OAN Staff Sophia Flores
3:57 PM – Monday, December 15, 2025
Fifteen people have died and 40 have been hospitalized, with a dozen reportedly still in critical condition, after two gunmen targeted a Jewish event on Australia’s famous Bondi Beach in Sydney.
In the aftermath of Sunday’s horrific attack, officials have classified the incident as a terrorist attack targeting the Jewish community.
A father and son opened fire at a “Chanukah by the Sea” event, marking the first night of Chanukah.
Hanukah, also spelled “Chanukah,” is often called the “Festival of Lights” and it’s an eight-day Jewish holiday that commemorates a historic victory and miracle that took place over 2,200 years ago in Jerusalem.
The scale of Sunday’s antisemitic terror attack — which claimed the lives of victims ranging from a 10-year-old child to an 87-year-old Holocaust survivor — renders it the deadliest shooting in Australia since the 1996 Port Arthur massacre.
The youngest victim, Matilda Britvan, 10, was in attendance to celebrate the Jewish holiday with her parents, younger sister and friends. She is remembered as a “bright, joyful, and spirited child who brought light to everyone around her.”
Another life lost was that of Rabbi Eli Schlanger, the event organizer and assistant Rabbi at Chabad of Bondi. He was a father of five, and his youngest son was just born this past October.
“For 18 years, the Schlangers served the Jewish community, but the rabbi’s influence extended far beyond the walls of a single synagogue,” the Chabad said in a statement. “He served as chaplain to NSW Corrective Services and NSW Prisoners of War; he was also chaplain at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Darlinghurst, where he ministered to patients and families.”
Rabbi Yaakov Levitan, Secretary of the Sydney Beth Din, was also killed in the terrorist attack.
“Yaakov Levitan was a profoundly beloved and active member of the Sydney Jewish community,” a fundraising page for his family reads. “Yaakov Levitan was a profoundly beloved and active member of the Sydney Jewish community.”
The oldest victim in the shooting was 87-year-old Holocaust survivor Alex Kleytman. He reportedly died while protecting his wife of nearly 60 years, Larisa, from gunfire. She stated that when the shooting started, he “pushed his body up because he wanted to stay near me.”
He leaves behind his wife, their two children, and 11 grandchildren.
French national Dan Elkayam was among those murdered as well. He recently moved to Australia from France for work. During the attack, he was murdered while shielding a 12-year-old girl from one of the gunmen’s bullets.
French President Emmanuel Macron announced that his thoughts were with Elkayam’s family and loved ones, giving them “the fullest solidarity of the nation.”
Reuven Morrison, another victim of the massacre, previously moved from the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) to flee antisemitic persecution. He was reacquainting himself with his Jewish ancestry and identity while in Sydney.
Morrison is described as a “successful businessman whose main goal was to give away his earnings to charities dear to his heart,” Chabad said in a statement.
He leaves behind a wife and daughter.
Peter Meagher, another victim, was a highly respected former member of the New South Wales (NSW) Police Force, serving for nearly 40 years before retiring as a Detective Sergeant.
Meagher was working at the event as a freelance photographer when he was killed.
Tibor Weitzen, 78, another Holocaust survivor tragically included on the list of slain Bondi Beach victims, is remembered by his family as a “sweet grandpa” who “loved life.”
Weitzen was attending the Chanukah event with his wife when the shooting began. He was fatally wounded while shielding his wife from the gunfire.
The great-grandfather “lost his life shielding his loved ones,” Chabad wrote.
Marika Pogany, 82, was also killed in the attack.
The 82-year old woman was well known in the Sydney Jewish community. In 2019, she received the “Mensch award” from the Jewish Community Appeal (JCA) for delivering kosher meals on wheels. During her 29 years of volunteering, she delivered more than 12,000 meals to members of the community.
The “Mensch Award” is an honor given to individuals who display outstanding integrity, honor, and dedication to community service.
The identities of the rest of the victims have not been released to the public.
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