Who were the Bondi beach shooting victims? What we know

At least 15 civilians have been confirmed dead in Sunday’s shooting attack at Bondi Beach.

Many were attending an event marking the first day of the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah.

Authorities confirmed that two rabbis, a Holocaust survivor and a 10-year-old girl were among the victims.

Here’s what we know about the people identified so far:

Authorities confirmed that a 10-year-old girl, whose family told local media her name was Matilda, was among the dead.

“I knew her as a bright, cheerful, energetic child who brought light to everyone around her,” wrote Irina Goodhue, who organized a fundraiser for the girl’s mother and said she was the child’s former teacher.

The Russian Harmony School in Sydney also confirmed that she was one of its students.

“We are deeply saddened to share the news of the death of a former student at our school in the hospital from gunshot wounds,” the school wrote on Facebook.

“Our thoughts and heartfelt condolences go out to her family, friends and everyone affected by this tragic event…Her memory will remain in our hearts, as we honor her life and the time she spent as part of our school family.”

Meanwhile, her aunt spoke to ABC News and said Matilda’s sister, who was with her when she was shot, was struggling to cope with the loss.

“They were like twins, never separated,” she told ABC.

Eli Schlanger, 41, known as “Bondi Rabbi,” was one of the main organizers of Sunday’s event. He was president of the local Chabad Mission, an international Hasidic Jewish organization based in Brooklyn.

His cousin, Rabbi Zalman Lewis, confirmed the death of the British-born father of five.

“My dear cousin, Rabbi Eli Schlanger @bondirabbi, was killed in today’s terrorist attack in Sydney,” Zalman wrote on Instagram. “He left behind his wife and young children, as well as my uncle, aunt, and siblings… He was truly a wonderful man.”

Chabad said in a post on its website that Schlanger’s youngest child is only two months old.

“He was the most pious, humane, kind and generous human being I think I’ve ever met,” Alex Revchin, of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, told reporters in Bondi on Monday morning.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot confirmed the death of French citizen Dan El Kayam.

He wrote on social media: “It is with great sadness that we learned that our citizen Dan Al-Kayam was among the victims of the terrorist attack that struck Jewish families gathered on Bondi Beach in Sydney.” “We grieve with his family and loved ones, the Jewish community and the Australian people.”

According to his LinkedIn profile, Elkayam worked as an IT analyst at NBCUniversal and moved to Australia last year.

He was also a keen footballer, and a “key member” of our Premier League team, the Rockdale Illinden Football Club in western Sydney wrote on their Facebook page.

He was “an extremely talented character and very popular among his teammates,” the club wrote. “Our deepest and sincere condolences go out to Dan’s family, friends and everyone who knew him. He will be missed.”

Alexander Kleitman was a Holocaust survivor who came to Australia from Ukraine.

“I don’t have a husband. I don’t know where his body is. No one can give me any answers,” his wife, Larissa Kleitman, told reporters outside a Sydney hospital late on Sunday evening.

She told The Australian: “We were standing and suddenly there was a boom, and everyone fell down. At that moment he was behind me and at one point he decided to get closer to me. He pushed his body up because he wanted to stay close to me.”

Chabad wrote on the X website that Alexander “died protecting her from the gunman’s bullets. In addition to his wife, he left behind two children and 11 grandchildren.”

The couple shared some of their life story with the Jewish Care Foundation in 2023.

“As children, Larisa and Alexander faced the indescribable horror of the Holocaust,” the WHO wrote in its annual report.

“Alex’s memories are particularly horrific; he remembers the horrific conditions in Siberia where he, his mother and younger brother struggled to survive.”

Former police officer Peter Meagher was working as a freelance photographer at a Hanukkah event when he was killed, the rugby club has confirmed.

“For him it was simply a disastrous case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Mark Harrison, general manager of Randwick Rugby Club, wrote on his website.

“Marzo, as he was universally known, was a much-loved figure and an absolute legend at our club, and with decades of voluntary involvement, he was one of the heart and soul figures of Randwick Rugby.”

He spent nearly four decades in the NSW Police Force where he was “highly respected by his colleagues”, the club said.

The club said: “The tragic irony is that he spent so long on the dangerous front line as a police officer, and then was subjected to retirement while taking pictures in his emotional role, which is truly difficult to comprehend.”

Ruffin Morrison immigrated to Australia from the former Soviet Union in the 1970s as a teenager, according to an interview he gave to the ABC exactly a year ago.

“We came here with the view that Australia is the safest country in the world and that Jews will not face such anti-Semitism in the future, that we can raise our children in a safe environment,” he told National Radio.

Chabad confirmed his death and said he had been a resident of Melbourne for a long time, but “discovered his Jewish identity in Sydney.”

“A successful businessman whose main goal is to donate his earnings to charities dear to his heart, most notably Chabad Bondi,” the organization wrote on the X website.

The Chabad newspaper confirmed the death of Rabbi Yaakov Levitan, describing him as the “popular coordinator” of its activities in Sydney.

He also served as secretary of the Sydney Beth Din – a rabbinical court – and worked at the Bina Centre, which describes itself as a center for Jewish learning.