Behind the Scenes of the Sydney Massacre: The ZAKA Mission That Found What 500 Police Missed

In the studios of Kikar Hashabat sits a man who has become one of the most recognizable faces of Jewish humanitarian work worldwide over the past two years. Simcha Greinman, a doer, a former carpenter who rehabilitated souls who became ZAKA's international representative, arrived to tell Moshe Maness about his latest mission to the other end of the world: Australia, following the mass shooting that shocked the nation.

While social media buzzed with questions about the need for such an expensive, distant trip, Greinman paints an entirely different picture: broken families, some Israeli, who begged for help when they saw local authorities simply didn't know how to handle the scale of the tragedy.

"The Bodies Lay in the Sun, and They Said: 'They Won't Run Away'"

"When we landed in Australia 24 hours after the incident, we met Rabbi Wolff from the community," Greinman recalls. "He told us something we couldn't believe: 'The bodies are still at the scene.' Australia hasn't had an incident like this in 35 years. They basically went into a coma. From their perspective, the body isn't going anywhere, they can wait. But for us as Jews, every minute the deceased lies in disgrace is a wound to the soul."

Greinman describes the battle with local police, who had sealed off the numerous crime scenes (16 murder sites) far from cameras' view. "We approached the police commissioner and explained: 'Honoring the dead is honoring the living.' The families are being consumed by the knowledge that their loved ones are lying there in the scorching sun. That's what changed their perspective."

A Miracle at the Scene: "Who Are You, a Jew?"

One of the most remarkable moments in the interview is his description of the "delay" at the murder scene entrance, which was resolved in a miraculous way. "We were standing outside with all the equipment and generators, and police wouldn't let us in. Suddenly a Jew with a large white kippah arrives, a 'Yom Kippur Jew,' coming to lay a wreath. He asks us: 'ZAKA, why aren't you inside?'

"We told him there's a delay. He simply pulled out his phone, spoke for two minutes, and told the senior officer: 'Let them in.' It turned out he was the secretary to the highest level of Australian government. God sent him at exactly those five minutes so we could fulfill our mission."

The Discovery That Stunned Investigators: "We Found a Bullet They Missed"

Greinman describes how ZAKA's professionalism transformed the Australian police's attitude from suspicion to complete admiration. "They went over everything with 500 officers and didn't touch the blood. To them it's dirt you hose down. We came in with chemicals that detect blood reactions.

"While working, we found a bullet that was critical to the investigation, hidden beneath a layer of blood they never thought to check. The investigator came, saw our professionalism, and the next day we received word: 'The scene is yours. We're not moving a pin without ZAKA's approval.'"

From Carpentry in Modi'in Illit to a Holy Profession

Greinman, who grew up fatherless from age five ("Giving to others connects me to my father"), explains: "For me, everything starts with 'Love your neighbor as yourself,' first love yourself, appreciate who you are, so you can give to others."

He drove the truck carrying bodies at the Meron disaster, went through the hell of October 7th in the south, and now continues to be the voice of those who cannot speak. "We returned a grandfather's cane to the family, covered in blood, after cleaning it to the highest standards. Returning such an item to a family gives them hope, gives them something to hold onto," he says with emotion.