The Sydney Jewish community is reeling from the murder of Rabbi Yaakov Levitan Hy”d, a Chabad shliach who was killed in today’s terror attack.
Widely regarded as a devoted behind-the-scenes contributor, Rabbi Levitan played an integral role in the daily functioning of several of Sydney’s key Jewish institutions. Community leaders noted that his professionalism, reliability, and quiet dedication were indispensable to communal life.
Among his many responsibilities, Rabbi Levitan served as Secretary of the Sydney Beth Din, where he worked closely with rabbanim in an administrative and operational role, helping facilitate rabbinical proceedings and a wide range of communal matters.
He was also deeply involved with the BINA Library and Educational Resource Centre, acting as an administrator responsible for daily operations, budgeting, audit coordination, marketing efforts, and supervision of educational and religious services, including BINA Sofer Services.
In addition to his institutional work, Rabbi Levitan founded and owned tapNgive, a Sydney-based venture that introduced tap-and-pay donation kiosks for charities and nonprofit organizations, modernizing and streamlining charitable giving across the Jewish community and beyond.
Originally from Johannesburg, South Africa, Rabbi Levitan held a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Business Management from the University of South Africa. He later pursued Rabbinic and Talmudic Studies at the Mayanot Institute of Jewish Studies in Yerushalayim.
Yehi zchro boruch.
{Matzav.com}
The Jewish communities of Sydney and Melbourne are mourning the loss of R’ Reuven Morrison Hy”d, who was killed in the terror shooting in Sydney.
R’ Reuven, 62, was a member of the Chabad community who split his time between Melbourne and Sydney, remaining deeply connected to both cities through his business dealings and communal involvement.
Originally from the former Soviet Union, Morrison emigrated to Australia as a teenager in the 1970s and later settled in the Bondi area of Sydney, where he became well known for his kindness, generosity, and philanthropic activism.
Last year, Morrison spoke publicly to the media about rising antisemitism in Australia, drawing on his own experiences growing up under Soviet rule. “Walking around the streets in the USSR we always looked back, we were aware of our environment, and we expected the unexpected,” Mr. Morrison said in December 2024.
He explained that Jews who left the USSR, particularly those of his generation, had lived under constant pressure and intimidation, both from the authorities and from society at large.
Yet he expressed disbelief that similar fears were now being felt in Australia. “We came here with the view that Australia is the safest country in the world and the Jews would not be faced with such anti-Semitism in the future, where we can bring up our kids in a safe environment.”
Despite residing primarily in Melbourne in recent years, Morrison remained closely tied to Sydney, where he continued his business activities and maintained strong communal bonds.
He is survived by his wife, Leah, his daughter, Shaina Gutnick, and his grandchildren.
{Matzav.com}
The terror attack targeting the Chabad Chanukah gathering in Bondi, Sydney, claimed the life of Alex Kleytman Hy”d, a Holocaust survivor and husband, father, and grandfather, authorities confirmed on Sunday.
Kleytman, a retired civil engineer, had gone to Bondi Beach to attend the long-running Chanukah at the Sea event when gunfire erupted, fatally wounding him.
His wife, Larisa, with whom he shared five decades of marriage, described the horrifying moments leading up to his death, saying she believes he was killed while trying to protect her. “I think he was shot because he raised himself up to protect me,” she told reporters.
Recalling the scene, Larisa said the couple had come as they did every year. “He came to Bondi Beach to celebrate Chanukah, for us it 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 described the sudden chaos as gunfire rang out. “We were standing and suddenly came the ‘boom boom’, and everybody fell down,” she said. “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.”
Alex and Larisa Kleytman emigrated to Australia from Ukraine, where they went on to build a family that included two children and 11 grandchildren.
{Matzav.com}
In the aftermath of the deadly terror attack in Sydney, Australia, Ivanka Trump shared a public message, offering words of reflection and solidarity as the Jewish world marked the beginning of Chanukah.
The daughter of President Donald Trump drew on the spiritual themes of Chanukah, emphasizing the urgent need for moral clarity, compassion, and light in a time marked by violence and loss.
“As Jews around the world gather around our menorahs on this first night of Hanukkah, we are reminded how desperately the world needs more light and more Kiddush Hashem (sanctification of G-d’s name),” she wrote.
Addressing the human toll of recent attacks, Trump said the “heartbreaking tragedies in Bondi Beach, Australia, and at Brown University” are deeply painful to contemplate, adding that it is “unimaginable to fathom the pain these families are enduring.” She noted that “our hearts are with every loved one affected.”
She went on to connect the events to the enduring message of the Yom Tov, writing that Chanukah teaches that “even in the darkest moments, a single flame has the power to push back overwhelming darkness.” Trump said the act of lighting the menorah should honor those who were killed, stand in solidarity with grieving families, and reflect a renewed commitment to “bring more compassion, integrity, and holiness into the world.”
She concluded by urging people everywhere to strive to become “a source of light where it is most needed.”
{Matzav.com}
Australia is reeling after a mass shooting at Bondi Beach, where thousands had gathered to celebrate Chanukah in what authorities say is the country’s deadliest firearms attack in decades.
Police believe the assault was carried out by a father and son who legally possessed multiple firearms, despite Australia’s strict gun control laws.
The suspects have been identified as 24-year-old Naveed Akram and a 50-year-old man believed to be his father, according to officials who addressed the case on Monday.
During a confrontation with responding officers, the older suspect was fatally shot at the scene, while Akram was critically injured and remains hospitalized under police guard.
Investigators say the two men are responsible for the deaths of at least 15 people, with victims ranging in age from 10 to 87. Authorities believe the majority of those killed were Jewish and had been participating in Chanukah-related events at the beach.
Law enforcement officials disclosed that the pair jointly owned at least six firearms, all of which were legally licensed.
Preliminary findings indicate the attackers used a combination of shotguns and a bolt-action rifle, weapons that remain legal under Australia’s tightly regulated firearms framework.
Australia imposed sweeping gun restrictions following the 1996 Port Arthur massacre, banning semi-automatic rifles and implementing rigorous registration and purchase requirements nationwide.
Despite those measures, the Bondi Beach shooting now stands as the most lethal mass gun attack in Australia since Port Arthur, which claimed 35 lives and left 24 others injured.
{Matzav.com}
U.S. intelligence officials are sounding alarms that foreign cyber intrusions are accelerating at the same time artificial intelligence is making hacking operations faster and easier to scale.
AI firm Anthropic recently disclosed that it shut down what researchers described as a Chinese-linked operation that used an AI system to help automate and direct hacking activity. While that effort was relatively limited and targeted roughly 30 individuals, experts warned that the pace at which AI-assisted cyber capabilities are advancing is deeply concerning.
Against that backdrop, warnings are growing that Chinese intelligence has not been expelled from U.S. telecommunications infrastructure. Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia said Chinese operatives remain embedded in American telecom systems as part of an operation known as “Salt Typhoon,” which he said has been underway for at least two years.
Speaking at a Defense Writers Group event, Warner said Chinese intelligence is “still inside” U.S. networks, enabling access to vast amounts of American communications. He cautioned that without encryption, hackers could effectively “pick any one of us,” tapping into unprotected phone traffic. He pointed to comments from national security adviser Jake Sullivan, who previously described the breach as notable for its “sheer scale of access,” according to the Financial Times.
Warner said a recent classified briefing only deepened his concerns. He described the session as “really frustrating,” saying it left him puzzled by sharply conflicting assessments from federal agencies. According to Warner, the FBI portrayed telecom systems as “pretty clean,” while other intelligence bodies, citing multiple internal documents, insisted the intrusions are ongoing.
Those warnings echo earlier alerts from U.S. intelligence agencies. In September, the National Security Agency cautioned that Chinese cyber operations linked to Salt Typhoon continued to penetrate virtually all internet-connected systems and devices.
Warner argued that the depth of the problem is rooted in years of regulatory complacency and aggressive cost-cutting by telecom companies. He said the result is a fragmented network built for speed and profit rather than security, leaving consumers to bear the consequences. In his view, U.S. systems are more exposed than those in Canada or Europe.
To address the risks, Warner has advocated for legislation that would require telecom providers to comply with baseline cybersecurity standards. But he acknowledged that the effort faces stiff opposition, largely because upgrading networks could cost billions of dollars, including the expense of ripping out and replacing outdated equipment.
The senator also warned that failure to act invites other adversaries to follow China’s lead. He said Russia is already probing the same weaknesses exposed by Salt Typhoon, calling it an expected move when enemies see vulnerabilities that Washington and industry have not decisively addressed.
While assigning blame across party lines for slow progress, Warner criticized what he described as a damaging shift in federal priorities. He said the FBI redirected significant manpower away from counterespionage and counterterrorism toward immigration enforcement.
Former CIA China analyst Dennis Wilder echoed those concerns, telling the Financial Times that staff reductions at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency have undermined the government’s ability to respond effectively, even as threats to U.S. telecommunications continue to grow.
China has repeatedly denied that its Ministry of State Security is responsible for hacking U.S. telecom networks, according to the report.
{Matzav.com}
