Bondi survivor visits Rebbe’s resting place
Super had made a promise to himself in the immediate aftermath of the shooting: 'As soon as I can travel, I'm going to the Ohel'
Bondi Beach terror attack survivor Yanky Super visited the Rebbe’s Ohel in New York on Tuesday alongside Australia’s Ambassador to the United States Kevin Rudd.
The visit by Rudd, a former prime minister, marks the first visit by a current or former Australian prime minister to the Rebbe’s resting place, according to Chabad.org.
Super, a 24-year-old Hatzalah paramedic who was shot in the back during the December 14 attack — collapsing his lung — spent five days in intensive care at Royal North Shore Hospital and weeks in recovery before being discharged. He still has shrapnel lodged in his body that surgeons deemed too dangerous to remove.
Super had made a promise to himself in the immediate aftermath of the shooting, telling his brother Shmuel when he woke from his first surgery: “As soon as I can travel, I’m going to the Ohel.” He arrived directly from the airport, making the Ohel his first stop after landing in New York, just seven weeks after being shot.
He was accompanied by close friend Rabbi Mendy Berger, who shielded children during the attack before ushering them to safety in his car.
Rudd told Super and Berger before they entered the Ohel: “The reason I’m here this morning is to honour all of you as you ‘walk through the valley in the shadow of death.’ I understand that these are hard things that you went through and you got through. In any way that my being here is useful, I’m here to support.”
Rudd’s visit places him alongside a list of world leaders who have visited the site, including US President Donald Trump, Argentine President Javier Milei and Israeli President Isaac Herzog, according to Chabad.org.
Super told Chabad.org he was proud to have been visited by four of Australia’s last five prime ministers since the attack — Scott Morrison, Malcolm Turnbull, Anthony Albanese on multiple occasions, and now Rudd.
In an unplanned moment, as the group prepared to enter the Ohel, they encountered Mina Levitan, daughter of Rabbi Yaakov Levitan, one of two Chabad rabbis killed in the attack alongside Rabbi Eli Schlanger, Chabad.org reported.
Berger told Chabad.org the pair were grateful for the support they had received from both governments.
“We are very grateful to the United States for collaborating with the Australian government to facilitate our visit,” he said. “It’s a sentiment we’ve felt from across the full spectrum of society, and in particular, from the Jewish community.”
Super has one remaining obligation to fulfil. He has yet to recite Hagomel, the blessing of thanksgiving recited by those who have survived mortal danger, which he planned to do on Thursday morning at the synagogue adjacent to the Rebbe’s resting place, Chabad.org reported.