Rabbi Eli Schlanger, 10-year-old girl die in Bondi terror attack as death toll rises

A beloved rabbi killed in the Bondi Beach terror attack has been remembered as a dear friend who “personified goodness”.

Rabbi Eli Schlanger was the head of the Chabad mission in Bondi and one of at least 16 people killed when a father and son opened fire on a Hanukkah event on Sunday night, sparking chaotic scenes as hundreds of people were seen fleeing the beach, screaming and running, as gunshots rang out.

An emotional Alex Ryvchin, chief executive of the Australian Council of Jewry and a close friend of the rabbi’s, returned to the scene on Monday just hours after the tragedy.

“He lived to do acts of kindness. He actually drove around in a car, which I think, said, just do good on it and he would help people light candles, and he would help old people and prisoners and jailers in remote parts of the state. That’s all he did,” he said.

“ … and without him we can say that we’ll go on and we’ll rebuild, but you don’t get people like that often, and we’ll be poorer for it. We’ll be weaker for we’ll be worse for it.”

He revealed that the rabbi had welcomed another child into his family just one month ago.

The rabbi’s family are reeling from the loss, he said.

“Every happy occasion will now be tinged with our sorrow, because he was a part of every good moment,” he said.

Mr Ryvchin said that his own daughter was “terrified” after the attack, which his family have attended every year with the exception of yesterday.

“But what do you say to kids now? How do you tell them not to be afraid when there’s people at Bondi Beach with weapons, massacring children and women in the elderly?” he said.

“How can you not be afraid?”

Rabbi Schlanger’s cousin Zalman Lewis remembered his relative as an “incredible guy”.

The loss felt “confusing” and like a “piece of (their) world (was) just … missing,” he wrote online.

The rabbi’s friend Eliezer Tewel also paid tribute online.

“He was just doing his job. Showing up. Being the constant, reliable presence for his community,” Mr Tewel wrote.

“And that’s where the gut punch lands: He was killed while doing the most basic, kindest, most normal part of our lives. It wasn’t a battlefield. It was a Chanukah party.”

As authorities work to investigate the horror attack, the list of named victims – many remembered by community members – continues to grow.

Rabbi Yaakov Levitan

Rabbi Yaakov Levitan was identified as another victim gunned down in Sunday’s massacre.

He was a secretary of the Sydney Beth Din and was “deeply involved” in Chabad operations in Sydney, the organisation said in a statement online.

Alex Kleytman

Holocaust survivor and Ukrainian-Australian grandfather Alex Kleytman was also killed in the attack.

His wife, Larisa, told the Daily Mail she watched her husband of five decades get gunned down trying to protect her.

”I think he was shot because he raised himself up to protect me, in the back of the head,” she said.

Mr Kleytman was fondly remembered by Mr Ryvchin as an enthusiastic community member.

“Some of my very dearest friends are dead. Their families are now destroyed, their worlds are gone,” he said.

“And some of the people that were killed are just the most gracious, kind, hearted, beautiful human beings.

“You know, there was a man in his 90s, a Holocaust survivor who would always seek me out at every communal event and shake my hand and give me some word of wisdom about media or government and how to handle things.”

Dan Elkayam

French national Dan Elkayam, 27, was named by French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot as another victim of the attack.

“We mourn with his family and loved ones, with the Jewish community and the bereaved Australian people,” Mr Barrot wrote on social media, vowing France would “root out” anti-Semitism “wherever” it emerged.

French President Emmanuel Macron said his thoughts were with Mr Elkayam’s loved ones, saying they had “the fullest solidarity of the nation.”

Reuven Morrison

Religious institution Chabad also identified grandfather Reuven Morrison, a member of the community who lived between Melbourne and Sydney, as another victim of the attack.

“He was a longtime resident of Melbourne, where he and his wife moved to afford themselves a superior education for their daughter, Shaina,” the organisation wrote online.

“He remained deeply connected to Sydney, where he continued to do business. A successful businessman whose main goal was to give away his earnings to charities dear to his heart, notably Chabad of Bondi, which organised the event.”

The death of a 12-year-old girl was confirmed by Mr Ryvchin on CNN.

He told the network a friend had “lost his 12-year-old daughter, who succumbed to her wounds in hospital”.

“I know everyone who was (at the festival),” he said.

“That’s an event where I attend with my family every single year.”

NSW Health Minister Ryan Park told the ABC a child was among the 16 people who had died.

Four children had been transferred to Sydney Children’s Hospital, he said.

Of the 15 who have tragically passed away, NSW Police said they have yet to be formally identified, however authorities believe their ages range between 10 and 87 years old.