The words of Holocaust survivor Alex Kleytman, written to honour the memory of his mother and the fading number of camp survivors, have taken on a profound and tragic new meaning. Eighty years after the Second World War, the 87-year-old was killed in the Bondi Junction terror attack, shot while celebrating Hanukkah and, according to his family, protecting his wife.
A Life Forged in Survival and Strength
Born in Odesa, Ukraine, in 1938, Alex Kleytman's early life was shaped by conflict and displacement. When war broke out, his family fled on an arduous journey to Siberia, eventually settling in Prokopyevsk. After the war, they moved to Lviv as their Odesa home had been bombed. Decades later, as Soviet Jews known as "refuseniks," the family faced persecution when their application to emigrate to Israel was rejected. They eventually succeeded in a second attempt, arriving in Sydney in 1992.
Kleytman worked for over two decades in the commercial departments of major construction firms. In retirement, he turned to writing, driven by a mission to document Jewish history. In 2020, he published his first book, Memory Relay: Known and Unknown Jewish Heroes, funded by a crowdfunding campaign. The book, available in Russian and English, detailed the role of Jewish soldiers and resistance fighters in the Soviet Union during WWII. He recently completed a second work focusing on Jewish life in the USSR from 1948 to 1953.
A Final Celebration Interrupted by Violence
On Sunday, Alex and his wife Larisa were at Bondi Beach, partaking in a Hanukkah celebration. Larisa described the festival as a "very, very good celebration" they had observed every year since moving to Australia. The joy was shattered by the sound of gunshots. "We were standing and suddenly came the 'boom boom', and everybody fell down," Larisa recounted. "At this moment he was behind me... He pushed his body up because he wanted to stay near me."
Their daughter, Sabina, told the Washington Post that her father died "doing what he loved most." "Protecting my mother – he probably saved her life – and standing up and being a proud Jew," she said. "Lighting the light, bringing the light to this world."
Tributes to an 'Incredibly Loving' Man
The community has been united in grief and tribute. Family friend Veda Kucko, who photographed the couple, described Kleytman as an "incredibly loving, caring and selfless person." "It was a true privilege to know him, to hear his life stories, and to learn from his wisdom," she said.
At a vigil at Bondi Pavilion, Rabbi Yossi Friedman paid emotional tribute, noting the cruel irony of Kleytman's death. "He survived the horrors of the Holocaust just to be murdered here, at Bondi beach, what is supposed to be a safe space," he said.
JewishCare, the aged care provider that supported the couple, highlighted their resilience in its 2023 annual report, calling them "remarkable individuals." The report noted Alex's "harrowing" memories of struggling for survival in Siberia with his mother and younger brother.
A distant relative in Germany, Alina Abendlich, had only recently made contact with Kleytman because of his book. "It won’t come to that any more," she said of hoped-for meetings. "What remains are his words. His thoughts, his story, his voice on paper."
In the preface to his first book, Alex Kleytman dedicated his work to Jewish war heroes and to his own children and grandchildren. His hope was simple: "That they will pass the knowledge to their future children." His life, his writings, and his final act of protection now form a powerful part of that legacy, a stark reminder of the resilience he championed and the hatred he spent a lifetime confronting.
