Bondi Beach shooting: What we know about the victims
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Belongings of members of the Jewish community are seen at the scene of a shooting at Bondi Beach in Sydney on Dec 15, 2025.
PHOTO: AFP
Isabella Kwai
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SYDNEY - A long-serving rabbi of the local Jewish community. A French citizen celebrating Hanukkah in Sydney. A Holocaust survivor.
They were among the victims of a terror attack at a Jewish celebration in Sydney
Details are still emerging about the victims of the attack, which the authorities said targeted attendees of a Hanukkah celebration held on Bondi Beach, one of Australia’s most iconic beaches.
Here’s what we know.
Rabbi Eli Schlanger
Rabbi Schlanger, the assistant rabbi in Chabad of Bondi and a key organiser of the event, was killed in the attack.
His death was confirmed by Chabad, a global organisation based in the Brooklyn borough of New York City dedicated to strengthening and enriching Jewish life by providing religious, educational, social and cultural services around the world.
The organisation said in a social media post that Rabbi Schlanger had served the Bondi community as a rabbi and chaplain for 18 years, since his marriage to his wife Chaya.
The event he organised, Hanukkah by the Sea, was intended to be “the perfect family event to celebrate light, warmth and community”, according to a social media post on Instagram.
Rabbi Schlanger had recently said that in the face of darkness, the way forward is to “be more Jewish, act more Jewish and appear more Jewish”, according to Chabad.
In 2023, he was among a delegation of rabbis who visited Israel in the wake of the Oct 7 Hamas-led attack, according to the Australian Jewish News.
Mr Dan Elkayam
Mr Elkayam, a French citizen, was among the victims of the attack, French President Emmanuel Macron said on social media on Dec 14.
“It is with deep sadness that I learn of the death of our compatriot Dan Elkayam in the anti-Semitic terrorist attack in Sydney,” he said. “My thoughts are with his family and loved ones.”
Mr Elkayam had been celebrating Hanukkah at the event in Sydney, Chabad said in a social media post.
Mr Alex Kleytman
Mr Kleytman, a native of Ukraine, was killed in the Dec 14 shooting, Chabad said on the same day.
A survivor of the Holocaust from Ukraine, Mr Kleytman had attended the event with his children and grandchildren, the organisation said.
He died shielding his wife Larisa from the gunman’s bullets, the group added. He is survived by his wife, his two children and 11 grandchildren.
Mr Reuven Morrison
Mr Morrison, a businessman originally from the Soviet Union, “discovered his Jewish identity in Sydney”, Chabad said.
He spent his time between Melbourne, where he and his wife moved for his daughter’s education, and Sydney, where he did business, the group added.
The injured
Mr Arsen Ostrovsky, who told the news media that he had moved only two weeks ago from Israel to Australia, where he will lead the Australia Israel and Jewish Affairs Council, was wounded in the attack.
He said in interviews with Australian news outlets that he had seen at least one gunman “firing randomly in all directions”.
A bullet grazed his head, he said later in a post on the social platform X, but added that he would make a full recovery. NYTIMES
