Chabad Jewish Center of Cranberry pays tribute to Bondi Beach shooting victims
The Chabad Jewish Center of Cranberry came together on Tuesday to pay respects to the victims of a weekend attack that targeted Australia's Bondi Beach Jewish community's Hanukkah celebration.
Australian authorities have called the mass shooting that killed 15 people an antisemitic terror attack.
On Tuesday, the Chabad Jewish Center of Cranberry community stood in solidarity and lit a menorah in honor of 20-year-old Rabbi Leibel Lazaroff, who was shot in the stomach and leg. His family said it is a miracle that he is alive.
"The good news is he is in the ICU, and he is recovering, although he has a long road to recovery," Rabbi Yossi Feller of the Chabad Jewish Center of Cranberry said.
Feller received the devastating news from his sister, who is Lazaroff's sister in law.
"Thank God he's doing better than he was yesterday," Feller said on Tuesday. "He's awake and responding.
"They put him to sleep, and they did a few emergency surgeries. I think they are still doing some more emergency surgeries to remove the shrapnel from him."
Lazaroff recently moved to Sydney. He helped organize the Hanukkah celebration.
"He remembers everything that happened," Feller said.
Days later, a call for unity from the Jewish community.
"It's not just an attack on one Jew," Fuli Markel, of Squirrell Hill, said. "It's on all Jews, the entire Jewish people. So, we have to come back stronger and prouder."
They're sending prayers for those injured and the families of those killed.
"It's important for us to come together as a community and to just stay strong," Alex Mestre, of Pine Township, said.
"We are not going to let those evil doers have a victory," Feller said.