key points
- Authorities have not yet released an official list of those killed on Sunday at Bondi Beach
- But descriptions of the victims have begun to emerge on social media and news reports, as well as on the website of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement.
- All people identified so far, except one, were Jewish.
- Two gunmen targeted an event celebrating the Jewish festival of Hanukkah
Here’s what we know about the victims who have been named so far:
Rabbi Eli Snicker
Snicker, 41, was the assistant rabbi at Chabad Bondi when he was targeted by two gunmen in the Chanukah at Sea incident. Chanukah is another transliteration of the Hebrew name of the holiday.
Snicker was born in the United Kingdom but lived in Bondi, near the shooting scene. He recently became a father for the fifth time.
Speaking to the media on Monday, his friend Alex Rivchin, co-CEO of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, said, “Nothing was too big for him.” “He was someone who brightened our lives with his kindness, his grace and his generosity.”
At Hanukkah in 2024, Schlager posted a video of himself smiling and dancing to the song “Just a Little Bit of Light” on a roadside at night.
The post is titled, “The best response is to deal with anti-Semitism.”
Marika Pogany
Marika Pogany, originally from southern Slovakia, is remembered for her charity work and as a long-term volunteer who distributed kosher meals on wheels.
Former Slovakian President Zuzana Caputova described 82-year-old Pogany as her close friend.
The Australian city of Sydney was a “refuge” for the daughter of a massacre survivor, “away from the horrors of fascism and communism,” Caputova wrote on Facebook.
“Apart from his mother and uncle, who returned from Auschwitz, all other members of this family did not survive the Holocaust.”
Slovakian President Peter Pellegrini also confirmed that Pogány was one of the victims of what he called “this senseless, wanton violence”.
alex kletma
Holocaust survivor and engineer Alex Kleitman was at Chanukah on the beach with his wife, children and grandchildren.
According to the Chabod Jewish organization, his wife, Larissa, said he died trying to shield him from the gunfire.
As a child, Kleitmann survived the Nazi genocide during World War II. The 87-year-old man moved to Australia from Ukraine in the 1990s to escape anti-Semitism.
matilda
The youngest victim, ten-year-old Matilda, died in hospital after being shot.
According to local media reports, just before the shooting, Matilda played with animals at a petting zoo at Chanukah by the Sea, which she was attending with her family, including her sister.
Her aunt, Lena Chernykh, described the 10-year-old as a “happy, bright” girl.
Her aunt said, “She was always kissing me, hugging me and giving me the energy to be happy.”
peter meagher
Peter Meagher was a retired police detective and long-time volunteer at Randwick Rugby Club.
He was working as a photographer at the Chanukah by the Sea event on Sunday The club said in a statement,
“Meagher was a much-loved figure and an absolute legend with decades of voluntary involvement at our club,” the club said.
Meagher is the first non-Jewish victim to be identified.
Dan Elkayam
French President Emmanuel Macron confirmed that French national Dan Elkayem died in the shooting.
The 27-year-old engineer, who moved to Australia a year ago, played football with a local club and lived with his girlfriend in Sydney.
According to Chabad reports, he was celebrating Hanukkah and died trying to intervene between a shooter and a girl, who later died of her injuries.
reuven morrison
According to his daughter Sheena Gutnick, Reuven Morrison fled the former Soviet Union in the 1970s to escape anti-Semitic persecution.
He died trying to defend his community despite being unarmed during Sunday’s attack, Gutnick said, naming his father as the man seen in the footage throwing an object at the unarmed gunman, Ahmed al-Ahmed.
“He managed to throw bricks at the terrorist,” Gutnick said in an interview with CBS on Monday.
According to Chabad, Morrison, who divided his time between Sydney and Melbourne, was a businessman and philanthropist known for his kindness and generosity.
Tibor Weitzen
Tibor Weitzen, a member of Bondi’s Chabad Synagogue, left the Soviet Union for Israel, then later moved to Australia. He was attending Chanukah at the beach with his wife and grandchildren.
The 78-year-old man died after saving his wife and another family friend from gunfire, according to local media reports.
Rabbi Yaakov Levitan
Yaakov Levitan was an important part of Sydney’s Jewish infrastructure, known for his kindness and tireless work helping others, Chabad said.
The 39-year-old man, originally from South Africa, is survived by his wife and four children.
Edited by: Elisabeth Schumacher