Kansas community holds private memorial for Israeli Embassy staffer killed in DC ambush

Sarah Milgrim, one of two Israeli Embassy staffers fatally shot last week in an apparently politically motivated ambush in Washington, D.C., was remembered Tuesday during a private funeral in the Kansas community where she grew up.

Milgrim, a 26-year-old from the Kansas City suburb of Prairie Village, Kansas, was leaving a reception for young diplomats at the Capital Jewish Museum alongside 30-year-old Yaron Lischinsky on May 21 when they were shot to death. A suspect, 31-year-old Elias Rodriguez, was arrested and shouted “Free Palestine” as he was led away. Charging documents said he later told police, "I did it for Palestine, I did it for Gaza.”

Lischinsky had bought an engagement ring before the shooting and was planning to propose to Milgrim in the coming days, those who knew the couple have said.

Instead of an upcoming wedding, those close to Milgrim eulogized her at a private service Tuesday at Congregation Beth Torah in Overland Park, Kansas, the temple she attended as a child with her family.

Rabbi Doug Alpert of Congregation Kol Ami in Kansas City, Missouri, gave an impassioned eulogy as scores of attendees sniffled and softly sobbed.

Alpert first drew laughs as he relayed early childhood memories from her parents, Bob and Nancy Milgrim, including her love of hiding as a young child that earned her the label of “sneaky.” They also recalled her as creative, funny and preternaturally empathetic to animals. She was a vegetarian for most of her childhood and once saved an abandoned baby bunny using her mother's oven mitts, which she promptly then returned to their kitchen drawer unwashed.

But laughter soon turned to tears as Alpert noted the backlash Milgrim faced from strangers and even some acquaintances when she joined the Israeli Embassy staff and expressed her desire for a peaceful solution to end the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians.

“We would like nothing more right now than to ask Sarah, to talk to Sarah, to learn from such a beacon of light amidst a world of darkness," Alpert said. "We’ve been cheated out of that opportunity. And for the Milgrim family, cheated out of so much more.”

Milgrim's boss at the embassy, Sawsan Hasson, recounted how Milgrim championed women's and LGBTQ rights and always stuck to her mission of peace and bringing people together — especially those opposed to one another on religion, politics and ideology.

“This morning, you and Yaron were meant to be in Israel, celebrating with his family,” Hasson said. “Instead, through an unthinkable tragedy, you have brought Israel here to Kansas to meet your own loving family in your hometown. Somehow, even in your passing, you have created connection and unity.”

Milgrim earned a bachelor’s degree in environmental studies from the University of Kansas in 2021. She was remembered as a warm, uplifting presence at Shabbat dinners and holiday gatherings at the Chabad Center for Jewish Life on campus.

After graduating, Milgrim worked at at a Tel Aviv-based organization centered on technology training and conflict dialogue for young Palestinians and Israelis, according to her LinkedIn profile. She had been trained in religious engagement and peacebuilding by the United States Institute of Peace, an organization that promotes conflict resolution and was created by the U.S. Congress.

After earning a master’s degree in international affairs from American University in 2023, she went to work at the Israeli Embassy, where her job involved organizing events and missions to Israel.

Milgrim would have been teenager when her Kansas community was rocked by another deadly antisemitic attack in 2014. Frazier Glenn Miller Jr., an avowed anti-Semite and white supremacist, fatally shot three people at two Jewish sites in Overland Park in April of that year. At his trial, Miller openly stated that he targeted Jews for death — though none of his victims were Jewish. Miller was convicted in August 2015 and later sentenced to death.

Sheila Katz, CEO of the National Council of Jewish Women, last week lauded Milgrim for her work with women’s groups, LGBTQ communities and multi-faith groups and said Milgrim was studying whether friendships between Arabs and Israelis could promote peace.

“We knew something like this could happen,” she said. “I just don’t think we thought it would happen to her.”

Family and friends gather outside Congregation Beth Torah after a funeral for Sarah Milgrim, a staffer at the Israeli Embassy who was killed last week outside a Washington Jewish museum, Tuesday, May 27, 2025, in Overland Park, Kan. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

FILE - People gather to light candles in a makeshift memorial to honor Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim who were killed as they left an event at the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, during a candlelight vigil outside of the White House in Washington, Thursday, May 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, file)

A funeral procession leaves Congregation Beth Torah after a funeral for Sarah Milgrim, a staffer at the Israeli Embassy who was killed last week outside a Washington Jewish museum, Tuesday, May 27, 2025, in Overland Park, Kan. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

A funeral procession leaves Congregation Beth Torah after a funeral for Sarah Milgrim, a staffer at the Israeli Embassy who was killed last week outside a Washington Jewish museum, Tuesday, May 27, 2025, in Overland Park, Kan. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Family and friends gather outside Congregation Beth Torah after a funeral for Sarah Milgrim, a staffer at the Israeli Embassy who was killed last week outside a Washington Jewish museum, Tuesday, May 27, 2025, in Overland Park, Kan. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

People embrace as they gather to light candles in a makeshift memorial to honor Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim who were killed as they left an event at the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, during a candlelight vigil outside of the White House in Washington, Thursday, May 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — Myanmar began a second round of voting Sunday in its first general election since the military takeover five years ago.

Voting expanded to additional townships including some areas affected by the civil war between the military government and its armed opponents.

Critics say the polls organized by the military government are neither free nor fair and are an effort by the military to legitimize its rule after seizing power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021.

Tom Andrews, a special rapporteur working with the U.N. human rights office, urged the international community Thursday to reject what he called a “sham election,” saying the first round exposed coercion, violence and political exclusion.

“You cannot have a free, fair or credible election when thousands of political prisoners are behind bars, credible opposition parties have been dissolved, journalists are muzzled, and fundamental freedoms are crushed,” Andrews said.

According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, which keeps detailed tallies of arrests and casualties linked to the conflict, more than 22,000 people are detained for political offenses, and more than 7,600 civilians have been killed by security forces since 2021.

The army’s takeover triggered widespread peaceful protests that soon erupted into armed resistance, and the country slipped into a civil war.

A new Election Protection Law imposes harsh penalties and restrictions for virtually all public criticism of the polls. The authorities have charged more than 330 people under new electoral law for leafleting or online activity over the past few months.

Opposition organizations and ethnic armed groups had previously vowed to disrupt the electoral process.

On Sunday, attacks targeting polling stations and government buildings were reported in at least four of the 100 townships holding polls, with two administrative officials killed, independent online media, including Myanmar Now, reported.

Polling stations opened at 6 a.m. in 100 townships across the country, including parts of Sagaing, Magway, Mandalay, Bago and Tanintharyi regions, as well as Mon, Shan, Kachin, Kayah and Kayin states. Many of those areas have recently seen clashes or remain under heightened security, underscoring the risks surrounding the vote.

The election is being held in three phases due to armed conflicts. The first round took place Dec. 28 in 102 of the country’s total 330 townships. A final round is scheduled for Jan. 25, though 65 townships will not take part because of fighting.

Myanmar has a two-house national legislature, totaling 664 seats. The party with a combined parliamentary majority can select the new president, who can name a Cabinet and form a new government. The military automatically receives 25% of seats in each house under the constitution.

Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun, the military government's spokesperson, told journalists on Sunday that the two houses of parliament will be convened in March, and the new government will take up its duties in April.

On Sunday, people in Yangon and Mandalay, the two largest cities, cast their ballots in high schools, government buildings and religious buildings.

At more than 10 polling stations visited by Associated Press journalists, voter numbers ranged from about 150 at the busiest site to just a few at others, appearing lower than during the 2020 election when long lines were common.

The military government said there were more than 24 million eligible voters, about 35% fewer than in 2020. The government called the turnout a success, claiming ballots were cast by more than 6 million people, about 52% of the more than 11 million eligible voters in the election's first phase.

Myo Aung, a chief minister of the Mandalay region, said more people turned out Sunday than in the first phase.

Maung Maung Naing, who voted in Mandalay’s Mahar Aung Myay township, said he wanted a government that will benefit the people.

“I only like a government that can make everything better for livelihoods and social welfare,” he said.

Sandar Min, an independent candidate from Yangon’s Latha township, said she decided to contest the election despite criticism because she wants to work with the government for the good of the country. She hopes the vote will bring change that reduces suffering.

“We want the country to be nonviolent. We do not accept violence as part of the change of the country,” Sandar Min said after casting a vote. “We care deeply about the people of this country.”

While more than 4,800 candidates from 57 parties are competing for seats in national and regional legislatures, only six parties are competing nationwide.

The first phase left the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party, or USDP, in a dominant position, winning nearly 90% of the contested seats in the first phase in the lower house. It also won a majority of seats in regional legislatures.

Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s 80-year-old former leader, and her party aren’t participating in the polls. She is serving a 27-year prison term on charges widely viewed as spurious and politically motivated. Her party, the National League for Democracy, was dissolved in 2023, after refusing to register under new military rules.

Other parties also refused to register or declined to run under conditions they deem unfair, while opposition groups have called for a voter boycott.

An official of the Union Election Commission counts ballots at a polling station during the second phase of general election in Mandalay, central Myanmar, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)

An official of the Union Election Commission shows a slip as they count ballots at a polling station during the second phase of general election in Yangon, Myanmar, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Thein Zaw)

A voter casts ballot at a polling station during the second phase of general election Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Yangon, Myanmar. (AP Photo/Thein Zaw)

A voter casts ballot at a polling station during the second phase of general election in Mandalay, central Myanmar, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)

A voter shows his finger, marked with ink to indicate he voted, at a polling station during the second phase of general election in Mandalay, central Myanmar, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)

Sandar Min, an individual candidate for an election and former parliament member from ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party, shows off her finger marked with ink indicating she voted at a polling station during the second phase of general election Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Yangon, Myanmar. (AP Photo/Thein Zaw)

Voters wait for a polling station to open during the second phase of general election in Mandalay, central Myanmar, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)

Buddhist monks walk past a polling station opened at a monastery one day before the second phase of the general election in Yangon, Myanmar, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Thein Zaw)

An official of the Union Election Commission checks a sample slip from an electronic voting machine as they prepare to set up a polling station opened at a monastery one day before the second phase of the general election in Yangon, Myanmar, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Thein Zaw)