AIJAC Sydney head shares Bondi ordeal in Washington
Arsen Ostrovsky, who survived being shot in the head, finished his speech to a standing ovation
Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council Sydney office head Arsen Ostrovsky shared his experience of being shot in the head during the Bondi Beach terror attack, telling an American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) conference in Washington DC his survival was “a miracle”.
Ostrovsky, who relocated to Australia late last year with his family after 13 years in Israel, spoke about being at the Chanukah by the Sea celebration on December 14 when the attack occurred.
“I was in line for food as my family waited for me to light the first candle of Chanukah together. What happened next changed our lives forever,” Ostrovsky told the audience.
“I was shot in the head. Even saying those words today still feels so surreal. Amid the chaos of not knowing where my family were, I texted a picture to my wife with two words: love you.”
Ostrovsky showed the audience the picture, saying it was “hard to look at”.
“By a matter of millimetres I lived. The doctors told me that my survival was a miracle,” he said.
The attack killed 15 people, including 10-year-old Matilda and 87-year-old Holocaust survivor Alexander Kleytman.
Ostrovsky, an international law and human rights attorney, said he had dedicated his life to fighting for Israel in “some of the world’s most hostile arenas” including the United Nations, the Hague and the European Parliament.
He praised AIPAC’s work supporting Israel’s security while he lived there for 13 years. “Every time my family ran to our safe room and I heard the booms of the Iron Dome overhead, I knew that was the sound of your commitment,” Ostrovsky said.
“Each time that Iran launched ballistic missiles at us, it was your work that helped protect us and minimise what could have been total devastation. That is precisely why those who want to weaken Israel want to weaken you.”
He said he moved to Australia to fight for Israel and the Jewish people “from a different front” amid increasing antisemitism. “I wanted to ensure that the Australian Jewish community would stand strong,” he said.
Ostrovsky told the conference that enemies of the Jewish people were “on the march” and would try to silence Jews “in courtrooms and in newsrooms” and “marginalise us in our homes and on our streets, in the places where we worship or merely enjoy the beauty of the beach”.
“They will try to eliminate us, but we will never let them win,” he said. “Instead, we will give even more of ourselves to this work. We will stand taller, we will fight harder, and together, we will prevail. Am Yisrael Chai.”
He finished his speech to a standing ovation.
While in Washington, Ostrovsky also met with US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, senior US Senator John Fetterman, Rep. Ritchie Torres and Israel’s Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter. He also met with Rep. Brian Mast, the Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.