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Rabbi Eli Schlanger, one of the victims killed in Sunday’s mass shooting on Bondi Beach in Australia, pictured here with his wife, Chayale Schlanger, and his children.Supplied
Toronto Rabbi Levi Gansburg first bonded with his friend on the other side of the world more than two decades ago when they were both studying at a New York seminary.
Mr. Gansburg was struck by Rabbi Eli Schlanger’s relaxed and calming disposition. He was the kind of go-getter that made everyone around him strive for their best.
Over the years, their connection deepened. As Mr. Schlanger settled down in Australia, his brother lived in the same area as Mr. Gansburg, while his brother’s wife became a supervisor in the daycare attached to his synagogue in Toronto’s North York area.
So, when Mr. Gansburg woke up to hear Sunday that Mr. Schlanger was among 15 people killed in a mass shooting at Sydney’s Bondi Beach, all he felt was utter shock.
“We’re genuinely such a small and interconnected community,” he told The Globe and Mail on Monday. “And when something like this happens, especially when we’ve been warning about it for so long, it feels like we’re seeing an attack on the entire Jewish community.”
The massacre, Australia’s deadliest shooting in three decades, has been described by local officials as a targeted attack. Dozens of people remain wounded in hospital after they had assembled for a celebration at the popular beach to mark the first night of Hanukkah.
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Rabbi Yehoram Ulman, father-in-law of shooting victim Rabbi Eli Schlanger, speaks during a vigil at the Chabad of Bondi in Sydney on Monday.SAEED KHAN/AFP/Getty Images
The shooting follows a string of attacks on synagogues, Jewish institutions and individuals in many parts of the world, including Australia, since the deadly attack launched by Hamas in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and Israel’s subsequent invasion of Gaza.
In Canada, cities across the country have seen protests against Israel’s actions in Gaza, with police ramping up security at many religious institutions, especially during holidays. Antisemitic attacks have risen sharply within the last two years, with multiple incidents of arson against synagogues in Canadian cities, while mosques also have been targeted by hate-related incidents and threats.
Sunday’s gathering was organized by Mr. Schlanger on behalf of his synagogue, the Chabad of Bondi. Speaking to media last year, he had said that attendance at the annual event had increased since 2023 despite rising incidents of antisemitism.
But as the man who was often lovingly called “the Bondi rabbi” stood on a stage to guide the proceedings and light the menorah to music, two gunmen opened fire.
Domestic media have since identified the shooters as Sajid Akram, 50, and his son, Naveed Akram, 24. The father was killed in an exchange with police shortly after the shooting, while his son was critically injured and remains in hospital.
“I think one of the saddest things about this incident is how much Rabbi Schlanger hated guns. But he would’ve never hated these gunmen, though, because they are and will always be human beings,” said Mr. Gansburg, co-founder of Toronto’s Chabad on Bayview. “And I could say that about any Jewish person who was simply there for this celebration.”
Australia Bondi Beach mass shooting: What we know so far
Mr. Schlanger’s sister-in-law, Estee Silver-Schlanger, agreed. In an interview, she said the loss of Mr. Schlanger has devastated their entire family and broader community.
Mr. Schlanger, who was 41, is survived by his wife, Chayale Schlanger, and five children, “one of whom is just a baby, only born recently in October,” Ms. Silver-Schlanger said.
The second-youngest of 10 children, he was born and largely raised in Britain before he moved to Australia, where three of his siblings were also based.
“Everyone is just traumatized. For my husband, Boruch, it’s still so early to even begin to process the death of his younger brother,” Ms. Silver-Schlanger said, adding several of the siblings are now sitting shiva in Israel with their parents, Rabbi Binyomin Schlanger and Dobra Schlanger. Two of Mr. Schlanger’s siblings were also at the beach when he was killed, though escaped without injuries.
“I’m really, really worried about the rising antisemitism we’re seeing. It feels as if, even in these very safe countries in the West, we now can’t practise our religion.”
In Canada, Mr. Gansburg explained, there are more than 200 emissaries of the Chabad who perform duties as Orthodox Jewish rabbis like Mr. Schlanger.
“Including myself, we are all just tasked to be foot soldiers of goodness and kindness, which is part of our tradition and faith,” he said. “Think of all those rabbis and their communities who knew someone like we do that was killed or injured. That backdrop is what really hurts. It could’ve been any of us.”
Video captured the moment a man rushed one of two gunmen at Bondi Beach and disarmed him while the second gunman continued to shoot from a nearby walkway. The state’s premier hailed the man as ‘a genuine hero.’
EyePress
Rabbi Yisroel Bernath in Montreal’s Chabad of Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, who had become friends with “the beautiful” Mr. Schlanger in the last two years, feels the same.
“Canada is far too similar to Australia for us to not take this seriously,” he said. “We’ve been demanding more action from our governments and politicians to protect us and have yet to see any tangible change. Are we supposed to start hiding away to practise our religion now because we feel unsafe?”
Noah Shack, chief executive of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, said his organization has been speaking with the federal government about adding more funding for the Canada Community Security Program, which provides support to prevent hate-motivated incidents against at-risk communities.
He said he hopes to see those changes soon.
But Amir Epstein, executive director of Tafsik Organization, a Canadian civil-rights group fighting antisemitism, said he has already started to notice the effects of the attack in Australia at home.
“We’re holding a vigil here in Toronto tonight. It’s not a protest, it’s not a rally, simply a vigil for the lives lost. And yet I keep hearing worry from our community members,” he said Monday. “They’re concerned that a vigil like this is a great opportunity for the same thing to happen in Canada that happened in Sydney.“
