I went to the University of Kansas with Sarah Milgrim. Sarah was present throughout much of my Jewish life at KU, and though we were never close, I did admire her.
She was determined and committed to the causes she cared about. I remember hearing that she went to Costa Rica to study at a United Nations institution and thinking, “Wow, she’s dedicated!” — a thought repeated when I heard she took a job at the Israeli embassy.
In fact, that memory was the first thought I had when I woke up to a barrage of news on May 22 with Sarah’s name in the headline. It was followed by the emotional blow of learning what had happened — the same blow that hit our entire community.
As I write this, the community still aches with emotional exhaustion. My friends are still in various stages of shock. I can only imagine how the Milgrim family must feel.
And there’s anger — rightfully so. Anger at the deranged murderer for his actions. Anger at the fact that Sarah and Yaron’s lives were so brutally ended when they had so much of a future in front of them. Anger at that man’s insane belief that murdering two innocent young adults would help end a war halfway across the world. Anger at G-d for the age-old conundrum, “Why do bad things happen to good people?”
Sarah’s death hit too close to home. Emotions are raw, people are insensitive, and antisemitism is abhorrent. I was initially going to end this editorial on that note, feeling like tacking a silver lining onto a disaster feels like a band-aid on an amputation. But the Jewish community’s actions in the wake of Sarah’s death served as a reminder of one positive thing: we are here for each other.
Hundreds of people showed up to honor Sarah on short notice the day after she was killed, and hundreds more attended her funeral. Nearly every community organization issued a statement of condolences. My social media feed was packed with friends and community members sharing their memories and photos of Sarah. The editors of the Omaha Jewish Press and St. Louis Jewish Light reached out to The Chronicle to offer any assistance they could, as did various community members and coworkers. Many readers reached out on the morning of May 22 to ensure that I knew what had happened. Such unity is rare — even at the best of times — and should be cherished despite the tragedy that caused it.
For all who knew Sarah, and all who learned her story in the past few weeks, her actions and values were ones to aspire to. May she and Yaron continue to inspire everyone who learns about them, and may their memories forever be a blessing.