Holocaust survivor identified among victims of terrorist shooting at Hanukkah event in Sydney

14 December 2025 , 20:20

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Larissa Kleytman has spoken after her husband, Alex, was shot in the Bondi Beach attack ( Image: DEAN LEWINS/EPA/Shutterstock)

A Bondi Beach terrorist attack victim who was shot in the head has been identified as a Holocaust survivor.

Alex Kleytman, a Ukrainian native who survived the genocide during World War Two, has been identified as a victim of the mass shooting at a Hanukkah event in Sydney, Australia. His wife, Larisa Kleytman, told The Australian her husband of five decades was killed while trying to save her life. She said that he "came on Bondi Beach to celebrate Hanukkah, for us it was always a very, very good celebration, for many, many years".

Mrs Kleytman continued: "We were standing and suddenly came the ’boom boom’, and everybody fell down. At this moment he was behind me and at one moment he decided to go close to me. He pushed his body up because he wanted to stay near me."

The couple have two children and 11 grandchildren, according to the Daily Mail. The mass shooting has left at least 11 people dead and 29 injured, including a child and two police officers, New South Wales Police said. Eli Schlanger, a British-born rabbi, was among those killed in the horrific attack, his family confirmed. Police declared the attack a "terrorist incident" and confirmed one of the gunmen was killed and a second suspect is in critical condition. 

Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called the shooting a targeted attack on Australians on what should have been a "day of joy". "An act of evil antisemitism, terrorism that has struck the heart of our nation," he said.

Emma Davis

Deputy Editor