‘Lamplighter’: Tributes flow for Bondi terror victims
Leaders have paid tribute to the 15 killed in the Bondi Beach terror attack, with one prominent South Australian Rabbi calling for mateship amid the tragedy.
While details about the gunmen and their motives are still being investigated, more information is emerging about the victims of the terrorist attack at Bondi Beach on Sunday.
Among the dead is Rabbi Eli Schlanger, an outspoken Jewish leader and an organiser of the Chanukah by the Sea event held at Bondi.
Chabad SA Executive Director Rabbi Yossi Engel, who organised a sister-event in Adelaide’s Rymill Park on Sunday evening, said Rabbi Schlanger will be remembered as “a lamplighter”.
“He was the one that always spoke up more loudly than other Rabbis, saying, don’t diminish your connection, deepen your connection to your faith, deepen your connection to your identity as a Jew, don’t hide it. Never be ashamed. Never be afraid,” Rabbi Yossi told InDaily.
“He never let life get him down from encouraging others to live where there’s challenge, and it’s absolutely incredible.
“He was literally that lamplighter, and was killed in the eve of the lamp lighting and if there’s a message, it’s still we need to follow in his footsteps, to increase light, to double down in doing goodness, because that’s something that can be taken away from us.
You might like
He called for “mateship” amid the tragedy, saying: “This is an attack of darkness on light”.
“Australia is a place of warmth and friendship and mateship, and we’re all in this one together. Australians should stand up and ensure and not be ashamed or afraid of the bullying of others or the names that others will call them to be truly that Aussie fair dinkum goodness and fairness for all.”
The event at Bondi was one of thousands held around the world to share the light of the Menora on the first night of Hanukkah, the eight-day Jewish Festival of Lights.
Rabbi Yaakov Levitan, who served as secretary of the Sydney Jewish religious organisation Beth Din, was also among the dead.
A 10-year-old girl named Matilda was the youngest confirmed victim. Matilda, whose surname has not been revealed, died in hospital on Monday morning.
Stay informed, daily
The death of Holocaust survivor Alex Kleytman, aged 87, was the oldest, his death confirmed by his wife Larisa, who told media he was shot in the back.
A fifth victim has been confirmed as Reuven Morrison, a former refugee from the Soviet Union.
French President Emmanual Macron said on X that “our compatriot” Dan Elkayam was also among the dead.
Makeshift memorials sprung up on Monday morning in the beachside park where hundreds of people had earlier gathered to celebrate the first day of Hanukkah.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese laid a wreath at the site on Monday morning and condemned the ambush on the Jewish festival of light as an “act of pure evil”.
“This was an attack deliberately targeted at the Jewish community on the first day of Hanukkah, which of course should be a joyous celebration,” Albanese told reporters.
Alex Ryvchin, co-chief of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, was seen weeping at the beach, which he said had been the greatest place in Australia to celebrate the thousands-year-old festival.
The area was now tarnished, he said.
Multiple police officers exchanged fire with the two men, with a constable and probationary constable recovering in hospital in serious but stable conditions.
Lifeguards on Monday were collecting mountains of items, including discarded beach chairs, towels and bags abandoned on the beach during the shooting.
Lifeline 13 11 14, or text 0477 13 11 14.
If you or someone you know is at immediate risk of harm, call triple zero (000) or Mental Health Triage on 13 14 65 (available 24/7 across South Australia).
-with AAP
