Friends and former classmates remembered slain Israeli Embassy staffer Sarah Milgrim as a “beautiful soul” and “peacemaker” who embraced her Jewish faith with pride just days after she was gunned down in an antisemitic terror attack in Washington, DC.
The 26-year-old Kansas native, who was executed Wednesday night alongside her boyfriend, Yaron Lischinsky, 28, outside the Capital Jewish Museum, was described as a devoted friend who used her voice to promote peace and advocate for unity in the Middle East.
“She made me want to be more Jewish,” said Amanda Birger, a former University of Kansas classmate who met Milgrim at KU Hillel, a Jewish organization at the college, the Kansas City Star reported.
“I came to Hillel looking for friends, but meeting Sarah showed me how someone my age, who was smart and funny and kind, could live a joyful Jewish life while also doing everything else she wanted.”
Birger, who spoke to hundreds of mourners during a community vigil Thursday night, said her “fiercely loyal friend” was passionate about her religion, animals, the environment and her work at the embassy — a job Milgrim reportedly secured a month after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attack on Israel.
“Even though she was faced with ignorant people and awful images and really difficult work, she stayed to help innocent people and to help our community,” Birger added.
Suspected terrorist Elias Rodriguez, 31, was pacing outside the museum before he approached the soon-to-be engaged couple, who worked together, and fired off 21 shots from his handgun.
The alleged assassin then pulled out a red keffiyeh and repeatedly yelled, “Free free Palestine” as he was arrested for the horrific double slaying.
Rodriguez was charged with first-degree murder and other related counts for the hate-filled shooting.
“She was good at everything she did,” high school friend Jacob Desett told KMBC 9 News, sharing their senior yearbook, which highlighted Milgrim’s involvement in choir, student clubs and academic programs.
“I can hear her singing. No one deserves this. She and her partner definitely did not deserve this.”
Local religious leaders also remembered Milgrim as a role model whose kindness and bright “light” inspired others around her, especially students and other young Jewish leaders.
They urged those grappling with the couple’s hateful slaying to preserve their memory.
“We have to remember that her memory has to continue to be her blessing,” Ethan Helfand, executive director of KU Hillel, told the outlet.
“It has to endure. We have to make sure that it continues, because her and Yaron’s death cannot be in vain. It was a senseless act of hatred that took her from us, and it is now our responsibility to pick up the ball and keep going to make sure that her legacy is never something that fades.”
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