Family and friends gathered Tuesday to mourn the death of Prairie Village native Sarah Milgrim, less than a week after she was shot and killed outside an event at the Capitol Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C.
Local rabbis, Jewish leaders, and a member of the Israeli embassy gave remarks at Congregation Beth Torah, in Overland Park, Kansas. The funeral was private, but streamed live online.
Milgrim and Yaron Lichisky, who were dating and both worked at the Israeli embassy in Washington, were shot the evening of May 21.The alleged gunman, Elias Rodriguez, of Chicago, is now in custody. Authorities say he chanted “free Palestine” after he was detained.
Sawsan Hasson, minister for Public Diplomacy at the Israeli embassy, said Milgrim’s death “brought Israel here to Kansas to meet your own loving family in your hometown.”
“If there ever was a way to express the essence of Sarah's spirit, it's this one: her warmth, her empathy, her quiet strength, her unwavering readiness to serve the mission of fighting antisemitism, and supporting Israel,” Hasson said.
Milgrim started working for the Israeli embassy shortly before the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks. The couple had plans to travel to Israel in the near future, and Milgrim’s father, Robert Milgrim, told KCUR’s Up to Date last week that Lischinsky had bought a ring to propose to Sarah.
Milgrim grew up in Prairie Village and was involved in Kansas City’s Jewish community. She was remembered for her commitment to Judaism and peacebuilding. Her father told KCUR that part of her job at the embassy involved hosting the families of Oct. 7 hostages when they visited the U.S.
Hasson said Milgrim took on outreach to progressive and liberal communities in the U.S.
“She did so with a natural brilliance and boldness, bringing together her intellectual rigor, deep empathy and unshakable belief in dialogue,” Hasson said. “She opened new doors and built bridges that few before had dared to cross.”
Hasson also called the congregation at Congregation Beth Torah to take action in a fraught time.
“We must uproot antisemitism and anti-Zionism from within our social circles — in our communities, in our schools, in the mainstream media, and in the corners of the internet, and even beyond,” Hasson said.
A recent report from the Anti-Defamation League found there were 9,354 antisemitic incidents recorded in 2024, the highest since the organization began tracking antisemitism 46 years ago.
Milgrim, who was 26, attended Shawnee Mission East High and graduated from the University of Kansas, where she was part of the Jewish student organization KU Hillel.
Jay Lewis, president of the Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City, said Milgrim was “everything that we hope a young Jewish woman from Kansas City would become.”
“At her core, Sarah dedicated her life, personally and professionally, to strengthening her community, to building bridges, and to bring people closer together,” Lewis said.
Rabbi Stephanie Kramer of Congregation B'nai Jehudah said Milgrim’s connection to Israel was lifelong and deeply informed, and began when she was young.
“Supporting her meant supporting her vision for a better world, one rooted in Jewish values, compassion, justice and peace,” Kramer said. “And now, as we mourn her, we are left asking impossible questions. Why Sarah? Why hatred? Why antisemitism? Why this phenomenal, strong, courageous young — way too, young — woman with her whole life ahead of her? Why such a senseless, brutal act?”
