Youngest, oldest victims of Sydney Hanukkah attack remembered in tearful funerals |
Four funerals were held in Australia on Thursday for victims of the Bondi Beach terror attack, with mourners lamenting the great-grandfather who shielded his wife from the bullets, a Holocaust survivor who had sought a new life in Australia, a defiant father who tried to stop the attack, and the “joyful” 10-year-old girl who was cut down in the gunfire.
Alex Kleytman, 87, Tibor Weitzen, 78, and Matilda, 10, were laid to rest in separate ceremonies in Sydney, while a funeral was held for Reuven Morrison, 62, in Melbourne.
The four were among the 15 people who were killed in the antisemitic massacre during a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach on Sunday. Dozens more people were injured, and many remain in serious condition.
The country’s close-knit Jewish community held the first two funerals for victims on Wednesday, burying Rabbi Eli Schlanger, 41, a father of five known as the “Bondi rabbi,” and Rabbi Yaakov Levitan, 39, a father of four in Sydney.
Thousands of community members attended Thursday’s funerals, accompanying tearful relatives as they bade goodbye to their loved ones. Several Australian officials also paid their respects.
The country’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who has been criticized for allowing antisemitism to fester, has notably stayed away from the funerals and memorials.
Fourteen of the victims of the Sydney Hanukkah shooting: top row (left to right) – Reuven Morrison, Rabbi Yaakov Levitan, Dan Elkayam, Alex Kleytman, Rabbi Eli Schlanger; middle row (left to right) – Edith Brutman, Peter Meagher, Tibor Weitzen, Marika Pogany, Matilda [last name withheld]; bottom row (left to right) – Boris Tetleroyd, Adam Smyth, Sofia and Boris Gurman. (Composite: Times of Israel; Images: Courtesy/social media, used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law) The suspects, a father and son, were inspired by the Islamic State jihadist group, Australian authorities have said. One was killed in a shootout with police, and the other was injured and is in police custody.
Australia’s government has vowed to crack down on hate speech that some have blamed for fanning antisemitic violence in the country.
Hundreds of mourners bearing bright bouquets and clutching each other in grief gathered at a funeral in Sydney for Matilda, whose last name is being withheld at the request of her family. Aged just 10, she was the youngest victim of the antisemitic massacre during a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach.
Matilda was enjoying a petting zoo at the festivities on Sunday, just before she was cut down in the attack.
“Matilda is our little ray of sunshine,” said the rabbi leading her funeral service in Sydney, reading a message from her school.
“She is genuinely the most kind, caring, and compassionate young girl, who brightened everyone’s day with her radiant smile and infectious laugh.”
Black-clad mourners held bouquets of lilies as they filed into the........