‘He spread happiness and light’: Tributes paid to London-born rabbi named as victim of Bondi beach terror attack
Relatives said Rabbi Eli Schlanger, 41, had just welcomed his fifth child with his wife
A London-born rabbi has been named as one of the victims of the Bondi beach terrorist attack, which claimed 15 lives.
Relatives have paid tribute to Rabbi Eli Schlanger, a 41-year-old father of five, as a man who “loved helping people” after he was killed when two gunmen opened fire on families celebrating Hanukkah in Sydney.
Rabbi Schlanger, who worked at Jewish cultural centre Chabad Bondi, grew up in Temple Fortune in north London, his cousin said.
Rabbi Zalman Lewis, from Brighton, discovered his loved one was among the victims when he received a list of names of people to pray for following the atrocity.
“We are just beginning to process this,” Rabbi Lewis told Jewish News. “It makes no sense at all.
“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?
“We can only respond by doing what Eli would have wanted, what he dedicated his life to – doing more mitzvot (good deeds) and to keep spreading positive energy. To keep generating light.”
He said Rabbi Schlanger and his wife had welcomed their youngest child, a baby boy, two months ago.
He described him as “vivacious, optimistic and full of energy and life”, adding: “Eli loved helping people, encouraging people to do mitzvot. He was so bubbly, almost eccentrically so.”
Rabbi Bentzi Sudak, a colleague and family friend, added: “If Rabbi Eli were here and you asked how to best honour him, he would say that Chanukah is when we light the menorah at the darkest time of the year.
“He would ask everyone to light the menorah every night of Chanukah and urge others to do the same. He would want us to increase the brightness. To become ambassadors of light.”
According to The Australian Jewish News, Rabbi Schlanger had recently uncovered a lost chapter in his family’s history, including a great-uncle who had tragically been murdered in the Holocaust.
Another great-uncle, the late Reverend Leslie Olsberg, had also previously served as rabbi at Heaton Park Synagogue in Manchester, where two congregants were murdered in a terror attack during Yom Kippur in October.
The Metropolitan Police said it was “stepping up” patrols in the wake of the Sydney attack, as Jewish communities across London celebrate Hanukkah.
One suspected gunman was killed by police and another was wounded, New South Wales Police Force said, adding that the gunmen were father and son.
In total, 15 people were killed after the attackers opened fire on around 1,000 people who had gathered for the first day of Hanukkah at around 6.45pm.
Anthony Albanese, the Australian prime minister, said the attack was “an act of evil, antisemitism, terrorism”.
“This is a targeted attack on Jewish Australians on the first day of Hanukkah, which should be a day of joy, a celebration of faith,” he added.
“An act of evil, antisemitism, terrorism that has struck the heart of our nation, an attack on Jewish Australians is an attack on every Australian, and every Australian tonight will be like me, devastated [by] this attack on our way of life.
“There is no place for this hate, violence and terrorism in our nation. Let me be clear, we will eradicate it.”