'We miss him dearly. He was there for everyone'

First funerals held for victims of Bondi Beach Hanukkah massacre: ‘Our own Oct. 7′

Father-in-law of Rabbi Eli Schlanger vows ‘to show the world’ by lighting candles at site of attack on last night of Jewish holiday; Rabbi Yaakov Levitan to be buried later Wednesday

Australia held the first funeral Wednesday for victims of the Bondi Beach mass shooting, as large crowds gathered to grieve a rabbi slain in the terror attack.

A father and son opened fire on the “Chanukah by the Sea” event organized by Chabad of Bondi at the famed surf beach on Sunday evening, killing 15 people and wounding dozens more.

Among the victims were a 10-year-old girl, two Holocaust survivors, and a married couple shot dead as they tried to thwart the attack.

Eli Schlanger, known as the “Bondi rabbi,” was the first person mourned with a service at Chabad of Bondi Synagogue. Schlanger, 41, recently became a father for the fifth time. He was born in Britain but had lived in Sydney for the past 18 years.

He was a chaplain who served in prisons and hospitals, according to the Chabad movement, which represents a branch of Hasidic Jews.

Mourners cried as his body was wheeled into the synagogue inside a black coffin.

Two young women wailed with grief as they draped themselves over the casket.

“Anyone who knew him knew that he was the very best of us,” said Jewish community leader Alex Ryvchin before the funeral.

Addressing mourners at the synagogue, Schlanger’s father-in-law compared the attack at Bondi Beach to the Hamas-led invasion of southern Israel in October 2023.

“Our community suffered our own October 7. That’s what this is,” said Rabbi Yehoram Ulman. “So much pain, so much tragedy.”

Repeatedly breaking down in tears while remembering his son-in-law, Ulman said, “it’s the closest ones [to God] who are taken.”

“You became everything to me, my hands, my feet. Your dedication to me knew no limits, I could rely on you for everything,” he said.

“You were my son, my friend, my confidant…to go a day without you seems impossible.”

“After what happened, my biggest regret was — apart from, obviously, the obvious – I could have done more to tell Eli more often how much we love him, how much I love him, how much we appreciate everything that he does and how proud we are of him,” he added.

“I hope he knew that. I’m sure he knew it,” Ulman said. “But I think it should’ve been said more often.”

Ulman also called on Jews not to be afraid to publicly celebrate their faith in the wake of the massacre.

“When those animals that look like humans try and destroy us, the hope is that we will become dormant, we’ll go down and be afraid,” he said.

“That’s not the answer, he continued. “We can never, ever allow them not only to succeed, but every time they try something, we become greater and stronger.”

In that light, Ulman declared that “on the final night of Hanukkah… we’re going to gather at Bondi Beach and we’re going to show the world that the Jewish people are unbeatable.”

The crowd of mourners at the service spilled outside the synagogue. Dozens who could not get a seat gathered at the front of the venue spilling on to footpath and watched the funeral’s livestream on their phones.

Prayers in Hebrew and English were read, including one by his brother-in-law Rabbi Mendel Kastel.

One mourner Stan Gol, 44, said Schlanger was selfless, caring and would be dearly missed by his community.

Gol and Rabbi Ulman said Schlanger would often drive up to four hours each way to visit some of the state’s prisons and meet with Jewish inmates.

“We miss him dearly. He was there for everyone, he didn’t care whether you were wealthy or poor,” Gol said outside the Bondi synagogue.

At the ceremony’s close, eight police officers in ceremonial dress formed an honor guard for the hearse. The officers then led the procession down the street, followed by the black Ford hearse and a crowd of mourners.

Halfway down the street the procession paused and broke out into lamentation. Men at the front did not take their hands off the hearse while singing a nigun, a song without words.

Security was heightened at Bondi Beach, with a heavy presence of police as well as a contingent of private security guards and Jewish security services. State police cordoned off the street leading to the synagogue and conducted bag searches of attendees and media.

New South Wales state Premier Chris Minns, who has backed calls for tougher gun laws, federal opposition leader Sussan Ley and local member Allegra Spender were at the funeral. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was not at the service and said earlier he would attend funerals if he was invited.

“My heart goes out to the community today and every day,” Albanese said.

“But today particularly will be a difficult day with the first funerals underway,” he told a local radio station.

The Chabad of Bondi Synagogue will hold a second funeral for 39-year-old Rabbi Yaakov Levitan in the afternoon.

Levitan was a father of four renowned for his charitable work, the Chabad movement said.

The funeral of Matilda Britvan, the 10-year-old girl killed in the shooting, will be held on Thursday, according to an online funeral notice.