20‑Year‑Old Texas Rabbi Shot at Bondi Beach Hanukkah Mass Shooting Is Now Stable After Surgery

A 20‑year‑old Texas rabbi was shot during the Bondi Beach Hanukkah mass shooting over the weekend, and he is now in stable condition after a series of surgeries to remove shrapnel.

Leibel Lazaroff’s Condition

Leibel Lazaroff, a 20‑year‑old College Station man, was shot twice at the Bondi Beach Hanukkah mass shooting. His brother, Rabbi Menachem Lazaroff, said, “Obviously Australia is far away,” Menachem said, “What I do know is he’s [in the] ICU, he’s intubated. He’s in critical condition. He is stable. He just had another surgery. They removed shrapnel from his abdomen and leg. He was hit twice. His liver is damaged, his ribs are damaged, a lot of his internal tissue is damaged. The doctors are expecting him to make it, and obviously, thank God for that.”

Leibel’s injuries included damage to his liver, ribs, and internal tissue, and he underwent a surgery to remove shrapnel from his abdomen and leg. He is currently in the ICU, intubated, and in critical but stable condition.

Family and Community Response

Leibel was in Australia for one year “to spread light and joy,” according to Menachem. He was volunteering around the community, doing different things, including helping to set up this menorah lighting that obviously turned out to be such a tragedy,” Menachem explained.

Menachem, who is an educational director and campus rabbi in College Station, said the campus rallied around the Jewish community after the shooting. “There’s so much good in this world, and there’s also so much evil. And that is really the message of Hanukkah, is to light that menorah, to light that candle,” Menachem said. “We just had our menorah lighting on campus yesterday, and so many people showed up and the president of the Texas A&M University came and spoke and that was obviously very moving.”

Yossi Lazaroff, Menachem’s father, has led Chabad at Texas A&M since 2007. He booked a flight to Sydney to visit his son in the hospital. Menachem and Leibel were raised by Yossi.

Resilience in the Face of Tragedy

Among the confirmed deceased is Rabbi Eli Schlanger, who Leibel was working under in Australia. Rabbi Yossi Zaklikofsky, leader of the Shul of Bellaire, said, “If I had the ability to ask Rabbi Eli Schlanger right now, if we should retreat or if we should decrease in our celebrations of the holiday because of this tragedy, he would say: ‘Absolutely not. You should go ahead with all the plans that you have and you should even double down and you should do so with greater numbers and even larger and greater than whatever you had planned before,’” Zaklikofsky said.

He added, “From the first time [Hanukkah] was celebrated, it marks — celebrates — the overcoming of the few over the many, the weak over the strong and those who had the spirit of Judaism on their side,” Zaklikofsky said. “That’s what it was then, and that’s what it is today. And we’re going to light our menorahs, and just because the world has been darkened by this tragedy, it doesn’t mean we’re not going to put forth the light that we can.”

Menachem concluded, “We’re proud of who we are,” Menachem said. “The goal of terrorism is always to try to make you cower and fear and be despondent and shut down. They try to make us disappear. That’s what the Greeks tried to do over 2,000 years ago (according) to the story of Hanukkah, and we’re not going anywhere. We’re going to light our menorah.”

Key Takeaways

• Leibel Lazaroff is in stable condition after surgery to remove shrapnel.
• The campus and community rallied with a menorah lighting to honor the tragedy.
• Leaders emphasize resilience and doubling down on celebrations despite the loss.

The incident highlights the impact of terrorism and the enduring spirit of the Jewish community in the face of tragedy.