19 hours agoShareSaveHelen LivingstoneShareSaveAFP via Getty ImagesAt least 15 people have been confirmed dead in Sunday’s shooting attack at Bondi beach.Many were attending an event to mark the first day of the Jewish festival of Hanukkah.Authorities have confirmed that two rabbis, a Holocaust survivor and a 10-year-old girl were among the victims. This is what we know about those identified so far: Matilda, 10Authorities confirmed that a 10-year-old girl, named by her family to local media as Matilda, was among the dead. Irina Goodhew, who organised a fundraiser for the girl’s mother and said she was the child’s former teacher, wrote: “I knew her as a bright, joyful, and spirited child who brought light to everyone around her.”The Harmony Russian School of Sydney also confirmed that she was one of its students.”We are deeply saddened to share the news that a former student of our school has passed away in the hospital due to injuries sustained from a gunshot,” 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, and we honor her life and the time she spent as part of our school family.”Meanwhile her aunt spoke to ABC news and said that Matilda’s sister, who was with her when she was shot, was struggling to come to terms with the loss.”They were like twins — they’ve never been separated,” she told the ABC.Rabbi Eli SchlangerSuppliedKnown as the “Bondi Rabbi”, Eli Schlanger, 41, was one of the key organisers of Sunday’s event. He was head of the local Chabad mission, an international Hasidic Jewish organisation based in Brooklyn.The death of the British-born father of five was confirmed by his cousin, Rabbi Zalman Lewis. “My dear cousin, Rabbi Eli Schlanger @bondirabbi was murdered in today’s terrorist attack in Sydney,” Zalman wrote on Instagram. “He leaves behind his wife & young children, as well as my uncle & aunt & siblings … He was truly an incredible guy”.In a post on its website, Chabad said Schlanger’s youngest child was just two months old.”He was the most godly, humane, kind, gracious human being I think I’ve ever met,” Alex Ryvchin of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, told reporters at Bondi on Monday morning. Dan ElkayamRockdale Ilinden FCThe death of French national Dan Elkayam was confirmed by France’s Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot. “It’s with immense sadness that we have learnt that our compatriot Dan Elkayam was among the victims of the terrorist attack that hit Jewish families gathered on the beach at Bondi in Sydney,” he wrote on social media. “We mourn with his family and loved ones, with the Jewish community and the Australian people.” According to his LinkedIn profile, Elkayam worked as an IT analyst for NBCUniversal and had moved to Australia last year.He was also a keen footballer, and “an integral member” of our premier league squad, the Rockdale Ilinden Football Club in west Sydney wrote on its Facebook page. He was “an extremely talented and popular figure amongst team mates. Our deepest and sincerest condolances to Dan’s family, friends and all that knew him. He will be missed,” the club wrote. Alexander KleytmanAlexander Kleytman was a Holocaust survivor who came to Australia from Ukraine. “I have no husband. I don’t know where is his body. Nobody can give me any answer,” his wife Larisa Kleytman told reporters outside a Sydney hospital late on Sunday.”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,” she told the Australian.Chabad wrote on X that Alexander “died shielding her from the gunman’s bullets. In addition to his wife, he leaves behind two children and 11 grandchildren.”The couple shared some of their life story with Jewish Care Australia in 2023.”As children, both Larisa and Alexander faced …
