Latest news with #ReichmanUniversity
Al Manar
8 hours ago
- Business
- Al Manar
Israeli Economy Hit Hard by Iranian Missiles: Losses Estimated in Billions of Dollars
The confrontation with Iran has been imposing significant economic burdens on the Israeli regime, surging into the hundreds of millions of dollars per day, as reported by The Wall Street Journal, threatening Tel Aviv's ability to sustain a prolonged war. Zvi Eckstein, an Israeli economist, and head of the Aaron Institute for Economic Policy at Reichman University, confirmed that 'this war is far more expensive than Gaza or Hezbollah,' referring to the latest war on Lebanon between September and November 2024. He said: 'The ammunition- defensive and offensive- is the big expense.' The institute estimated that a month-long war could cost Israel as much as $12 billion. According to a June 15 report by the Israeli news outlet Ynet News, quoting a former financial adviser to the Israeli military's chief of staff, stated that the cost has exceeded 5.5 billion shekels (roughly $1.45 billion) for the first two days of confrontation with Iran alone. The economic losses mainly constitute of the Israeli attacks on Iran and the interception of Iranian missiles – attack and defense. Consequently, the financial toll from Iranian missile strikes increases accordingly. $14 billion in damage to Israel after morning attack Today's Iranian strike has already caused initial losses of $14 billion on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. Israel's main stock exchange index, with a total turnover of $475 billion, fell more than 3% – its biggest drop since the… — Sprinter Observer (@SprinterObserve) June 19, 2025 High-Tech Attack and Defense Systems According to Israeli economic advisers, Israel has been spending more than 2.75 billion shekels ($725 million) per day on direct military operations against Iran. Just jet fuel and armaments require a cost of almost $300 million each day. The Israeli Air Force has been actively launching F-35 fighter jets across distances exceeding 1,000 miles, costing roughly $10,000 per hour of flight. In terms of air defenses, David's Sling is one of Israeli key defense systems that intercepts short-to-medium range missiles and drones at a cost of approximately $700,000 per intercept, typically using two missiles per launch. Meanwhile, 'Arrow 3' system, operating beyond the atmosphere to counter long-range ballistic missiles, costs about 4$ million per interception. Its predecessor, 'Arrow 2,' designed for in-atmosphere interception, costs roughly $3 million per missile. Mounting Damage Drains the Israeli Economy Engineers has been estimating that reconstruction costs due to missile strikes will exceed $400 million as a result of the damage of hundreds of buildings, and the evacuation of more than 5,000 civilians. After being hit, the largest Israeli oil refinery in Haifa has been temporarily shut down, and work in several significant infrastructure sectors has been suspended. According to the Israeli public broadcaster 'Kan,' the Israeli regime will approve a payment of 500 shekels (approximately $145) for each settler whose home was destructed in the Iranian missile strikes, neglecting any compensation for owners of commercial properties. An Israeli economic journalist, Liel Keiser, also highlighted the destruction of around 1,500 homes and apartments over just 4 days of the Iranian missile strikes. She warned that the fund designated for property tax holds roughly 9.5 billion shekels and has been gradually depleted, imposing an emerging cause for concern.
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First Post
3 days ago
- Politics
- First Post
Inside Netanyahu's campaign to destroy Iran's bunker nuclear sites: Here's what Israeli expert says
Despite being Israel's principal objective, the destruction of Iran's nuclear sites has barely been achieved so far. As these underground sites remain out of bounds to Israel, Israel is looking at US President Donald Trump to join the war with his 'bunker buster' bombs. Here is how the joint Israel-US war on Iran may play out — or what happens if he wouldn't join. read more More than four decades after Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomenei committed the Islamic Republic of Iran to the destruction of the Jewish state, Israel has dealt catastrophic blows to the ayatollah's regime — the military leadership has been decapitated, air defences have been destroyed, critical infrastructure and military sites stand battered, and the Supreme Leader remains in hiding. But Israel needs US help to go the final mile. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu set the destruction of Iran's nuclear capabilities as the principal objective of 'Operation Rising Lion'. As Israel does not have capabilities to destroy Iran's underground nuclear sites, that's an impossible objective unless Israel's principle partner, the United States, steps in. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The war might appear as a gamble as the success rests on whether US President Donald Trump joins or not, that is not the case and the decision to launch the war was a calculated move, says Daphne Richemond Barak, a professor of international relations at the Lauder School of Government, Diplomacy & Strategy at Israel's Reichman University. Despite being the principal objective, the destruction of nuclear sites is the one that's least achieved so far as the Fordow nuclear site, which houses Iran's most advanced centrifuges that produce near-weapons grade uranium, remains standing. But that may change soon as Trump sought Iran's 'unconditional surrender' on Tuesday and appeared to set the tone for military action. ALSO READ: As Netanyahu dares Khamenei, here's timeline of Israel-Iran conflict Barak tells Firstpost, 'There is definitely a certain hope on part of Prime Minister Netanyahu of the United States joining the war. Israel has already degraded Iran's capabilities to a great extent that goes a long way in denying it a nuclear weapon.' Fordow: The mountain nuclear base that stands in way of Israeli victory — and how Israel plans to breach it After striking Natanz, all eyes are on the Fordow nuclear site, which is housed in an Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) base and built inside a mountain. It is situated near the holy city of Qom. While some sources say it goes as deep as half a mile underground, Barak, a specialist in underground warfare, says the facility reaches the depth of 60-100 metres — beyond the scope of Israel's munitions. Barak says that Fordow is not built simply under 60-100 metres of soil, but it is built under 60 to 100 metres of concrete. The Natanz site is understood to be similarly built with 20-3o metres of concrete above it. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'For more than a decade, Iran has progressively and consistently placed its nuclear programme deep underground. While Fordow and Natanz are well known, such facilities are spread across Iran. Israel can attempt to destroy such facilities in two ways. The first is the Nasrallah way and the second is through special, heavy 'bunker buster' munitions that only the United States has,' says Barak. The first option refers to how Israel assassinated former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah last year in Beirut, Lebanon. He was also hiding in a bunker with 18-20 metres of concrete above him. 'Israel struck the top of Nasrallah's bunker with precision-guided bombs. Israel launched bombs on top of each other until they breached through 20 metres of concrete and killed Nasrallah. Such brute strength is enough to reach the underground levels of Natanz but not Fordow,' says Barak. In Nasrallah's case, Israel dropped around 80 tons of explosives in serial strikes on top of each other within just 10 seconds — like hammering an 80-ton explosive nail through concrete until it reached Nasrallah. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD In the second option, US 'bunker buster' munitions, the GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast (MOAB) and GBU-57A/B Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) bombs, would be used. They can penetrate up to 60 metres of concrete. To breach the reinforced roof of the Fordow facility, multiple strikes of such ordnance — colloquially called 'mother of all bombs'— would be required. 'These bombs have hardened metal tips and are heavy by themselves even without explosives. With their weight and speed that they are launched from, these bombs penetrate their target whether it's soil or concrete. They do not explode immediately on impact," Barak says. 'Instead, they explode after they have penetrated the target. The delayed explosion after penetration means the damage is concentrated inside the target structure and not on top of it. This also increases the radius of the area these bombs damage,' says Barak, the author of the book 'Underground Warfare' (2018). ALSO READ: As Israel goes to war with Iran, here's how Islamic Revolution turned partners into enemies STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD It is not just that these bombs are with the United States, but only a select few in the US military have the expertise to launch them. The GBU-43/B MOAB can only be launched by a modified C-130 aircraft from its ramp and GBU-57A/B MOP can only be launched from a B-2 stealth bomber. While the United States can theoretically loan these assets to Israel, it will likely not be the case as the United States guards such technology zealously even from its closest allies and partners. This means that if such bunker busters are used, they would most likely be dropped by the US Air Force itself. Barak says that Prime Minister Netanyahu is hopeful the United States will join and there are multiple ways that may happen. 'President Trump might decide to join proactively or he could join in response to an Iranian attack on US bases in the region or could launch a pre-emptive strike in response to an imminent attack. After all, the Israeli operation is also a pre-emptive strike on Iran's nuclear programme as Israel believes that this would be the final window to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon,' says Barak. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Indeed, there are indications that may happen — or at least preparations are being made. Trump lays groundwork for attack on Iran After maintaining for the first three days of the war that he would prefer a deal with Iran to end the conflict, Trump started laying groundwork for direct military involvement over the weekend. After moving more than 30 aerial refuelling tankers to Europe to support operations in West Asia over the weekend, Trump bolstered existing squadrons in the region with additional fighter planes on Tuesday. US Navy's Nimitz carrier strike group is also being rushed to the region to join Carl Vinston carrier strike group — two carrier strike groups generally comprise at least 120 warplanes, four cruisers, four destroyers, and possibly submarines as well. ALSO READ: Israel's multi-front war with Iran could alter power dynamics in West Asia for a long time In what appeared to be an attempt to set pretext for an attack, the Trump administration posted dozens of videos of Trump in a thread on X that mentioned all the occasions over the years when Trump said he would not allow Iran to develop a nuclear weapon. Barak says that the US positioning might not just be about attacking Iran, but it could also be about pressuring Iran into reaching a deal — Trump after all prides himself as a master dealmaker. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD What's the road ahead? 4 possibilities As Israel has battered Iran and cornered Khamenei, Barak tells Firstpost there are four possibilities how the conflict might conclude. Firstly, Trump might join the war and bomb Iran's nuclear sites. Secondly, Trump refuses to join the war but supports Israel's war — minus the supply of bunker busters to destroy the Fordow site. 'In such a case, it might appear that Israel would have lost, but that would not be the case. Even without destroying Fordow, Israel has degraded Iran's capabilities and set the Iranian nuclear programme back by many years. That is a good enough outcome for Israel short of complete destruction of nuclear capabilities,' says Barak. Thirdly, the Israeli campaign serves as a pressure on Khamenei to enter negotiations seriously and reach a deal. Fourthly, even as Israel batters Iran, the people of the country rise up against Khamenei's regime — Netanyahu has said that one of the outcomes of the war could be a change of regime in Iran. However, not everyone agrees with Barak. There is a line of thought that anything short of complete destruction of Iranian nuclear capabilities would lead to Khamenei going full-throttle for the development of a nuclear weapon to make up for lost conventional deterrence. Barak says that he would not be in a position to do so. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'A week ago, Khamenei could perhaps have developed a weapon in a short duration if he wanted to. Now, we are not living in the same world as a week ago. The various capabilities involved in making a nuclear weapon have been degraded enough so that even if the Fordow site is left standing, Iran would not be in a position to make a nuclear weapon for years,' says Barak. Even though Israel could not cause much damage to the underground levels of the Natanz facility, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi has told BBC News that all centrifuges at the underground uranium enrichment facility at the Natanz nuclear site were 'severely damaged if not destroyed altogether'. While the centrifuges were not directly hit, they were still affected as Israel's aboveground strikes 'completely destroyed' electricity systems that were required to sustain those centrifuges, according to Grossi. Could Natanz's centrifuges be a metaphor for what might be in the offing for Khamenei? While Israel may not go after Khamenei, a chain reaction may still paralyse his regime in the days to come.
Telegraph
25-05-2025
- Health
- Telegraph
The professor who believes she's found the secret to sexual attraction in long-term relationships
Gurit Birnbaum loves sex. So fascinated is she by everything to do with human sexuality that she got a PhD in the subject, from Bar-Ilan University in Israel, nearly 30 years ago. Now she is professor of psychology at Reichman University, and a world-leading expert on sexual behaviour. 'When I was getting my PhD, in my early 20s, I was discovering the joys of sex,' Prof Birnbaum says. 'In the course of my research I found that sex can be a source of joy and excitement for some people, like me, but a source of agony and even boredom for others. I was quite shocked to find that not everyone enjoys sex as much as I do.' The differences are often most stark inside of long-term relationships, Prof Birnbaum has found. Some couples feel just as attracted to each other decades down the line as they did in the first days of their courtship, and have just as much sex, too, her research has found. For most however, desire declines over time, and frequency of sex with it. Women are especially likely to lose sexual attraction to their partners over the years. 'Humans make sex so complicated,' Prof Birnbaum says, but it's actually pretty straightforward. Sex 'plays an important part in how we form relationships with potential partners, and in holding those relationships together,' she explains. Although 'for some people, sex is not related to how they function within the relationship,' for the majority of us, 'the health of a couple's sex life reflects the health of their relationship as a whole'. The good news is that our sex lives are not unchangeable, even after years of dissatisfaction. In fact, they can be improved easily, Prof Birnbaum says. Here is what she knows about why desire wanes in long-term relationships, and how to keep enjoying sex well into old age – without having an affair. We risk breaking up when boredom sets in Most couples look back fondly on their first months or years together, remembering it as a time when feelings were strong and desire for each other was high. 'When you meet someone new that you want to have sex with, it often feels like a visceral, animal reaction,' she says. Those feelings serve an important evolutionary purpose: 'It's actually a cue that indicates to you at the gut level that this person might be a potential good match for you as a partner, and leads you to find out whether that person might be compatible with you, in that you have similar in hobbies or interests,' Prof Birnbaum explains. Over time, as we get used to our partners, we don't feel the same desperate need to have sex with them. On the one hand, this allows for a more intimate, stable connection to develop between two people. But at the same time, familiarity makes our partners seem less desirable, a change happens in almost all relationships. The honeymoon phase is a very real phenomenon: on average, those naturally high feelings of desire last for a year to two and a half years, Prof Birnbaum's research reveals, after which maintaining a vibrant sex life is much harder. Yet sex 'preserves connections that are emotionally satisfying,' and a lack thereof 'leaves the ones that don't meet our needs vulnerable to a breakup', says Prof Birnbaum. So finding a remedy can be crucial. 'Novelty is crucial to instigating sexual desire,' says Prof Birnbaum, 'and that doesn't have to mean sex toys and roleplay. Foreplay in this sense starts outside the bedroom.' Going on dates and making time for each other only becomes more crucial as a relationship ages. 'Doing things together means that you keep getting to know your partner and see them in different lights. Talk about new topics with each other, do new and exciting things together, learn new things together, try to observe your partner under different circumstances and in the different roles they take on throughout their lives, that you don't typically see. You will likely discover that your partner isn't this boring person you've already learnt everything about after all, and that there's still more you can learn about them and be excited about.' It's vital to also have your own life. 'It's important to have friends of your own and hobbies of your own so that you don't feel fully enmeshed. Often this helps to boost desire as it maintains the distinction between you and your partner, meaning that they remain someone you want to chase after.' Not all desire is the same At the beginning of a relationship, we typically experience 'spontaneous' desire, Prof Birnbaum says – the sort that 'drives the feeling that you can't get your hands off of each other'. But later on in relationships, 'responsive' desire takes over. 'This means that you have to be committed to the process, accept sexual advances from your partner or initiate sex before you're aroused in the way that you used to be, and really pay attention to what's working to get you or your partner in the mood. In this way, you may feel desire for your partner, get into the mood, and enjoy the sexual interaction, even if you were not there in the first place.' Key here is a couple's willingness to foster responsive desire for each other, rather than hoping to bring back the exact same drive from their early relationship. This plays a key part in Prof Birnbaum's 'relationship development model' of sexual desire. 'It's not only a lack of desire itself, but also an apathy to the situation and a reluctance to do the work and meet each others' needs that leads to relationship breakdown,' she explains. The couples who manage to keep their sex lives thriving for decades are the ones who 'respond to each other's needs, sexually and outside of the bedroom too,' Prof Birnbaum says. 'They're more attuned to what the other needs, and even if one of them doesn't want to have sex, they find a way to navigate the discomfort and find other ways to address the needs that sex can meet – for closeness, intimacy and physical touch.' Prof Birnbaum recommends that couples start trying to initiate this kind of desire an hour before they'd like to have sex: 'People like to feel courted because it makes them feel wanted.' Affairs are contagious If you've ever suspected that infidelity can catch, based on the behaviour of people in your own social groups, then you're right, at least according to Prof Birnbaum. 'Social behaviours can be contagious,' she says. 'It all depends on what's seen as normal within your social groups. If you see one of your friends cheat on their partner, then you're more likely to think that it's acceptable and not that bad, and to behave that way yourself.' We're all vulnerable to this, says Prof Birnbaum, but some more than others. 'Being intoxicated is one example of what makes someone more likely to cheat, but we are also much less likely to resist temptation if we aren't getting enough emotional resources from within our relationships,' she explains. 'People may cheat on their partners even if they are happy with them, however. It's the balance between the magnitude of temptations, whether you are too depleted to control your urges, and the circumstances that will determine how you will resolve the conflict between desire for others – which we all have – and the wish to maintain your current relationship.' 'When you meet someone new that you're attracted to, there's an internal conflict between maintaining the relationship and coping with the temptation,' she says. 'Personal differences like high levels of narcissistic traits, or feeling insecure, can impact whether cheating happens, as well as how valuable your relationship is to you.' Building a relationship that's invulnerable to infidelity is very difficult. But often, 'people just don't consider the negative consequences of their actions when they're in the midst of a strong attraction,' says Prof Birnbaum. 'In one of our studies, we asked people to take their partner's perspective when faced with advances from an attractive person, and we found that doing so made them less likely to cooperate with the flirtatious interaction, because their partner and the potential impact on them was on their mind, and they could empathise with the pain that their partner might potentially feel.' Women and men are different Women are much more likely than men to lose desire for sex altogether. Hormonal changes around the menopause can influence this, but there's more to it than that, Prof Birnbaum says. 'Women tend to be more attuned to their partner's behaviour, both positive and negative, so the relational context is likely to affect them more strongly when it comes to whether or not they want sex and whether they enjoy it,' she says. In the worst cases, where a couple are consistently in conflict, this can cause women to 'shut their sexual systems down entirely,' says Prof Birnbaum. 'When a woman's partner behaves destructively and is frequently critical, she will be likely to express that by backing away from her partner sexually, consciously or unconsciously. If her partner doesn't satisfy her emotional needs, or she feels that they aren't invested enough, then they'll just shut their sexual system.' This is also true when there's a perceived power imbalance, a belief that one person has more power than the other: 'it's a way of asserting yourself and taking back some control,' says Prof Birnbaum, and again it's not always conscious. Then there's the fact that 'many women feel that they get more work in terms of raising the kids and doing chores, on top of working, so naturally they're too exhausted for sex'. The remedy for this – aside from addressing the root causes – is improving your 'sexual communal strength', as Prof Birnbaum calls it. This is shorthand for 'the motivation you have to meet your partner's sexual needs, while still valuing your own needs, and seeing that this is reciprocated by your partner'. Research suggests that couples who have high sexual communal strength are happier in their relationships overall, regardless of how much sex they have, 'because they engaged in sex for positive, relationship-oriented reasons like fostering intimacy and connection'. This helps to improve the overall relationship 'climate', says Prof Birnbaum. It's also crucial not to say things to your partner that you can't take back. 'Even in the midst of a heated argument, you have to choose your words carefully and not say things that are going to hurt your partner and stay in their head for months,' Prof Birnbaum says. 'Women especially can find that this makes them very averse to sex.'
NDTV
23-05-2025
- Politics
- NDTV
Israeli Embassy Staff Victim Yaron Lischinsky Was "Brilliant, Curious": Envoy
Yaron Lischinsky, one of the two Israeli staff members killed outside the Capital Jewish Museum in DC, was a brilliant and curious student, Ron Prosor, Israel's ambassador to Germany, said on Thursday. Mr Prosor said he taught Mr Lischinsky during his master's at the Reichman University. In a long post on X, Mr Prosor wrote, "Yaron, born in Nuremberg, wasn't just a colleague. I had the privilege of having him as my master's student at Reichman University. Bright, curious, engaged." Describing Mr Lischinsky, he said that he was a Christian who served in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and chose to dedicate his life to the State of Israel and the Zionist movement, supporting the Jewish people's right to have their own state. He further said that Mr Lischinsky represented Judeo-Christian values and set an example for young people around the world. "Chanting "Free Palestine" is not just a slogan, it's a call to action to target Jews wherever they are," Mr Prosor said, adding, "We will not let terror win." "May the memory of Yaron and Sarah be a blessing." Yaron and Sarah— working together at the Israeli Embassy in Washington D.C.— were murdered in a terrorist attack outside the Jewish Museum. A young couple with a bright future planning their life together. Yaron, born in Nuremberg, wasn't just a colleague. I had the privilege of… — Ambassador Ron Prosor (@Ron_Prosor) May 22, 2025 Nissim Otmazgin, a humanities professor at the Hebrew University, said Mr Lischinsky dreamt of becoming a diplomat. According to the German-Israeli Friendship Society, Mr Lischinsky was fluent in German. Volker Beck, the president of the society, paid tribute to Mr Lischinsky, saying, "His interest in German-Israeli relations and ways to achieve peaceful coexistence in the Middle East brightened the environment around him." According to the BBC, one of his friends, Jenny Havemann, called Mr Lischensky a nice, modest, calm, and friendly man. Mr Lischinsky and his colleague and partner, Sarah Milgrim, an American working for the Israeli embassy, were shot dead on Wednesday night by a man named Elias Rodriguez. According to the reports, Rodriguez walked past the victims and shot them in the back multiple times. He reloaded and fired again, shooting a total of 21 bullets. As police arrived, Rodriguez admitted to the shooting, saying, "I did it for Palestine; I did it for Gaza." Yechiel Leiter, the Israeli ambassador to the US, said the couple was set to get engaged in 10 days.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bonded by work and love, Israeli Embassy colleagues' lives cut short by gunman
They were colleagues, and they were a couple, days away from a marriage proposal. But the interwoven lives of Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim were brutally cut short Wednesday evening, when the two Israeli Embassy staffers were shot while leaving a reception for young diplomats at the Capital Jewish Museum. The suspect told police he 'did it for Palestine,' according to court documents filed Thursday as he was charged with murder. Milgrim, a 26-year-old American from Kansas, had devoted her burgeoning career to bringing people together to look for ways to promote peace and combat climate change, those who knew her say. Lischinsky, a 30-year-old Israeli citizen who spent some of his childhood in Germany, had a deep attachment to Israel and an interest in bridging cultural and religious divides. He had bought an engagement ring and was just days away from proposing to Milgrim on a planned trip to Jerusalem, according to Israeli Ambassador Yechiel Leiter. 'A young couple with a bright future, planning their life together,' said Ron Prosor, a veteran Israeli diplomat who knew Lischinsky. Yaron Lischinsky Lischinsky grew up partly in the German city of Nuremberg and moved to Israel at 16. He served in the Jewish state's military 'and chose to dedicate his life to the state of Israel," said Prosor, who taught Lischinsky at Israel's Reichman University. Lischinsky earned a master's degree in government, diplomacy and strategy there. 'He embodied the Judeo-Christian values and set an example for young people worldwide,' Prosor said on X. A friend, David Boskey, recalled Lischinsky as someone unafraid to broach hard questions in order to interrogate his own convictions. He met Lischinsky in 2017 in Jerusalem at a Messianic Jewish congregation, where they would often end up talking together about life and faith, Boskey said. The Messianic movement — popularly known as Jews for Jesus — incorporates Jewish symbols and practices, but Israel considers Messianic Jews to be practicing another faith. 'He was looking to see where he was going to go in life, asking questions about calling and about identity and about what he was going to study, where he was going to work, what he wanted to pursue in life,' Boskey said. He described Lischinsky as 'a truth-seeking type of person, mixed with a very, very kind and gracious willingness to serve other people.' Lischinsky helped found the Israeli-German Society's youth forum, according to its counterpart in Germany, and he took a job at the Israeli Embassy in Washington in 2022. There, he worked as a research assistant whose responsibilities included keeping track of important events and trends in the Middle East and North Africa, his LinkedIn profile said. He said he advocated for interfaith dialogue and intercultural understanding and was an 'ardent believer' in deepening Israel's ties with the Arab world through the U.S.-brokered agreements known as the Abraham Accords. On Instagram, his bio included a yellow ribbon symbolizing the struggle to free the hostages taken by Hamas during its Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel that ignited the war in the Gaza Strip. Milgrim's Instagram bio also had a yellow ribbon, as well as a passage, in Hebrew, from the biblical Book of Deuteronomy: 'Justice, justice you shall pursue.' Sarah Milgrim Milgrim was an American citizen, according to Israel's former ambassador to the U.S., Mike Herzog. She hailed from Overland Park, Kansas, where a former youth director at Congregation Beth Torah remembers a brilliant girl with a perpetual smile and a sense of purpose. 'She had a passion for Judaism and for Israel, and she wanted to do some good,' said Marcia Rittmaster, the former youth director. She recommended Milgrim for a Jewish leadership internship upon the young woman's graduation from high school. Milgrim went on to the University of Kansas, where she earned a bachelor's degree in environmental studies in 2021 and was a warm, uplifting presence at Shabbat dinners and holiday gatherings at the Chabad Center for Jewish Life. 'She believed in connections, in building community and bringing people together,' Rabbi Zalman Tiechtel said. He said she loved asking questions, enjoyed insightful conversations and 'was filled with so much love.' After graduating, Milgrim worked at at a Tel Aviv-based organization centered on technology training, entrepreneurial and conflict dialogue for young Palestinians and Israelis, according to her LinkedIn profile. It said 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. Among them was an Earth Day gathering last month that highlighted Israeli companies and nonprofit groups doing climate work, recalled attendee Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi, a philanthropist and a Maryland Commission on Climate Change member. She said she and Milgrim brainstormed by phone just this past week about ways to inform journalists about climate-related innovations in Israel. 'She was exceptionally talented, exceptionally passionate, really kind, extremely well-organized and very effective. And she's the kind of young leader that, really, this nation and the world needs,' Mizrahi said. 'She wanted to create a better future for everyone.' ___ Goldenberg reported from Tel Aviv, Israel. Contributing were Geir Moulson in Berlin; Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv; Jennifer Peltz in New York; Sarah Brumfeld in Cockeysville, Maryland; Heather Hollingsworth in Kansas City, Missouri, and Holly Ramer in Concord, New Hampshire. Tia Goldenberg, The Associated Press
