Sarah Milgrim, a Johnson County native and graduate of Shawnee Mission East High School and the University of Kansas, was one of two people killed Wednesday night in a shooting outside a Jewish event in Washington, D.C.
The news stunned and saddened those who knew her growing up in Johnson County, from her high school choir teacher to officials at the synagogue where she became Bat Mitzvah.
“She was just such a real gift to the community,” said Brenda Fishman, a now-retired SM East teacher who worked with Sarah through the school’s Jewish Student Union.
“It’s just such a shame she was cut down in such a youthful part of her life.”
A budding relationship
Milgrim, 26, and her boyfriend, Yaron Lischinsky, 30, both worked for the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C.
The pair were shot and killed after leaving the Young Diplomats Reception hosted by the American Jewish Committee at the Capital Jewish Museum, authorities in the nation’s capital say.
The Metropolitan Police Department identified Elias Rodriguez, 30 of Chicago, as the suspect, Axios reports. Rodriguez reportedly chanted “Free, free Palestine,” as he was being arrested, according to multiple media reports and videos on social media.
Milgrim’s father, Robert, told KCUR that his daughter and Lischinsky were about to travel to Israel on Sunday to meet Lischinsky’s family. There, Lischinsky was also planning to propose to Milgrim.
Robert Milgrim said he didn’t know of Lischinsky’s plans until Wednesday night when Israel’s ambassador to the U.S. told them while breaking the news of the shooting.
“He was like a renaissance man,” Robert Milgrim said of Lischinsky on KCUR’s morning talk program “Up To Date.” “We could not have been happier. … We knew the relationship had grown to be very serious.”
“Funny, happy, quirky and super smart”
The Shawnee Mission School District confirmed that Milgrim graduated from SM East in 2017.
Ken Foley, the school’s choral director, said Milgrim was a four-year member of the SM East choir. She graduated the same year as Foley’s oldest daughter.
Foley called Milgrim “one of our great sopranos” and described her as “happy, funny, quirky and super smart.”
In her junior year, the SM East choir took a trip to Germany, performing in Munich, Berlin and Leipzig, among other places. Milgrim’s parents accompanied the choir on the trip, and Foley said he remembers particularly a tour the group took of Dachau, a concentration camp outside Munich, as being “a very meaningful part of the trip” for Sarah and her parents.
Foley said he was shocked by Wednesday night’s “senseless” tragedy.
“It makes me think life is so precious,” Foley said. “We’re not promised another minute, I tell my students all the time.”
Fishman, who taught history at SM East for 37 years before retiring last year, told the Post on Thursday she knew Milgrim during her time as a Lancer through the Jewish Student Union.
She described Milgrim as a “wonderful student” and “a very sweet person.”
Fishman said she saw Milgrim monthly through the Jewish Student Union, and knew she was interested in learning more about Israel. Fishman said she was glad to see Milgrim later did the birthright Israel program during her time at KU.
“It’s just a real tragedy,” Fishman said. “She was very bright, very gifted, very educated.”
Interest in the environment
Milgrim’s father Robert told KCUR his daughter was passionate about the environment.
After graduating from SM East in 2017, she attended KU, ultimately earning a degree in environmental science in 2021.
Milgrim completed her honors thesis “on peace efforts between Israeli and Palestinian organizations,” according to a KU Environmental Studies Program Facebook post.
“Sarah’s dedication to making the world a better place was evident in all she did,” the KU Environmental Studies Program’s post reads. “She was a wonderful person and employee, and her influence extended far beyond her time at KU. Her passion for environmental studies and peace efforts inspired many, and her loss is deeply felt by all who knew her.”
In a Facebook statement, KU Hillel noted Sarah Milgrim’s “bright spirit and passion for the Jewish community.”
The organization said she also served on the KU Hillel Board of Directors during her time as a student.
She was “the definition of a good person,” the statement continued. “In the face of such hateful violence, we come together as a community to support one another and to honor Sarah’s memory.”
The student organization went on to encourage anyone who needs mental health and wellness support to reach out for its available resources.
Her interest in the environment and civic engagement brought her back closer to home in the summer of 2019, when she served as an intern in the city of Overland Park’s Public Works Department as a stormwater engineering aide.
Overland Park Mayor Curt Skoog, in a statement Thursday, encouraged the community to keep the Milgrim family “in your hearts during this difficult time.”
“Sarah dedicated herself to public service and peacemaking, and her death is a tragedy for the Overland Park community,” Skoog said.
Milgrim’s involvement in the Jewish community
Milgrim was on staff at the Israeli Embassy in D.C., and she was active in Jewish organizations growing up in Johnson County.
Congregation Beth Torah in Overland Park in a Facebook statement shared its condolences with with the Milgrim and Lischinsky families following “this senseless act of hatred and violence.”
Officials at Beth Torah say Milgrim grew up as a Beth Torah member and attended religious school there before becoming Bat Mitzvah in 2012 and being confirmed in 2015.
“Her religious school teachers spoke about her with deep affection, calling out her enthusiasm for learning, her bright intellect, and her deep kindness,” Beth Torah wrote on Facebook.
Officials at Beth Torah say the Milgrims were members through 2018.
In a separate statement, Rabbi Stephanie Kramer of B’nai Jehudah in Overland Park said the congregation is mourning the loss of “a proud member of our congregation, a devoted Zionist and a radiant presence in every space she entered.”
Officials at B’nai Jehudah did not immediately confirm how long the Milgrims had been members of that congregation.
But in her statement, Kramer said that Milgrim’s parents “beamed with pride about Sarah’s work and her steadfast devotion to Judaism and to Israel.”
“Her commitment wasn’t just professional; it was deeply personal, rooted in her upbringing, her values and her unshakable identity,” Kramer said.
