Holocaust Survivor Murdered By Jihadists While Shielding Wife During Beach Mass Shooting

A Holocaust survivor who escaped Nazi persecution was shot dead while trying to protect his wife during a mass shooting at a Hanukkah celebration on Bondi Beach, leaving 12 people dead.

Alex Kleytman fell to the ground after gunfire erupted at the Chanukah by the Sea event Sunday night in Sydney, The Australian reported. His wife Larisa watched helplessly as her husband of 57 years collapsed behind her.

“He pushed his body up because he wanted to stay near me,” Larisa told The Australian at the scene. “His body is still there, and I am sitting there and don’t know what I have to do.”

The retired civil engineer survived horrific conditions in Siberia during World War II alongside his mother and younger brother before immigrating to Australia from Ukraine. He and Larisa shared their Holocaust experiences with Australian Jewish charity Jewish Care in 2023. (RELATED: Unarmed Hero Wrestles Gun Away From Suspected Terrorist Shooter, Video Shows)

My statement on the Bondi shooting attack. pic.twitter.com/LRAbMpcUEm

— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) December 14, 2025

Rabbi Eli Schlanger, a father of five whose youngest child was born six weeks ago, also died in the attack. The Chabad emissary organized the beach celebration and urged friends to join him for the candlelighting just hours before the shooting.

“How can a joyful rabbi who went to a beach to spread happiness and light, to make the world a better place, have his life ended in this way?” his cousin Zalman Lewis asked Jewish News.

An Israeli citizen was among the victims, according to the country’s foreign ministry. Another Israeli was injured in the attack.

Police killed one of the alleged gunmen at the scene. NSW Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon said he does not believe any children were killed. Twenty-nine people were injured, including two police officers.