Australia Holds First Funeral For Bondi Beach Attack Victims

Australia will hold the first funeral Wednesday for victims of the Bondi Beach mass shooting, with mourners gathering to grieve slain rabbi Eli Schlanger.

The father of five known as the "Bondi Rabbi" will be remembered in a morning service at Chabad of Bondi Synagogue, the Executive Council of Australian Jewry said.

Large crowds are expected, the group said in a statement to media.

Gunmen Sajid Akram and his son Naveed opened fire on people thronging the famous Sydney beach for the Jewish festival of Hanukkah on Sunday evening, killing 15 people and wounding dozens more.

Schlanger served as a chaplain for the New South Wales correctional service and a major hospital, according to a website of the Chabad movement, which represents a branch of Hasidic Jews and organised the Bondi event.

"Anyone who knew him knew that he was the very best of us," said Alex Ryvchin from the Executive Council of Australian Jewry.

Friends described Schlanger as "just full of light".

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