Australia Mourns Youngest Victim of Bondi Beach Shooting
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Australia, Hanukkah and Bondi Beach
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Mourners on Thursday laid to rest the youngest victim of the Bondi Beach attack in Sydney: 10-year-old Matilda, who had been enjoying the Hanukkah festivities with her family when the gunmen opened fire.
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Bondi Beach Shooting Suspect Charged with 15 Counts of Murder After Terror Attack at Hanukkah Event
Authorities in Australia have charged a 24-year-old man in connection with the shooting at a Hanukkah celebration in Bondi Beach on Dec. 14 that killed 15 people and injured 41 others, including four children.
Hundreds had gathered for an event at Bondi Beach called Chanukah by the Sea, which was celebrating the start of the Hanukkah Jewish festival.
Police and local media reports said the shooting began while some people were attending a Hanukkah party on the beach. At least 40 people were hospitalized.
Bondi may forever carry the mournful memory of a deadly terror attack. But CNA found that on the ground, a community in grief is resolute that Australia’s most famous beach will not be tarnished by terror.
People of all ages had been looking forward to celebrating — especially this year, as a ceasefire in Gaza has held since October and all but one of the hostages taken by Hamas-led militants have been returned.
The first funeral for one of the victims of the Bondi Beach shooting has taken place in Sydney, with thousands gathering to mourn Rabbi Eli Schlanger. He was among 15 people killed when two gunmen, alleged to have been motivated by Islamic State ideology, opened fire on a festival marking the first day of Hanukkah.
Originally from Melbourne, Australia, Rabbi Areyah Kaltmann is now the director of Chabad Columbus. Marked among the dead was Rabbi Eli Schlanger, the brother-in-law of one of Kaltmann's friends from when he studied at the Rabbinical College of Australia & New Zealand.