Bondi Hero Yeshiva Student Goes into Seventh Surgery: What He Requested Before Going Under

Yehuda Leib “Leibel” Lazaroff, a Chabad-affiliated yeshiva student from Texas who was seriously injured in the Bondi Beach Pogrom on the first night of Chanuka, underwent his seventh surgery overnight, his family announced on Monday.

According to his father, Rabbi Yosef Lazaroff, a Chabad emissary in Texas, the operation was performed under full anesthesia, as with his previous procedures. Family acquaintances said the surgery concluded with “the best possible outcome that could have been expected under the circumstances.”

Before entering the operating room, Lazaroff asked to put on tefillin.

Last week, Lazaroff received his personal tefillin back after they were examined by a certified Torah scribe. He had been concerned that shrapnel from the attack might have damaged them, as he was wearing them when he was shot. The inspection confirmed that the tefillin were fully kosher.

Lazaroff was wounded while helping Chabad emissaries organize a public Chanukah event in Sydney when a terrorist attack erupted. During the incident, he acted with notable bravery and presence of mind, saving the life of a police officer who had been shot.

According to accounts from the family, Lazaroff removed his shirt and used it to apply pressure to the officer’s wounds, effectively stopping the bleeding and preventing the officer from bleeding to death.

Rabbi Lazaroff described the dramatic moments during the attack last week. He said the officer had been incapacitated, and as the attacker advanced, Leibel pleaded with the officer to hand over his firearm.

“He told him that he is from Texas, that he is licensed to carry a weapon and knows how to use it,” his father recounted. “He told him that otherwise, ‘we are both going to die.’”

Despite his actions, another individual at the scene, Rabbi Eli Schlanger, was shot and killed. Shortly afterward, Lazaroff himself was shot twice, once in the abdomen and once in the leg, by shotgun and rifle fire. He has been fighting for his life since. In total, the Bondi Beach Pogrom led to fifteen casualties and more than 40 injured.

“As his father, I can testify to Leibel’s extraordinary capabilities,” Rabbi Lazaroff said. “He acted with courage far beyond his years.”

The elder Lazaroff added that he hopes Australia will one day recognize his son as a national hero. He said Leibel faces a long medical journey ahead, including additional surgeries and extended rehabilitation.

Only a month before the attack, Lazaroff had performed publicly, playing the piano and singing at a memorial ceremony for victims of other terror attacks.

Despite his injuries, Lazaroff reportedly told family members that although he nearly bled to death and was unable to stop the attacker, he has no regrets. “I wish I could have done more,” he said. “I tried, but I was shot.”

The public has been asked to continue praying for the recovery of Yehuda Leib ben Mania.