First responder testimony shows Israel-trained resilience defeating terror through unity, lifesaving action, and Jewish spirit.
Rabbi Mendy Litzman, head of Hatzolah Sydney, has delivered a harrowing firsthand account of the Bondi Beach terror attack, revealing how Israeli-style emergency training and Jewish resolve saved lives amid chaos.
Speaking to Arutz Sheva – Israel National News, Rabbi Litzman described how a peaceful Hanukkah gathering instantly turned into a nightmare. The first sign of disaster came over the radio: a responder screaming, “I’ve been shot. Send me backup now.” For a moment, disbelief set in—guns are not supposed to exist in Sydney. Then reality struck.
Within seconds, Hatzolah teams were deployed. For Rabbi Litzman, a 27-year veteran first responder, the scene was unlike anything he had ever encountered. Victims cried out for help from every direction. Panic, bloodshed, and terror filled the air, yet training took over. There was no time to think—only to act.
That training, he emphasized, was shaped heavily by Israel.
Repeated emergency-response drills in Israel, alongside experience in Australia and New York, forged the instinctive reactions that proved decisive. “The muscle memory just kicks in,” he explained. “You don’t think—you just do. You save as many lives as possible.”
The emotional toll was immense. Rabbi Litzman personally knew many of the wounded and fallen, including a rabbi who went into cardiac arrest. Jews and police officers lay injured together—victims of the same terror that has targeted Israelis for decades.
Exhausted and still sleepless days later, Rabbi Litzman said the global outpouring of support strengthened him. “It reminds you we’re one family. The Jewish nation is one family.”
The massacre inevitably evoked memories of October 7, 2023, when Hamas terrorists slaughtered Israelis—and of the heroes who ran toward danger to save others. That same spirit, he said, guided Hatzolah responders in Sydney.
What sustains him is knowing lives were saved. Terror, he insisted, does not win. Like Hanukkah itself, light ultimately defeats darkness. Jews will not hide, will not surrender pride, and will continue saving lives—for everyone, regardless of religion, race, or background.
That, Rabbi Litzman declared, is how terrorism is defeated.
