SYDNEY — In a horrific act of antisemitic terrorism that has shaken Australia, fifteen innocent lives were brutally ended during a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach on Sunday evening. Federal police authorities have confirmed the attack was inspired by the Islamic State group, perpetrated by two gunmen who targeted the Jewish community during what should have been a joyous festival of lights.
Among the victims were remarkable individuals whose lives embodied compassion, service, and resilience. The youngest was 10-year-old Matilda, described by her language teacher as “a bright and loving soul who saw beauty in everyone.” Her family has requested privacy, remembering her as a gentle girl whose memory inspires kindness and compassion.
Eli Schlanger, 41, the assistant rabbi who organized the Chanukah by the Sea event, was a father of five—his youngest child just two months old. Born in London, Schlanger served as a chaplain to both the state’s corrective services department and a Sydney hospital, ministering to patients and families. Friends remembered him as someone who would go wherever needed to help people, including prisons, dedicating his life to encouraging good deeds.
Yaakov Levitan, 39, originally from Johannesburg, was a rabbi and father of four described as a “vital, behind-the-scenes pillar” of Sydney’s Jewish community. The Chabad movement noted his exceptional kindness and dedication to helping others.
Marika Pogany, an 82-year-old grandmother and community volunteer, had delivered thousands of kosher meals to those in need over her 29 years of service. Colleagues at COA, a Jewish senior service organization, described her as “the beating heart of COA and a source of warmth for thousands of people” who “asked for nothing and gave everything.”
Dan Elkayam, a 27-year-old French national, was remembered by his brother as “a golden person”—extraordinary, non-materialistic, and kind. The talented soccer player with Rockdale Ilinden FC was warmly embraced by all who knew him, described as down-to-earth and happy-go-lucky.
Peter Meagher, a retired police officer known as “Marzo,” was working as a freelance photographer at the event. His rugby club called him an “absolute legend” and noted his presence was “simply a catastrophic case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
Reuven Morrison, 62, died heroically while trying to stop one of the shooters. His daughter reported that he was seen in video footage throwing objects at the gunman after another passerby wrestled the weapon away. Morrison had migrated to Australia from the Soviet Union five decades ago specifically to escape antisemitic persecution.
Most tragically, 87-year-old Alex Kleytman, a Holocaust survivor who had moved to Australia from Ukraine, died while protecting his wife during the attack. The couple had survived “the unspeakable terror of the Holocaust” as children before finding refuge in Australia, only to face antisemitic violence at the end of his life.
Tibor Weitzen, 78, a grandfather who migrated from Israel in 1988, was remembered by his granddaughter as someone who “saw the best in people” and loved his family “more than life itself.”
The attack has sent shockwaves through Australia’s Jewish community and prompted international condemnation, with French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot describing it as “yet another tragic manifestation of a revolting surge in antisemitic hatred that we must defeat.”