{"id":90768,"date":"2025-12-19T15:53:22","date_gmt":"2025-12-19T20:53:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/?p=90768"},"modified":"2025-12-20T20:42:32","modified_gmt":"2025-12-21T01:42:32","slug":"these-are-the-victims-of-the-bondi-beach-chanukah-celebration-shooting-in-sydney","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/these-are-the-victims-of-the-bondi-beach-chanukah-celebration-shooting-in-sydney\/","title":{"rendered":"UPDATE: These are the victims of the Bondi Beach Chanukah celebration shooting in Sydney"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>By PHILISSA CRAMER<\/p>\n<p>(JTA) \u2014 A local rabbi, a Holocaust survivor and a 12-year-old girl are among those killed during the shooting attack Sunday at the &#8220;Chanukah at the Sea&#8221; celebration in Sydney, Australia.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_90769\" style=\"width: 247px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Schlanger.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-90769\" class=\"wp-image-90769 lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Schlanger.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"237\" height=\"211\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 237px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 237\/211;\"><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-90769\" class=\"wp-image-90769\" src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Schlanger.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"237\" height=\"211\"><\/noscript><\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-90769\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Rabbi Eli Schlanger. (Photo from Chabad)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Late in the day, authorities raised the death toll to 16, as more victims succumbed to their wounds from the two terrorists who used long rifles to shoot indiscriminately at the crows.<\/p>\n<p>Witnesses said the two armed gunmen had time to reload and begin firing a second fusillade of shots before first responders arrived on the scene.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s what we know about the people murdered in the terrorist attack, which took place at a popular beachside playground where more than 1,000 people had congregated to celebrate the first night of the holiday, as well as about those injured.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Eli Schlanger, rabbi and father of five<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Schlanger was the Chabad emissary in charge of Chabad of Bondi, which had organized the event. He had grown up in England but moved to Sydney 18 years ago, where he was raising his five children with his wife Chaya. Their youngest was born just two months ago.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to leading community events through Chabad of Bondi, Schlanger worked with Jewish prisoners in Australian prisons. \u201cHe flew all around the state, to go visit different people in jail, literally at his own expense,\u201d Mendy Litzman, a Sydney Jew who responded as a medic to the attack, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.<\/p>\n<p>Last year, amid a surge in antisemitic incidents in Australia, Schlanger posted a video of himself dancing and celebrating Chanukah, promoting lighting menorahs as \u201cthe best response to antisemitism.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The best response to antisemitism. Happy Chanukah! <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/33RSGYzhUY\">pic.twitter.com\/33RSGYzhUY<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Rabbi Eli Schlanger (@SchlangerEli) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SchlangerEli\/status\/1868971071980159107?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 17, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Two months before his murder, he published an open letter to Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese urging him to rescind his \u201cact of betrayal\u201d of the Jewish people. The letter was published on Facebook the same day, Sept. 21, that Albanese announced he would unilaterally recognize an independent Palestinian state.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Yaakov Levitan, rabbi and teacher<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Originally from South Africa, Levitan worked as the secretary to the Sydney Beit Din, or rabbinical court, and was ordained as a rabbi himself through a Chabad seminary. He also worked at a learning center operated by Chabad and, according to his LinkedIn, had a charity payments company.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe was a man of quiet devotion, known for his kindness and tireless work in assisting others, including his commitment to distributing tefillin as a sacred act of service,\u201d read a fundraising page for Levitan endorsed by Chabad World Headquarters and Chabad NSW. \u201cHis senseless murder has left an irreplaceable void. Yaakov was the cornerstone of his family: a devoted husband and father.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Matilda Britvan, 10-year-old girl<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Matilda Britvan, a 10-year-old girl who was playing with her six-year-old sister Summer at the Hanukkah celebration when the attack began, has been identified as the youngest victim, according to Australian outlet 9News.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA happy kid,\u201d Matilda\u2019s aunt, Lina Chernykh, told 9News. \u201cShe was open-hearted. Everywhere she goes, she was like a sun.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Chernykh told 9News that Matilda was fatally shot in front of her younger sister.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMatilda was a bright and loving soul who taught us that true goodness is in the love and compassion we share,\u201d wrote her language teacher, Irina Goodhew, on a GoFundMe page that has since raised $357,678 for her mother, Valentina Poltavchenko. \u201cHer memory reminds us to carry kindness in our hearts and spread it to the world.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Matilda\u2019s school, the Harmony Russian School of Sydney, also confirmed she was one of its students, according to BBC News.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe remember Matilda with love, grief, and deep sorrow, and we honor her memory by standing together in compassion,\u201d the school wrote in a post on Facebook.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Alex Kleytman, Holocaust survivor originally from Ukraine<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Kleytman had come to the Bondi Beach Hanukkah celebration annually for years, his wife Larisa told The Australian. She said he was protecting her when he was shot. The couple, married for six decades, has two children and 11 grandchildren.<\/p>\n<p>The Australia reported that Kleytman was a Holocaust survivor who had passed World War II living with his family in Siberia.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe came on Bondi Beach to celebrate Hanukkah, for us it was always a very, very good celebration, for many, many years,\u201d His wife, Larisa Kleytman, who is also a Holocaust survivor, told the outlet.<\/p>\n<p>The couple emigrated from Ukraine and had been married for 57 years. Kleytman was a retired civil engineer.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Sofia and Boris Gurman, who confronted attacker before massacre<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Boris and Sofia Gurman, 69 and 61, were longtime Bondi residents who were both killed by the attackers at Bondi Beach.<\/p>\n<p>According to a GoFundMe set up by close friends of the couple\u2019s family, they had been married for 34 years and were set to mark their 35th anniversary in January. Sofia\u2019s 62nd birthday was Dec. 17.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBoris and Sofia were longtime Bondi locals who loved their community and the life they had built there. They were people of deep kindness, quiet strength, and unwavering care for others. Devoted to their family and to each other, their absence has left a void that cannot be filled,\u201d the GoFundMe page read, which has gained roughly $437,000 in donations.<\/p>\n<p>Boris was the first victim of the attackers during the massacre, after dramatic dashcam video showed him confronting the gunmen before being killed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis act of bravery and selflessness reflects exactly who they were: people who instinctively chose to help, even at great personal risk,\u201d the GoFundMe continued. \u201cWhile nothing can lessen the pain of this loss, we feel immense pride in their courage and humanity.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Dan Elkayam, French immigrant to Australia<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>France\u2019s foreign minister, Jean-Noel Barrot, announced that Elkayam was among the dead in Bondi Beach. \u201cIt is with immense sadness that we learned that our compatriot Dan Elkayam would be among the victims of the vile terrorist attack that struck the Jewish families gathered on Bondi Beach in Sydney on the first day of Hanukkah,\u201d he tweeted.<\/p>\n<p>Elkayam, 27, moved last year from the Paris area to Sydney, according to his LinkedIn account, which said he worked in IT for NBC Universal in Sydney. He attended a high school in suburban Paris operated by the World ORT organization, a Jewish nonprofit focused on vocational training.<\/p>\n<p>He was also an associate player on a soccer team affiliated with Rockdale Ilinden FC, which memorialized him in a post on Facebook early Monday.<\/p>\n<p>According to the team, he was employed and lived with his girlfriend in the Eastern Suburbs.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThose who were closest to him described him as a down to earth, happy go lucky individual who was warmly embraced by those he met,\u201d the post read. \u201cHis smiling face and respectful nature will be sorely missed by his team mates and everyone that knew him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Peter Meager, former police officer<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Peter \u201cMarzo\u201d Meager, a former police officer and long-time rugby volunteer who was working as a freelance photographer at the Chanukah party, was confirmed as one of the victims of the attack by the Randwick Rugby Club.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c\u2019Marzo\u2019 as he was universally known, was a much loved figure and absolute legend in our club, with decades of voluntary involvement, he was one of the heart and soul figures of Randwick Rugby,\u201d wrote the club\u2019s general manager, Mark Harrison, in a statement. \u201cThe tragic irony is that he spent so long in the dangerous front line as a Police Officer and was struck down in retirement while taking photos in his passion role is really hard to comprehend.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Reuven Morrison, emigre from the USSR<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Morrison, 62, moved to Sydney from the Soviet Union in the 1970s and had raised a family in the Bondi area. A year ago, as antisemitic incidents surged, he told ABC News of Australia that he felt prepared by his background to grapple with the changes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWalking around the streets in the USSR we always looked back, we were aware of our environment, and we expected the unexpected,\u201d he said, adding about his fellow Australians, \u201cThere is a feeling of being scared, when people are taking their kids to kindergarten and school, they do not know what kind of events can take place. It is unpredictable. They have not experienced this before.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Edith Brutman, B\u2019nai B\u2019rith VP<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Edith Brutman, the vice president of the New South Wales branch of B\u2019nai B\u2019rith, was confirmed to be one of those killed in the attack on Bondi Beach by B\u2019nai B\u2019rith in a post on X Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEdith was a cherished leader in the community and a devoted member of B\u2019nai B\u2019rith NSW, where she led the organization\u2019s anti-prejudice and anti-discrimination committee\u2014work that now carries an even more painful and profound significance,\u201d the post read.<\/p>\n<p>In a statement shared with Australian broadcaster ABC News, her family remembered Brutman as a \u201cwoman of integrity.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur beloved Edith was a woman of integrity who chose humanity, every day. She met prejudice with principle, and division with service,\u201d her family said in a statement distributed by ABC News. \u201cOur family mourns her deeply, but we ask that her life, not the senseless violence that took it, be what endures. We hope her memory calls us as a nation back to decency, courage, and peace.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Boris Tetleroyd<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Boris Tetleroyd, a husband and father whose son was also injured in the attack, was confirmed as one of the victims in the massacre by his niece, Leia Roitour, in a GoFundMe page that has received roughly $59,000 in donations.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBoris was loved by everyone he met. He was well known to his neighbours, deeply connected to our wider community, and cherished by his family,\u201d his family wrote in a statement. \u201cHe was profoundly loved and adored by his sons Yaakov and Roman and by his wife Svetlana. He is also deeply loved by his brother, aunt, nieces, nephews, cousins and all who had the privilege of knowing him. Boris was a gentle man, a gifted musician and a valued member of his community. We honour his life and the love he so generously gave to those around him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Adam Smyth<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Adam Smyth, 50, was walking on Bondi Beach with his wife, Katrina, when he was killed during the massacre at the Hanukkah event. He leaves behind his wife and four children.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAdam and Katrina were living their best lives together. Their shared love of family and friends, travel and sport \u2013 if not always the same team \u2013 made their time together truly special,\u201d his family wrote in a statement share with New South Wales Police. \u201cAdam\u2019s loves in life were his English Premier League football team Liverpool, his AFL team the Sydney Swans, the NRL\u2019s Manly Sea Eagles and his beloved pets. We will forever cherish the time we have had with him. Adam was a generous and kind person who will be dearly missed and is forever irreplaceable.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Marika Pogany, 82-year-old Slovak citizen<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Marika Pogany, an 82-year-old Slovak citizen and devoted volunteer, was one of the victims of the Bondi Beach attack, according to the President of Slovakia, Peter Pellegrini.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cToday, that grief has reached Slovakia as well \u2014 among the victims of this senseless, violent rampage was a Slovak woman, Marika,\u201d wrote Pellegrini in a post on X. \u201cHatred ultimately recognizes no limits, and its final outcome is the destruction of innocent human lives. I extend my heartfelt and sincere condolences to Marika\u2019s family and loved ones.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Hertfordshire Friends of Israel also memorialized Pogany in a post on Facebook, writing that she had \u201cdelivered over 12,000 kosher meals, ensuring dignity and nourishment for those in need.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The former president of Slovakia, Zuzana \u010caputov\u00e1, who was a friend of Pogany, also described their last communication in a post on Instagram.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMarika was an exceptional woman, she lived her life to the fullest, very active, she could enjoy life,\u201d wrote \u010caputov\u00e1. \u201cIn the last message that Marika sent me, among other things, she wrote: \u2018Life is a struggle and you have to take it as it is.&#8217;\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Tibor Weitzman, beloved great-grandfather and Chabad member<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Tibor Weitzman, 78, was at the Hanukkah event on Bondi Beach with his wife and grandchildren when he was killed by armed gunmen, according to COLlive News.<\/p>\n<p>He was a father, grandfather and great-grandfather. He was also a member of the Chabad of Bondi, where he was famous for greeting the shul\u2019s children with \u201clollipops and a smile,\u201d according to COLlive News.<\/p>\n<p>Weitzman\u2019s grandson, Mendy Amzalak, told The Australian he was a \u201cman full of life, joy, smiles and laughter\u201d, who died shielding a family friend from the bullets.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy family were there for the event, and my wife called me, so I ran down to the beach with my defibrillator, and the shooting was still going. I started treating people, and then I came across his body,\u201d Amzalek told The Australian.<\/p>\n<p><strong>12-year-old girl<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Alex Ryvchin, co-CEO of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, told CNN that a friend \u201clost his 12-year-old daughter, who succumbed to her wounds in hospital.\u201d The girl\u2019s name was not immediately released.<\/p>\n<p>Dozens of people were injured<\/p>\n<p>Yossi Lazaroff, the Chabad rabbi at Texas A&amp;M University, said his son had been shot while running the event for Chabad of Bondi. \u201cPlease say Psalms 20 &amp; 21 for my son, Rabbi Leibel Lazaroff, \u05d9\u05d4\u05d5\u05d3\u05d4 \u05dc\u05d9\u05d9\u05d1 \u05d1\u05df \u05de\u05d0\u05e0\u05d9\u05d0 who was shot in a terrorist attack at a Chanukah event he was running for Chabad of Bondi in Sydney, Australia,\u201d he tweeted.<\/p>\n<p>Yaakov \u201cYanky\u201d Super, 24, was on duty for Hatzalah at the event when he was shot in the back, Litzman said. \u201cHe started screaming on his radio that he needs back up, he was shot. I heard it and I responded to the scene. I was the closest backup. I was one of the first medical people on the scene,\u201d Litzman said. He added, \u201cWe just went into action and saved a lot of lives, including one of our own.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div style=\"padding-bottom:20px; padding-top:10px;\" class=\"hupso-share-buttons\"><!-- Hupso Share Buttons - https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/ --><a class=\"hupso_toolbar\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/share-medium.png\" style=\"border:0px; padding-top: 5px; float:left;\" alt=\"Share Button\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" class=\"lazyload\" \/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/share-medium.png\" style=\"border:0px; padding-top: 5px; float:left;\" alt=\"Share Button\"\/><\/noscript><\/a><script type=\"text\/javascript\">var hupso_services_t=new Array(\"Twitter\",\"Facebook\",\"Google Plus\",\"Pinterest\",\"Linkedin\",\"Tumblr\",\"Email\");var hupso_background_t=\"#EAF4FF\";var hupso_border_t=\"#66CCFF\";var hupso_toolbar_size_t=\"medium\";var hupso_image_folder_url = \"\";var hupso_url_t=\"\";var hupso_title_t=\"UPDATE%3A%20These%20are%20the%20victims%20of%20the%20Bondi%20Beach%20Chanukah%20celebration%20shooting%20in%20Sydney\";<\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/js\/share_toolbar.js\"><\/script><!-- Hupso Share Buttons --><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":90769,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[8790,8795,8788,14932],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90768"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=90768"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90768\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":90895,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90768\/revisions\/90895"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/90769"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=90768"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=90768"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=90768"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}