not want a deal.
Netanyahu said Israel was now mulling “alternative” options to achieve its goals of bringing its hostages home from Gaza and ending Hamas rule in the enclave.
Trump said he believed Hamas leaders would now be “hunted down,” telling reporters: “Hamas really didn’t want to make a deal. I think they want to die. And it’s very bad. And it got to be to a point where you’re going to have to finish the job.”
US TO PROVIDE MORE AID, TRUMP SAYS
Trump on Sunday said the US would provide more humanitarian aid to Gaza, where concerns are mounting about the worsening hunger, but wanted other countries to participate as well. He said he would discuss the issue with von der Leyen.
“We’re giving a lot of money, a lot of food, a lot of everything,” he said. “If we weren’t there, I think people would have starved, frankly. They would have starved, and it’s not like they’re eating well.”
He said he had spoken with Netanyahu and discussed a number of issues, including Iran. He said and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer would also discuss Israel when they meet at Trump’s golf property in Turnberry on Monday.
Trump also noted said the United States was not acknowledged for earlier food aid for Gaza.
“No other country gave anything,” he said, calling out European countries in particular. “It makes you feel a little bad when you do that and, you know, you have other countries not giving anything… Nobody gave but us. And nobody said, Gee, thank you very much. And it would be nice to have at least a thank you.”
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