SYDNEY (AP) 鈥� Before the bloodshed and broken hearts, there was a little girl with a gentle soul, a loving grandmother who delivered meals to the needy and a young man dubbed a 鈥済olden person鈥� for his kindness. And there was an 87-year-old grandfather who sought solace in Australia after surviving the Holocaust, only to die in what officials have called .
They are among the by two gunmen during a Hanukkah celebration at Sydney鈥檚 famous . Australia鈥檚 federal police commissioner said it was a terrorist attack .
Here is a closer look at some of the victims:
The youngest victim who 鈥榮aw beauty in everyone鈥�
Matilda, a 10-year-old whose last name has been withheld at the request of her family, was the youngest person killed in the massacre.
Matilda鈥檚 language teacher, Irina Goodhew, who launched a GoFundMe for the girl鈥檚 grieving family, described her in a Facebook post as a gentle girl who saw beauty in everyone.
鈥淢atilda was a bright and loving soul who taught us that true goodness is found in the love and compassion we share,鈥� Goodhew wrote. 鈥淗er memory reminds us to carry kindness in our hearts and spread it to the world. May the light of her eyes live on through us 鈥� in our actions, our words, and our love for one another.鈥�
A husband and wife who died trying to stop the horror
Boris Gurman, 69, and his wife Sofia Gurman, 61, were to celebrate their 35th wedding anniversary in January. Instead, they are believed to be the shooters’ first victims, gunned down as they tried to stop the horror.
Boris Gurman was a retired mechanic and Sofia Gurman an employee of Australia Post, according to a statement from their relatives, passed on by the New South Wales Jewish Board of Deputies.
鈥淭ogether, they lived honest, hardworking lives and treated everyone they met with kindness, warmth and respect,鈥� the relatives said. The statement identified the Gurmans as the man and woman seen in video captured by a member of the public which has been widely shared online.
In the footage, they can be seen trying to stop one of the shooters just after the man got out of his vehicle.
鈥淲hile nothing can lessen the pain of losing Boris and Sofia, we feel an overwhelming sense of pride in their bravery and selflessness,鈥� the relatives said.
The assistant rabbi who showed a kind heart
Eli Schlanger, assistant rabbi at Chabad-Lubavitch of Bondi, organized Sunday鈥檚 Chanukah by the Sea event. He was a father of five, the youngest of whom was born just two months ago, according to Chabad, an Orthodox Jewish movement that runs outreach worldwide.
The 41-year-old, London-born Schlanger also served as chaplain to the state鈥檚 corrective services department and as a chaplain at a Sydney hospital, where he ministered to patients and families.
Schlanger would go wherever he was needed to help people including prisons, said his friend, Ben Wright.
鈥淓li was a very special person,鈥� Wright told The Associated Press while standing near a cordoned-off section of Bondi the morning after the attack, a black box containing Torah verses strapped to his arm. 鈥淗e spent a lot of his time trying to get Jews to do one good deed.鈥�
Wright, who saw friends and strangers gunned down during the attack while cradling his 6-month-old baby, said he hopes to emulate Schlanger鈥檚 goodness.
A pillar of the Jewish community known for kindness
Yaakov Levitan, a rabbi and father of four, was known for his kindness and dedication to helping others, according to the Chabad movement, which described him as a 鈥渧ital, behind-the-scenes pillar鈥� of Sydney鈥檚 Jewish community.
Originally from Johannesburg, the 39-year-old served as the general manager of Chabad of Bondi and worked with the Sydney Beth Din, or religious court.
Thoughtful volunteer who delivered meals
Marika Pogany, an 82-year-old grandmother and community volunteer, delivered thousands of kosher meals to those in need, the Federation of Jewish Communities in Hungary said in a statement.
COA, a Sydney volunteer service for Jewish seniors, said in an Instagram post that Pogany was part of the 鈥渂eating heart of COA and a source of warmth for thousands of people.鈥�
鈥淔or 29 years she arrived at COA with her quiet smile and her steady kindness,鈥� COA wrote. 鈥淪he lifted the room simply by being in it. She asked for nothing and gave everything.鈥�
Zuzana 膶aputov谩, the former president of Slovakia, called her 鈥淢arika鈥� and described Pogany as her 鈥渓ong-term close friend鈥� who had visited Slovakia every year since 1989.
A 鈥榞olden person鈥� with a talent for soccer
Dan Elkayam, a 27-year-old French national described by his brother as 鈥渁 golden person,鈥� was a talented soccer player who lived with his girlfriend in Sydney鈥檚 eastern suburbs.
Elkayam鈥檚 brother, J茅r茅mie Elkayam, told broadcaster France Info that his brother was 鈥渟omeone extraordinary 鈥� who profited from life, wasn鈥檛 at all materialistic, who understood the value of things and who loved to travel.鈥�
鈥淲e are four brothers and, of the four, for me he was the kindest of us,鈥� J茅r茅mie Elkayam said.
Sydney soccer club Rockdale Ilinden FC said in a statement that Elkayam was an extremely talented and popular player with the club鈥檚 Premier League team who 鈥渨ill be sorely missed by his teammates and everyone that knew him.鈥�
鈥淭hose who were closest to him described him as a down to earth, happy go lucky individual who was warmly embraced by those he met,鈥� club President Dennis Loether said.
French Foreign Minister Jean-No毛l Barrot wrote in a post on X that Elkayam鈥檚 death was 鈥測et another tragic manifestation of a revolting surge in antisemitic hatred that we must defeat.鈥�
Retired police officer considered a rugby club 鈥榣egend鈥�
Peter Meagher, known to friends as 鈥淢arzo,鈥� was a retired police officer and a team manager and beloved volunteer at Randwick rugby club, which condemned the 鈥渁bhorrent targeted attack on our Jewish community” in a statement Monday and called Meagher an 鈥渁bsolute legend in our club.鈥�
Meagher was working as a freelance photographer at the Bondi Hanukkah event, the club said, noting his presence was 鈥渟imply a catastrophic case of being in the wrong place and at the wrong time.鈥�
A photograph with the statement showed 鈥淢arzo鈥� written in chalk on a rugby field, along with a team jersey.
Heroic bystander who tried to stop the violence
Reuven Morrison, 62, was killed while trying to stop one of the shooters, according to his daughter, Sheina Gutnick.
Gutnick told CBS 草莓传媒 that her father is the person seen in widely circulated video footage throwing objects at the gunman, which Gutnick said were bricks, after another passerby, , wrestled the gun away from the shooter.
鈥淚 believe after Ahmed managed to get the gun off the terrorist, my father had then gone to try and unjam the gun, to try and attempt shooting. He was screaming at the terrorist,鈥� she said.
Morrison migrated to Australia from the Soviet Union five decades ago to escape antisemitic persecution. He thought Australia would be safe, Gutnick said.
鈥淭his is where he was going to have a family, where he is going to live a life away from persecution,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd for many years, he did do that; he lived a wonderful, free life. Until Australia turned on him.鈥�
The Holocaust survivor who protected his wife
Alex Kleytman was an 87-year-old Holocaust survivor who had moved to Australia from Ukraine.
鈥淚 have no husband. I don鈥檛 know where is his body,鈥� his wife Larisa Kleytman told reporters outside a Sydney hospital Sunday. 鈥淣obody can give me any answer.鈥�
Larisa told The Australian newspaper that her husband died while protecting her.
鈥淲e were standing and suddenly came the 鈥榖oom boom鈥�, and everybody fell down,鈥� she said. 鈥淎t 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.鈥�
The couple survived 鈥渢he unspeakable terror of the Holocaust鈥� as children before moving to Australia, according to a 2023 report by JewishCare, a service provider for Australia鈥檚 Jewish community.
A grandfather filled with family pride
Tibor Weitzen, a 78-year-old grandfather who saw the best in people, migrated to Australia from Israel in 1988, his granddaughter said.
鈥淢y grandfather was truly the best you could ask for,鈥� Leor Amzalak told the Australian Broadcasting Corp., the country鈥檚 public broadcaster. 鈥淗e was so proud of us 鈥� and loved us more than life itself.鈥�
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Charlotte Graham-McLay in Wellington, Panagiotis Pylas in Sydney, John Leicester in Paris, Justin Spike in Budapest, Hungary, and Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Israel, contributed to this report.
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