Harry and Meghan meet Bondi attack survivors

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, appeared visibly moved as they met with survivors of the Bondi Beach terror attack and representatives from the Sydney Jewish Museum during their visit to Australia.

The meeting took place at Bondi at the couple’s own request, prompted by a New York Times report about the museum’s remarkable response to the December 14 attack that claimed the lives of 15 people at a Chanukah celebration. The museum’s work coordinating an army of volunteers to collect, sort and preserve the tonnes of tributes left at the site – flowers, handmade offerings, painted stones, cards and soft toys – had gone viral internationally.

Harry and Meghan met Sydney Jewish Museum senior curator Shannon Biederman, who spearheaded the preservation project, alongside survivors Jessica Chapnik Kahn, who shielded her daughter during the shooting, and Elon Zizer, who survived multiple gunshot wounds while shielding his young children. He then spent 10 days in a coma.

“Grateful for the conversation and genuine care they showed,” Zizer wrote on social media after the meeting.

“An experience I’ll never forget.”

The couple also met North Bondi Surf Life Saver Jacob Ezrakhovich, a first responder who was himself at the beach with his family when the attack occurred.

Markle was visibly emotional as Chapnik Kahn described her experience. The Duchess, whose own daughter Lilibet is less than a year younger than Chapnik Kahn’s daughter Shemi, embraced her after hearing her account.

“I can’t imagine what it would have been like to experience that with your child. It’s beyond my imagination,” Markle said.

Harry was particularly moved to meet Ezrakhovich, thanking him and his fellow surf lifesavers for “committing to all the training involved in keeping the community safe.”

The Sydney Jewish Museum is preparing to open an exhibit about the attack and its aftermath, building on its preservation work in the days and weeks that followed December 14.

The couple also spoke with first responders from the Bondi Surf Bathers’ Life Saving Club during the visit.