Dr. Yechiel Leiter, Israeli Ambassador to the United States, visited Kansas City on Sunday to be with the family of 26-year-old Sarah Milgrim, who was killed last Wednesday night along with Yaron Lischinsky, 30, outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C.
After spending time with the Milgrim family, the ambassador spoke with 20 leaders of the Jewish community. While his visit to Kansas City was short, he called it “long enough to make some time to meet with the community,” noting that the community also was experiencing trauma. “We’re going to carry Sarah on our hearts,” he said.
He knew Sarah and told of how he’d say to his chief of staff each time he saw her, “That girl is like sunshine.”
Dr. Leiter described having to make the phone call to her parents, saying, “Perhaps I have the wherewithal to say what needed to be said because a year and a half ago, I was on the other side of the door when two officers came to tell me my oldest son was killed in Gaza.”
“We must understand the nature of antisemitism we’re facing,” he said. “The form today is anti-Israelism and anti-Zionism.”
He also suggested that this is a time for Jews to emphasize unity and courage, standing shoulder to shoulder with other Jews, just as he described Israeli soldiers in Gaza as doing, regardless of their political viewpoints.
The ambassador noted that his biggest regret at this moment is that he didn’t spend more time with Lischinsky — who officed just a few doors down from the ambassador — getting to know him even better. And he spoke of his role as ambassador, including spending time with as many senators and congresspeople as possible, talking about how Israel is “bipartisan, nonpartisan, multipartisan — it belongs to everybody.”
He told community leaders that he hopes to make it back to Kansas City “for better, happier interactions” as part of his regular travels to other communities outside of Washington on weekends, when he visits synagogues, churches and universities across the country. He told the group that he wants to make the Israeli Embassy and himself available, noting “anything we can do to combat the scourge of antisemitism… I want to be there for you.”
After his remarks, Rabbi Alan Londy of New Reform Temple thanked the ambassador for coming, noting that he was moved by his visit to be with Sarah Milgrim’s family.
“Thanks for being a model of what we are supposed to do when there is tragedy,” Rabbi Londy said.