In call with sister of Sydney hero Gefen Bitton, Herzog praises his ‘courage under fire’

President Isaac Herzog meets with Chancellor of Germany Friedrich Merz at the President's Residence in Jerusalem, December 6, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
President Isaac Herzog meets with Chancellor of Germany Friedrich Merz at the President's Residence in Jerusalem, December 6, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

President Isaac Herzog speaks to the family members of those affected by the terror attack a week ago at a Hanukkah gathering in Sydney, Australia, his office says.

Herzog calls Rabbi Yehoram Ulman, whose son-in-law, Rabbi Eli Schlanger, was murdered in the attack, and Tirosh Levi, whose brother, Gefen Bitton, was seriously wounded when he ran toward one of the gunmen to confront him.

In his call with Levi, Herzog praised Bitton’s “exceptional courage under fire,” his office says, and sent his best wishes for a speedy recovery.

During his conversation with Ulman, the president wished a speedy recovery to Schlanger’s wife and baby, who were also wounded, and conveyed “a message of strength and solidarity to the entire Jewish community of Sydney,” his office says.

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