The terrorist attack on Sydney’s Chanukah by the Sea celebration, where more than 1,000 people were in attendance on Sunday, has now been marked as the deadliest antisemitic attack in Australia’s history.
The Hanukkah, or Chanukah, celebration on Bondi Beach lasted slightly over an hour before gunfire shattered the peace and festivities. Officials say that a father-son duo carried out an attack on the crowd. Fifty-year-old Sajid Akram died at the scene from police gunshot, according to reports. His son, 24-year-old Naveed Akram, was also shot by law enforcement and is hospitalized and in critical condition, according to The Sydney Morning Herald.
The attack lasted approximately six minutes, killing 15 Hanukkah attendees and injuring dozens. The victims came from many parts of the world.
Likely saving countless more lives was the heroic act of 43-year-old Ahmed al Ahmed, who tackled and disarmed Sajid while he was shooting.
According to a post by the Israel War Room, Ahmed was shot four to five times in the arm and is in critical but stable condition in the hospital. A GoFundMe for the man has already amassed $1.5 million, 92% of its goal, as a way to say thank you.
“In a moment of chaos and danger, he stepped forward without hesitation. His actions were selfless, instinctive, and undeniably heroic, taken without regard for his own safety,” per the fundraising post. “No one expects to be a hero, but when the moment came, he was.”
Among the lives that were robbed by violence on Sunday, children and Holocaust survivors were included, ranging in ages from 10 to 87. Here is what we know about the identified victims:
10-year-old Matilda
The youngest of the victims, Matilda, was described as a “bright, joyful and spirited child” by Irina Goodhew, a former language teacher of hers. In a GoFundMe for Matilda’s mother that Goodhew created, she said the little girl was “a bright and loving soul who taught us that true goodness is in the love and compassion we share. Her memory reminds us to carry kindness in our hearts and spread it to the world.”
Matilda’s aunt said, “A great tragedy has happened to my family,” adding that the family is overcome with grief and doesn’t know how to live on without her, per 7News.
Rabbi Eli Schlanger
The assistant rabbi at Chabad of Bondi in Sydney, Schlanger, was a well-known and loved faith leader in the community, according to the New York Post. The father of five was a U.K. native who had recently welcomed his fifth child.
His cousin, Rabbi Zalman Lewis, who lives in England, said that his family found out about Schlanger’s death through a victims’ list online.
“I left shul this morning and saw messages from my wife and sister on the family WhatsApp group. They recognised one of the names people were being asked to pray for,” Zalman said. “We are just beginning to process this. It makes no sense at all. How can a joyful rabbi who went to a beach to spread happiness and light, to make the world a better place, have his life ended in this way?”
Marika Pogany
Pogany, an 82-year-old woman, was remembered by loved ones as an “avid volunteer” and a “beautiful friend.” She was also reported to be a member of the Harbour View Bridge Club, per the BBC. Matt Mullamphy, the bridge club’s director, said of Pogany, “She was a terrific person, excellent bridge player, and an even better friend. Incredibly loyal. I knew her for 40 years.”
Though a last name was not included, Slovak President Peter Pellegrini posted on X that a Slovakian woman by the name of Marika was killed in the Bondi Beach terrorist attack.
“Already yesterday, I unequivocally condemned the brutal, deadly attack on innocent people during the Hanukkah celebrations at Australia’s Bondi Beach and expressed my deep solidarity with a nation plunged into grief and shock,” he posted on X. “Today, that grief has reached Slovakia as well — among the victims of this senseless, violent rampage was a Slovak woman, Marika.”
Tibor Weitzen
The 78-year-old member of Bondi’s Chabad Synagogue was shielding his loved ones from bullets when he was killed, according to 7News. He and his wife had brought their grandchildren to the Jewish celebration.
His granddaughter told CNN affiliate 9News that her family is “devastated” and that Weitzen was a “sweet grandpa” who “loved life ... And we were just yesterday with him. We had coffee at Bondi Junction with him yesterday, and just. I didn’t know this was going to be, you know, the last day,” she said.
Peter Meagher
Meagher was a retired New South Wales police officer and a manager of the Randwick rugby club.
“‘Marzo’ 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,” the club said, per CNN affiliate, WDSU News.
His family said in a statement that they are “heartbroken by the loss of our beloved Peter. ... He was a cherished brother, husband and uncle whose kindness, generosity and love touched everyone who knew him. Our lives have been changed forever,” according to 7News.
“The tragic irony that Peter spent so long in the dangerous frontline as a police officer and was struck down in retirement while pursuing his passion for taking photos is hard to comprehend,” the statement said.
Dan Elkayam
A French native, Elkayam had moved to Australia just two years earlier. His friend, Ilan, told Le Parisien that he was a “true light.”
“Always smiling, always ready to discover new things,” Ilan said. “He grew up in a housing project in Le Bourget, so you could say he truly represented suburban Jews. He really embodied diversity; he didn’t discriminate based on religion. He was a light for everyone.”
French President Emmanuel Macron posted on social media, sending his condolences to Elkayam’s loved ones.
Alex Kleytman
A Holocaust survivor, Kleytman’s wife, Larisa Kleytman, said her husband was shot in the back during the terrorist attack, per 7News.
“In the middle of the celebrations (there were) shots and unfortunately my husband was killed,” she said. “We were standing and suddenly came the ‘boom boom’ and everybody fell down. 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.”
According to Israel War Room, both Alex and Larissa survived the Holocaust as children, with “Alex enduring ‘dreadful conditions’ in Siberia,” per their social media post. “The elderly couple had been married for 57 years, had two children, and 11 grandchildren. Australia is home to one of the largest populations of Holocaust survivors outside Israel. May his memory be a blessing.”
Rabbi Yaakov Levitan
Levitan was secretary of the Sydney Beth Din and also served as a popular coordinator of Chabad activities in Sydney, per Chabad.org.
“He 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,” according to a Charidy fundraiser organized for his family.
Reuven Morrison
Sheina Gutnick, the daughter of Soviet-born Morrison, told CBS News that her dad died a hero.
“From my sources and understanding, he had jumped up the second the shooting started. He managed to throw bricks at the terrorist,” she said. In a post on X, a video of Morrison shows him throwing objects at one of the shooters.
“If there was one way for him to go on this earth, it would be fighting a terrorist,” Gutnick said. “There was no other way he would be taken for us. He went down fighting, protecting the people he loved the most.”
“As my family was exiting a Hanukkah event in Melbourne we heard news from a friend that there was a shooting happening in Sydney. I immediately felt the biggest pit in my stomach and tried calling my father who did not pick up the phone. I then called my mother and I heard screaming, shouting. She was screaming that there’s an active shooter,” she continued. “I called her back and she was yelling that he’s running, he’s running, and then that he has been shot. After a few more attempts of hanging up and calling back, my mother was yelling for medical assistance, screaming for an ambulance, screaming for help, asking for help ... she then advised that he’s getting oxygen and hung up the phone.”
When she got her mother back on the phone, “she was screaming that they had stopped working on him and that he had been covered by a sheet. I was hoping in her hysterical state that she was just being delusional and that wasn’t the case.”
