His son is reportedly “not out of the woods” yet after being hit in the calf by flying shrapnel, according to a close friend of Chayala.
The friend, Sorella, told reporters that Chayala – who in the chaos was shielding her two-month-old baby while pleading with a local nurse and a surfer to continue CPR on her husband – did not realise a bullet had grazed her back because of the adrenaline.
The vehicle that carries the coffin of Rabbi Eli Schlanger leaves the Chabad of Bondi Synagogue, December 17, 2025 (Credit: George Chan/Getty Images)Getty Images
One of the shooters, Naveed Akram, 24, awoke on Tuesday night after a 48-hour coma. The second shooter, and Naveed’s father, Sajid, 50, was shot dead by police during the terror attack. The pair were allegedly inspired by the Isis to carry out the atrocity, which is now the deadliest antisemitic terrorist attack in Australian history.
Speaking at Schlanger’s funeral on Wednesday, which was attended by thousands, Rabbi Levi Wolff said his death was an “unspeakable loss” for the community and “the entire Jewish nation”.
Opening the service, Wolff said: “Spreading love and joy and caring for his people with endless self-sacrifice in his life and in his death, he towered above as one of the highest and holiest souls.”
Family members of Rabbi Eli Schlanger, who was killed in the December 14 Bondi beach shooting attack, lean over his coffin during his funeral at the Chabad of Bondi Synagogue, December 17, 2025 (Credit: Hollie ADAMS / POOL / AFP via Getty Images)POOL/AFP via Getty Images
Rabbi Yehoram Ulman, Schlanger’s father-in-law, referred to him as “my son, my friend, my confidant.
“I hope he knew that, but I think it should have been said more often.”
Ulman also urged Jewish people not to hide away and said Chabad Bondi would continue a 31-year-old tradition of lighting the final Chanukah candle on Bondi Beach.
Alex Ryvchin, Australian Council of Jewry’s chief executive and a close friend of Schlanger, who was 41, said he would regularly drive around in his car helping “people light candles, and he would help old people and prisoners and jailers in remote parts of the state. That’s all he did.”
“Anyone who knew him knew that he was the very best of us,” he added.
People participate in a candlelight vigil at Bondi Pavilion at Bondi Beach, December 16, 2025 (Credit: Audrey Richardson/Getty Images)Getty Images
The funeral of Rabbi Yaakov Levitan, 39, also took place on Wednesday.
Eulogising the father of four, Rabbi Michoel Gourarie said Levitan’s death was “our complete and devastating heartache.”
The funeral of 10-year-old Matilda, the youngest victim of the attack, will take place on Thursday.
