Extra candle lit for Holocaust survivor murdered at Bondi

More than a thousand members of Melbourne’s Jewish community gathered at Robert Blackwood Hall, Monash University on Monday night for the Jewish Community Council of Victoria’s annual Yom Hashoah Commemoration, themed “From the Depths.”

The solemn ceremony honoured the six million Jews murdered in the Shoah and acknowledged the resilience of survivors, with youth movements, Jewish day schools and community organisations joining together in prayer, song and reflection.

The evening’s most poignant moment came during the candle-lighting ceremony, when seven candles were lit rather than the traditional six.

The additional candle honoured Alex Kleytman, a Holocaust survivor who was murdered in the antisemitic attack at Bondi during Chanukah. The candle was lit by Pauline Rockman.

The survivor testimony was delivered by Josh Pila, who was born in Sosnowiec, Poland, in 1934, and was just five years old when German forces occupied the city within three days of the war commencing.