9 Victims Of Sydney Terrorist Attack Named

She told an Australian news outlet that Alex, a retired civil engineer, was at the beach to celebrate Hanukkah, a holiday which she said “was always a very, very good celebration, for many, many years.”

“Today in the middle of the celebrations [there were] shots, and unfortunately my husband was killed,” she recounted. “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.”

Dan Elkayam, 27, immigrated to Sydney from France last year for work.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot confirmed that Elkayam was among those killed, writing on X that the country felt “immense sadness” at the news, and was mourning “with his family and loved ones, with the Jewish community and the bereaved Australian people.”

Elkayam, a Paris native, moved to Australia last December, according to the Le Parisien newspaper. His LinkedIn account showed that he had been working as an IT analyst at NBCUniversal. He also played soccer for a local team.

The Sydney-based soccer club, Rockdale Ilinden FC, said in a statement on Facebook that Elkayam, 27, was a “Frenchman of Jewish faith” and “an extremely talented midfield player” with a passion for soccer. The club said he lived in eastern Sydney with his girlfriend and “loved the Australian way of life

Rabbi Yaakov Halevi Levitan was a Chabad emissary and the secretary of the Sydney Beth Din religious court. He worked at the BINA Center, a Jewish educational institution in Sydney.

According to a Jewish news site, Levitan distributed tefillin to those committed to performing the Jewish rite.

The Chabad news site COLlive said that Levitan hailed from Johannesburg, South Africa, had a bachelor’s degree in business management from the University of South Africa, and also later studied at the Mayanot Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem.

He also founded a company called tapNgive, which provided donation kiosk solutions for charities and nonprofits, it said.

He was described on the site as “a dedicated, behind-the-scenes worker whose quiet professionalism and commitment were essential to the functioning of Sydney’s Jewish institutions.”

Levitin was critically injured in the attack and later died of his wounds.

Reuven Morrison, 62, an immigrant to Australia from the former Soviet Union, “discovered his Jewish identity in Sydney,” Chabad said, and remained deeply connected to the Jewish community there even after moving to Melbourne.

Morrison’s family relocated to Melbourne for his daughter’s schooling, Chabad said, but he continued to split his time between the two cities and worked primarily in Sydney.

Morrison was a “successful businessman,” Chabad recounted, and he donated generously to charitable causes, including Chabad of Bondi.

The COLlive site said Morrison moved to Sydney in the 1970s as a teenager, and “was known as a kind and generous activist and philanthropist.” He is survived by his wife, Leah, and daughter, Shaina Gutnick.

The youngest victim of the attack was identified as a 10-year-old girl.

Local outlets named the girl as Matilda (Her parents requested not to name her family). She was a student at the Harmony Russian School in Sydney and had been attending the Chanukah by the Sea event.

“Her memory will remain in our hearts, and we honor her life and the time she spent as part of our school family,” the school posted on Facebook, saying it will remember her “with love, grief, and deep sorrow, and we honor her memory by standing together in compassion.”

A GoFundMe page set up by one of Matilda’s teachers, Irina Goodhew, aims to raise money for her mother.

“I knew her as a bright, joyful, and spirited child who brought light to everyone around her,” Goodhew wrote. “Yesterday, while celebrating Hanukkah, her young life was tragically taken. Her memory will live on in our hearts.”

Tibor Weitzen, 78, was a father, grandfather and great-grandfather who was a beloved member of the local Jewish community and Chabad.

His granddaughter, Leor Amzalak, told the Australian ABC news outlet that “my grandfather was truly the best you could ask for.” She said that he “was so proud of us… and loved us more than life itself.”

She said that he moved to Australia from Israel in 1988.

“He only saw the best in people and will be dearly missed,” she added.

He was killed as he tried to protect a family friend from gunfire, according to COLlive, a Chabad-focused publication.

The publication said he was a “sweet grandpa” who served as the “lollipop man” in synagogue, giving sweets to children.

A retired policeman and long-time rugby volunteer, Peter Meagher , was struck down while working as a freelance photographer at the Hanukkah event, Randwick Rugby Club said in a statement.

“‘Marzo’ as he was universally known, was a much loved figure and absolute legend in our club, with decades of voluntary involvement, he was one of the heart and soul figures of Randwick Rugby,” the club said.

“The tragic irony is that he spent so long in the dangerous front line as a Police Officer and was struck down in retirement while taking photos in his passion role is really hard to comprehend,” it said.

“For him, it was simply a catastrophic case of being in the wrong place and at the wrong time.”

Meagher had also trained as a divemaster with Abyss Scuba Diving in the Sydney suburb of Ramsgate in 2005 and worked regularly for the centre for some 10 years.

“He was a valued part of our dive community and a familiar, friendly face to many,” stated Abyss. “Our thoughts are with his family, friends and everyone who knew and dived with him.”

Marika Pogany, 82, a grandmother, was named on Monday as another victim in the Hanukkah shooting.

According to Kidma, a Hungarian Jewish organization, Pogany had roots in Hungary and stayed connected to her heritage.

In 2019, she was honored with the Jewish Communal Appeal’s “Mensch Award” for delivering more than 12,000 kosher “Meals on Wheels” over more than 20 years.

She was also a longtime member of the Harbour View Bridge Club.

“She was a terrific person, excellent bridge player, and an even better friend. Incredibly loyal. I knew her for 40 years,” Matt Mullamphy, director of the Harbour View Bridge Club, told the Sydney Morning Herald.

Pogany was seen in photos at the Hanukkah event sitting and smiling in the front row.

The Jewish community of Komárno, in present-day Slovakia, wrote on Facebook that Pogany would attend a Holocaust memorial event with the community every year.