Reuben Morrison, a longtime member of the Chabad community in Australia and a vocal advocate against rising antisemitism, was among the 15 people killed in the deadly Hanukkah attack at Bondi Beach in Sydney, authorities confirmed.
Morrison, believed to be about 62 at the time of his death, immigrated to Australia in the 1970s as a teenager from the former Soviet Union. He had previously spoken publicly about his deep concerns over growing antisemitic violence in Australia.
In a December 2024 interview with Australia's ABC network—given after a synagogue was set on fire in Melbourne—Morrison reflected on his past experiences and expressed fears for the Jewish community’s future in the country.
“Walking around the streets in the USSR we always looked back, we were aware of our environment, and we expected the unexpected,” he said. “It is nothing new to us.”
Morrison said that when his family arrived in Australia, they believed it to be one of the safest places in the world for Jews. “We came here with the view that Australia is the safest country in the world and the Jews would not be faced with such antisemitism in the future, where we can bring up our kids in a safe environment,” he said. “There is a feeling of being scared, when people are taking their kids to kindergarten and school, they do not know what kind of events can take place. It is unpredictable. They have not experienced this before.”
The attack at Bondi Beach
(From social media)
In the same interview, he described a strong sense of solidarity within Australia’s Jewish community in the face of a rise in antisemitic incidents following the October 7 Hamas massacre in Israel, which sparked anti-Israel demonstrations—some featuring violent rhetoric. “They understand the beginning of antisemitic feelings in any shape or form should not be acceptable because it really is a fertile ground to grow something else,” he warned.
Morrison’s warning, however, appeared to go largely unheeded. The Labor-led Australian government has been criticized by Jewish leaders not only for failing to curb antisemitic attacks and unrest, but also for recognizing a Palestinian state in recent months, seen by some as yielding to pressure from anti-Israel demonstrators.
Morrison was killed Sunday during a candlelighting event for the first night of Hanukkah, organized by the Chabad community at Sydney’s famed Bondi Beach. He died alongside at least 14 others in what has been described as one of the deadliest antisemitic attacks in Australian history.