SYDNEY – In the shadow of tragedy, we remember a young girl with a gentle spirit, a grandmother devoted to helping others, a compassionate young man, and an 87-year-old Holocaust survivor who sought refuge in Australia, only to meet a heartbreaking end. These individuals were among 15 people who lost their lives during a violent attack at a Hanukkah event on the iconic Bondi Beach. Authorities have attributed this act to antisemitic terrorism, inspired by the Islamic State group.
On that fateful Sunday evening, two gunmen unleashed devastation, turning a joyful celebration into a scene of horror. The attack has been officially classified as a terrorist act by Australia’s federal police commissioner.
Delving into the lives of those lost reveals stories of innocence and kindness:
The youngest to fall victim was a girl who ‘saw beauty in everyone.’
Matilda, just 10 years old, was the youngest casualty of the attack. Her family has chosen to keep her surname private. In a heartfelt tribute, her language teacher, Irina Goodhew, who initiated a GoFundMe campaign to support Matilda’s family, described her as a gentle soul who found beauty in every person she met.
Matilda’s language teacher, Irina Goodhew, who launched a GoFundMe for the girl’s grieving family, described her in a Facebook post as a gentle girl who saw beauty in everyone.
“Matilda was a bright and loving soul who taught us that true goodness is found in the love and compassion we share,” Goodhew wrote. “Her memory reminds us to carry kindness in our hearts and spread it to the world. May the light of her eyes live on through us — in our actions, our words, and our love for one another.”
The assistant rabbi who showed a kind heart
Eli Schlanger, assistant rabbi at Chabad-Lubavitch of Bondi, organized Sunday’s Chanukah by the Sea event. He was a father of five, the youngest of whom was born just two months ago, according to Chabad, an Orthodox Jewish movement that runs outreach worldwide.
The 41-year-old, London-born Schlanger also served as chaplain to the state’s corrective services department and as a chaplain at a Sydney hospital, where he ministered to patients and families.
Schlanger would go wherever he was needed to help people including prisons, said his friend, Ben Wright.
“Eli was a very special person,” Wright told The Associated Press while standing near a cordoned-off section of Bondi the morning after the attack, a black box containing Torah verses strapped to his arm. “He spent a lot of his time trying to get Jews to do one good deed.”
Wright, who saw friends and strangers gunned down during the attack while cradling his 6-month-old baby, said he hopes to emulate Schlanger’s goodness.
A pillar of the Jewish community known for kindness
Yaakov Levitan, a rabbi and father of four, was known for his kindness and dedication to helping others, according to the Chabad movement, which described him as a “vital, behind-the-scenes pillar” of Sydney’s Jewish community.
Originally from Johannesburg, the 39-year-old served as the general manager of Chabad of Bondi and worked with the Sydney Beth Din, or religious court.
Thoughtful volunteer who delivered meals
Marika Pogany, an 82-year-old grandmother and community volunteer, delivered thousands of kosher meals to those in need, the Federation of Jewish Communities in Hungary said in a statement.
COA, a Sydney volunteer service for Jewish seniors, said in an Instagram post that Pogany was part of the “beating heart of COA and a source of warmth for thousands of people.”
“For 29 years she arrived at COA with her quiet smile and her steady kindness,” COA wrote. “She lifted the room simply by being in it. She asked for nothing and gave everything.”
Zuzana Čaputová, the former president of Slovakia, called her “Marika” and described Pogany as her “long-term close friend” who had visited Slovakia every year since 1989.
A ‘golden person’ with a talent for soccer
Dan Elkayam, a 27-year-old French national described by his brother as “a golden person,” was a talented soccer player who lived with his girlfriend in Sydney’s eastern suburbs.
Elkayam’s brother, Jérémie Elkayam, told broadcaster France Info that his brother was “someone extraordinary … who profited from life, wasn’t at all materialistic, who understood the value of things and who loved to travel.”
“We are four brothers and, of the four, for me he was the kindest of us,” Jérémie Elkayam said.
Sydney soccer club Rockdale Ilinden FC said in a statement that Elkayam was an extremely talented and popular player with the club’s Premier League team who “will be sorely missed by his teammates and everyone that knew him.”
“Those who were closest to him described him as a down to earth, happy go lucky individual who was warmly embraced by those he met,” club President Dennis Loether said.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot wrote in a post on X that Elkayam’s death was “yet another tragic manifestation of a revolting surge in antisemitic hatred that we must defeat.”
Retired police officer considered a rugby club ‘legend’
Peter Meagher, known to friends as “Marzo,” was a retired police officer and a team manager and beloved volunteer at Randwick rugby club, which condemned the “abhorrent targeted attack on our Jewish community” in a statement Monday and called Meagher an “absolute legend in our club.”
Meagher was working as a freelance photographer at the Bondi Hanukkah event, the club said, noting his presence was “simply a catastrophic case of being in the wrong place and at the wrong time.”
A photograph with the statement showed “Marzo” written in chalk on a rugby field, along with a team jersey.
Heroic bystander who tried to stop the violence
Reuven Morrison, 62, was killed while trying to stop one of the shooters, according to his daughter, Sheina Gutnick.
Gutnick told CBS News that her father is the person seen in widely circulated video footage throwing objects at the gunman, which Gutnick said were bricks, after another passerby, Ahmed al Ahmed, wrestled the gun away from the shooter.
“I believe after Ahmed managed to get the gun off the terrorist, my father had then gone to try and unjam the gun, to try and attempt shooting. He was screaming at the terrorist,” she said.
Morrison migrated to Australia from the Soviet Union five decades ago to escape antisemitic persecution. He thought Australia would be safe, Gutnick said.
“This is where he was going to have a family, where he is going to live a life away from persecution,” she said. “And for many years, he did do that; he lived a wonderful, free life. Until Australia turned on him.”
The Holocaust survivor who protected his wife
Alex Kleytman was an 87-year-old Holocaust survivor who had moved to Australia from Ukraine.
“I have no husband. I don’t know where is his body,” his wife Larisa Kleytman told reporters outside a Sydney hospital Sunday. “Nobody can give me any answer.”
Larisa told The Australian newspaper that her husband died while protecting her.
“We were standing and suddenly came the ‘boom boom’, and everybody fell down,” she said. “At this moment, he was behind me and at one moment he decided to go close to me. He pushed his body up because he wanted to stay near me.”
The couple survived “the unspeakable terror of the Holocaust” as children before moving to Australia, according to a 2023 report by JewishCare, a service provider for Australia’s Jewish community.
A grandfather filled with family pride
Tibor Weitzen, a 78-year-old grandfather who saw the best in people, migrated to Australia from Israel in 1988, his granddaughter said.
“My grandfather was truly the best you could ask for,” Leor Amzalak told the Australian Broadcasting Corp., the country’s public broadcaster. “He was so proud of us … and loved us more than life itself.”
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Panagiotis Pylas in Sydney, John Leicester in Paris, Justin Spike in Budapest, Hungary, and Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Israel, contributed to this report.
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