Sydney — Hundreds of mourners overflowed a Bondi synagogue Tuesday to remember two rabbis killed in the Bondi Beach Hanukkah festival shootings as kind, curious men devoted to their families, faith and community.
Funerals were held for Rabbi Eli Schlanger, 41, and Rabbi Yaakov Levitan, 39, who were shot dead during Sunday’s “Chanukah by the Sea” celebration organized by Chabad of Bondi. Rabbi Schlanger’s service took place a few blocks from the beachfront where the attack occurred; Rabbi Levitan, a father of four, was buried at Macquarie Park in Sydney’s northwest.
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The gunfire, which left 15 people dead, was allegedly carried out by a father and son. The mass shooting shook a neighborhood synonymous with surf and sun, and prompted an outpouring of grief from Sydney’s Jewish community and beyond.
Both men worked at Chabad of Bondi — Rabbi Schlanger as assistant rabbi and Rabbi Levitan as chief operating officer — and both had young families. Their wives had been best friends since high school, mourners were told. Rabbi Schlanger, born in the United Kingdom, had lived in Sydney for 18 years and recently became a father for the fifth time.
Inside the synagogue, Rabbi Yehoram Ulman, Rabbi Schlanger’s father-in-law, urged congregants not to retreat from public expressions of Jewish life. “That is not the answer … we can never ever allow them to not only succeed but any time they try something we become greater and stronger,” he said, breaking down repeatedly as he described Schlanger as his “son, friend, confidant.”
Rabbi Ulman said local rabbis would organize an event to light all eight Hanukkah candles this Sunday at the scene of the attack, vowing that Jewish life would continue openly at Bondi Beach, which draws hundreds of thousands of visitors each year.
The synagogue quickly reached capacity, with dozens standing outside on the footpath, watching a livestream on their phones as prayers in Hebrew and English were read. Among those leading prayers was Rabbi Mendel Kastel, Rabbi Schlanger’s brother-in-law.
Security in Bondi was heightened, with New South Wales state police cordoning off the street to the synagogue and conducting bag searches of attendees and media. Private guards and Jewish community security services were also present. At the close of the ceremony, eight police officers in ceremonial dress formed an honor guard for the hearse, then led a procession down the street. Halfway along, mourners paused and sang a wordless nigun as several men kept their hands on the hearse.
New South Wales Premier Chris Minns, who has backed calls for tougher gun laws, attended alongside federal opposition leader Sussan Ley and local member Allegra Spender. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese did not attend and said he would go to funerals if invited.
Friends and congregants remembered Rabbi Schlanger’s quiet dedication and outreach. One mourner said he would often drive up to four hours each way to visit Jewish inmates in state prisons. “We miss him dearly,” the mourner said. “He was there for everyone, he didn’t care whether you were wealthy or poor.”
Another funeral, for Matilda, the 10-year-old girl and youngest victim of the attack, is scheduled for Wednesday, according to an online funeral notice.
The two rabbis’ deaths cut deeply through a community that has long made Bondi a center of Jewish life in Sydney. On a week meant for candles, songs and public celebration, mourners said the most fitting tribute would be to return to the beach and light the menorah again — together.
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
