KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - One of four people killed in an attack at a crowded Israeli synagogue was a native of Kansas City, Missouri, whose parents have played a prominent role in the city's Jewish community.
Rabbi Cary William Levine, 55, known as Kalman Levine in Israel, died Tuesday along with two other U.S. citizens and a Briton when Palestinian attackers armed with meat cleavers and a gun burst into a synagogue in Jerusalem during prayers. Police said all four of the victims held dual Israeli citizenship.
Levine's brother-in-law, Jonathan Bein of Boulder, Colorado, said Levine studied the Talmud and Torah at the University of Southern California before leaving for Israel in his 20s.
"He was very committed to being in the land of Israel," Bein told the Associated Press. "There are people, once they get there, their ethic is to never leave the land of Israel. He was one of those people."
Levine's son, Yerachmiel Levine, recalled his father's dedication to his religious studies. "He would study all day long and would return home at night only to learn more until he would fall asleep in his chair," the son said.
Levine was among the first class of graduates in 1976 at Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy in Overland Park, Kansas. The school said his parents, Bernard and Joan Levine, are committed supporters of Kansas City's Jewish and art communities.
A man who answered the door Tuesday afternoon at the Kansas City address listed for his parents said the family didn't want to talk. Another woman who arrived at the home also declined to comment.
"Those of us who knew Rabbi Levine, he was such a gentle, kind soul who was working in the area of pluralism and bringing people together," said Alan Edelman, associate executive director of the Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City. "He loved and respected every human being and believed we are all created in the image of God. For his life to end like this is more than ironic."
Rabbi Meshulum Twersky, who teaches third- and fourth-grade Jewish studies at Hyman Brand, is a nephew of another victim, Rabbi Mosheh Twersky.