Australia/Israel Review

We remember the 15 Bondi victims

 

Alex Kleytman

Alex Kleytman, 87, was a Holocaust survivor. He was shot whilst shielding his wife, Larisa. The couple had been married for almost 50 years and were regulars at the local Chabad synagogue. Kleytman, along with his mother and younger brother, survived the Holocaust in Siberia. 

Kleytman and his wife emigrated from Ukraine decades ago and have two children and 11 grandchildren. Larisa also survived the Holocaust. 

Larisa said, “He came on Bondi Beach to celebrate Chanukah, for us it was always a very, very good celebration, for many, many years. 

“Today in the middle of the celebrations (there were) shots and unfortunately my husband was killed.” 

 

Matilda

Matilda, 10, whose last name has been withheld by request of her family, was marking the first day of Chanukah by eating cakes and playing with animals alongside her six-year-old sister, Summer, when the shots were fired.

Her father Michael later said, “I saw her go down and I crawled to her and took my shirt off and wrapped it around her… She was telling me it was hard to breathe. I was holding her.” She later died in hospital. Her father thanked the police, paramedics and doctors who tried to save her, and said Summer was struggling to understand the loss of her sister and did not want to look at photographs. “She just wants everything to be purple – it was Matilda’s favourite colour.”

Matilda’s family moved to Australia from Ukraine. She was the family’s first child born in Australia; her parents chose her uniquely Australian name as a tribute to their new home.  

Her aunt Lina posted on Facebook, “A great tragedy has happened to my family: yesterday my beloved niece Matilda was killed during a terrorist attack in Bondi beach. I don’t know how we survive such grief.” 

She was a student at Harmony Russian School of Sydney, in Bellevue Hill. 

 

Rabbi Eli Schlanger

Rabbi Eli Schlanger, 41 was known as the ‘Bondi Rabbi’ and helped organise the Chanukah event at Bondi Beach. He was an assistant rabbi at the Chabad synagogue in Bondi. He was also a chaplain at Corrective Services NSW, having joined in 2022. 

British-born, he was a father of five; his youngest is just two-months-old.

He is reported to have recently sent the message regarding antisemitism, “In the face of darkness, the way forward is to ‘be more Jewish, act more Jewish, and appear more Jewish.’” 

His friend, Eliezer Tewel, posted a tribute to social media: “He was just doing his job. Showing up. Being the constant, reliable presence for his community. This is about my friend who is gone. It hurts. It’s confusing.” 

NSW Opposition Leader Kellie Sloane described Schlanger as “a beautiful man and a great leader.”

During Chanukah last year, he posted on X a video of himself dancing, saying being joyful was the best way to fight antisemitism. 

 

Rabbi Yaakov Levitan

Rabbi Yaakov Levitan, 49, was Secretary of the Sydney Beth Din Centre [Jewish religious court] in Bondi Beach and worked at the BINA Centre of Jewish learning. He was married and the father of four children. 

Like Schlanger, he was a key organiser of the Bondi Chanukah event. Community members described him as “The Man Who Made Everything Happen,” with the Chabad website writing, “If something needed to happen in Sydney’s Jewish community, Levitan made it happen.” Community member Avremi Joseph said of Levitan, “He was the spine of all Jewish organisations in Sydney.”

 

Dan Elkayam 

French citizen Dan Elkayam, 27, who grew up in the north-western suburbs of Paris, moved to Australia several years ago and was living with his girlfriend in Sydney’s east. He worked as an IT analyst for NBC Universal. 

In Australia, he had involved himself with local community groups and clubs, including Arncliffe Aurora Football Club in southern Sydney, and was in their premier league squad for the upcoming 2026 season. 

“Dan was a valued and deeply respected member of our football community. Our hearts are with his family, friends, teammates, and all those who loved him during this unimaginably difficult time,” the club wrote on Instagram. “Dan will always remain part of our club.”

He was Jewish and was celebrating Chanukah at the beach. 

 

Reuven Morrison 

Reuven Morrison emigrated to Australia from the Soviet Union in the 1970s before discovering his Jewish identity in Sydney, where he was a member of the Chabad community. Married with one daughter, he split his time between Melbourne, where he lived for many years and established a successful business, and Sydney.

Morrison was one of the four heroes who tried to confront the two gunmen responsible for the massacre. After Ahmed al-Ahmed (see below) disarmed the older terrorist, Sajid Akram, who had moved down from the footbridge that was the base for their attack, Morrison charged towards Sajid, throwing bricks at him as he retreated towards the bridge. He was shot dead by the second gunman.

Morrison was described by Chabad as “A successful businessman whose main goal was to give away his earnings to charities dear to his heart.”

 

Peter Meagher 

Peter Meagher, 61, also known as Marzo, was a former police officer and rugby union player. A photographer, his friends described him as ‘the loveliest of men’. After hanging up his rugby boots, he took up a volunteer role as manager at the Randwick Rugby Club. 

His friend of 30 years, Steve Keys, said Meagher retired from NSW Police a few years ago and opened his own corporate photography business, Marzo Photography. He was reportedly on assignment at Bondi Beach at the time of the attack. 

Keys posted on Facebook about his friend: “Peter not only served our country upholding our safety and laws. He actively gave back to society through his love of our sport, giving tirelessly.”

 

Tibor Weitzen 

Tibor Weitzen, 78, was a great-grandfather. He attended the Bondi Beach Chanukah event with his wife and grandchildren. He died whilst shielding his wife, Eva, who survived. 

His granddaughter told the media that the family is “shattered” by his death. “Just devastating. Honestly, I’ve got no words,” she said. “And we were just yesterday with him. We had coffee at Bondi Junction with him yesterday… I didn’t know this was going to be, you know, the last day.” 

Weitzen was a “beloved” member of the Bondi Chabad synagogue, according to the organisation.

His granddaughter Leor Amzalak told the ABC that he was “the best you could ask for.”

Weitzen had migrated to Australia from Israel in 1988.

 

Marika Pogany

Marika Pogany, 82, was a dedicated volunteer at Sydney COA, a volunteer service for Jewish seniors, and had been awarded the Jewish Communal Appeal’s Mensch Award for delivering more than 12,000 kosher Meals on Wheels since the late 1990s. 

Sydney COA described Pogany as a “truly remarkable and wonderful woman,” adding that they were “shattered by her loss.” 

“For 29 years, she arrived at COA with her quiet smile and her steady kindness. She lifted the room simply by being in it. She asked for nothing and gave everything. She showed us what true service looks like, and she did it without fanfare and without ever wanting attention.” 

Slovakia’s former President Zuzana Čaputová, a close family friend of Pogány, said she was an “extraordinary woman who lived her life to the fullest” in a statement posted on the Slovak Jewish Association’s Facebook page on Monday. “In her last message to me, Marika said ‘Life is a fight, take it as it is.’”

 

Boris and Sofia Gurman

Bondi couple Sofia Gurman, 61, and Boris Gurman, 69, were well-known to the local community, having lived just around the corner from where the terror attack occurred.

The Jewish-Russian couple, who were approaching their 35th wedding anniversary in January, were captured on dashboard cameras committing extraordinary acts of bravery in the first few moments of the attack. The pair were walking across Campbell Parade, and witnessed Sajid Akram carrying a gun and spreading an ISIS flag across the windscreen of his car. Boris then tackled Akram and disarmed him, with both falling to the ground; Boris is then seen getting up and grabbing the gun and hitting Akram with it. Akram then grabbed another nearby weapon and shot Boris; Sofia rushed to her husband and was then shot. Both died at the scene. 

The couple’s family paid tribute to the pair, saying they felt “an overwhelming sense of pride” at their brave actions. In a statement they said, “We are heartbroken by the sudden and senseless loss of our beloved Boris and Sofia Gurman. We were looking forward to celebrating Sofia’s 62nd birthday on Wednesday 17th of December. 

“Boris was a retired mechanic, known for his generosity, quiet strength and willingness to lend a hand to anyone in need. Sofia worked at Australia Post and was deeply loved by her colleagues and community. 

“Bondi locals, together they lived honest, hardworking lives and treated everyone they met with kindness, warmth and respect.” 

 

Edith Brutman 

Edith Brutman was Vice-President of the New South Wales branch of the Jewish community organisation B’nai B’rith, which in a statement called her a “gracious woman and a devoted member.” 

B’nai B’rith member Ernie Friedlander told the media about her friend: “She was a very clever lady, and she was very, very passionate about dealing with prejudice and discrimination. She was always there, and she had very strong opinions.” 

Her family told the media, “Our beloved Edith was a woman of integrity who chose humanity, every day. She met prejudice with principle, and division with service.”

 

Boris Tetleroyd

Boris Tetleroyd, 68, was at Bondi Beach with his son, Yakov, for the Chanukah celebrations when the shooters opened fire. Both were shot. Tetleroyd did not survive his injuries, but his son is recovering in hospital.

Tetleroyd was an immigrant from the former Soviet Union and long-time Bondi resident. He worked for many years for Sydney Trains as an engineering application analyst. 

Boris’ niece Leia Roitour said, “Our family is grieving the sudden and violent loss of a beloved husband and father in the Bondi attack.” 

The family also said they were proud of their Jewish faith, but that “Recent years have been difficult and frightening for many in our community. This tragedy has shaken us deeply. Still, we do not seek blame or division. We seek understanding, compassion, and the ability to move forward without having to hide who we are.”

Social media posts show Tetleroyd as a lover of Australian nature, often sharing photographs of animals he encountered on bushwalks.

 

Adam Smyth

Adam Smyth, 50, was a Bondi resident and father-of-four. He was walking with his wife Katrina when he was shot and killed in Bondi. Smyth’s family sadly confirmed he died at the scene.

The family stated: “We are all trying to come to terms with the senseless shooting, of which Adam was a victim. No words can describe the pain of our loss.

“Adam and Katrina were living their best lives together. Their shared love of family and friends, travel and sport – if not always the same team – made their time together truly special.”

 

One other victim

The name of one other victim, reportedly a 40-year-old man who died in hospital, had not been released by the family as we went to press. An Israeli citizen is reportedly among the dead according to Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It is not clear whether this might be the same person. 

AIJAC mourns and pays tribute to this individual as well. 

 

The wounded

The Bondi attack left more than 40 people wounded. 

Among them is 43-year-old fruiterer Ahmed al-Ahmed, who rightfully won global fame after video emerged of him heroically tackling and disarming one of the terrorists. Ahmed was then reportedly shot a total of five times, but is expected to make a full recovery. 

Another notable casualty is police officer Jack Hibbert, who was shot twice and lost sight in one eye as a result. Fellow police officer Scott Dyson was also shot twice and remains in intensive care. 

AIJAC’s incoming Sydney office head Arsen Ostrovsky, a human rights lawyer, narrowly escaped death when a bullet grazed his head, sending him to hospital for several days. [Read his account here] 

Sadly, it is not possible to pay tribute to all the other injured victims here by name, but they deserve all support, prayers and good wishes.