Chabad Lubavitch of Australia
Chabad-Lubavitch in Australia: some 75 institutions centred on Melbourne's Yeshivah Centre and Sydney's Yeshiva Centre, the Royal Commission's 2016 findings on child sexual abuse, and the 2025 Bondi Beach Chanukah attack
| Chabad Lubavitch of Australia
| |
|---|---|
| Type | Chabad-Lubavitch emissary network |
| Founded | 1949 (Yeshivah Centre, Melbourne); 1968 (Chabad emissaries to Sydney) |
| Founder(s) | Yitzchok Dovid Groner (Melbourne, from 1958); Pinchus Feldman and Pnina Feldman (Sydney, from 1968) |
| Headquarters | Yeshivah Centre, 92 Hotham Street, East St Kilda VIC 3183; Yeshiva Centre – Chabad NSW, 36a Flood Street, Bondi Beach NSW 2026 |
| Area served | Australia (Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia, Tasmania, ACT) |
| Key people | Pinchus Feldman; Yosef Feldman; Chaim Tzvi Groner; Yehoram Ulman |
Chabad-Lubavitch in Australia is the largest Chabad-Lubavitch presence in the Asia–Pacific region. Lubavitch.com lists 75 institutions in its Australia country index. Most are in Melbourne's south-eastern suburbs (Caulfield, East St Kilda, Balaclava) and Sydney's eastern suburbs (Bondi, Double Bay, Dover Heights), with smaller centres in every state and territory.[1] The two historic hubs are the Yeshivah Centre in Melbourne, which opened in 1949, and the Yeshiva Centre in Sydney, where the Rebbe sent Pinchus Feldman in 1968.[2][3]
Both institutions were the subject of the Royal Commission's Case Study 22, which reported in 2016. The abuse cases are covered in detail on Chabad abuse cases; this page gives a summary only. On 14 December 2025 two gunmen attacked Chabad of Bondi's "Chanukah by the Sea" event on Bondi Beach, killing 15 people, among them Rabbi Eli Schlanger.[4][5]
History
- Yeshivah Centre, Melbourne. The centre's school opened in 1949 "under the auspices of the Lubavitcher Rebbe" with three full-time students. Yeshivah College bought 92 Hotham Street in 1954, and Beth Rivkah Ladies College bought sites on Balaclava Road from 1959.[2] The Royal Commission found that the Melbourne and Sydney institutions are both "part of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement" and operate independently of each other.[6]
- Yitzchok Dovid Groner. Groner was sent by the seventh Rebbe, Menachem Mendel Schneerson, and moved to Melbourne in 1958, originally for at least three years. He stayed for five decades and built a school system that Chabad.org put at some 1,500 students. He died in 2008.[7][2]
- Sydney. The Yeshiva Centre was founded in 1956 by Abraham Rabinovitch. In 1968 the Rebbe sent Pinchus Feldman and Pnina Feldman "with the task of organising a Chabad-Lubavitch presence" in New South Wales.[3] Chabad-Lubavitch Bondi was set up in 1987 as the home of F.R.E.E. (Friends of Refugees of Eastern Europe) for Russian-Jewish immigrants. Centres followed in St Ives, Double Bay, Dover Heights, Rose Bay, Bondi Junction, the Sydney CBD and Bondi.[3]
Emissaries and centres
The directory's 75 Australian listings include schools, synagogues, youth and campus organisations, Israeli-focused houses and regional centres. A selection:[1]
| State | Institution | Named leaders (directory) | Address (directory) |
|---|---|---|---|
| VIC | Yeshivah Centre – Lubavitch | Yitzchok Dovid Groner (listed although he died in 2008); Chaim Tzvi Groner | 92 Hotham Street, East St Kilda |
| VIC | Beth Rivkah Ladies College | Shmuel Gurewicz; Yisroel Sufrin | 14–20 Balaclava Road, East St Kilda |
| VIC | Rabbinical College of Australia and New Zealand | Avrohom Procel; Mordechai Szmerling | 67 Alexandra Street, East St Kilda |
| VIC | Chabad Youth (Tzach) | Moshe Kahn; Dina Kahn | 1 A'Beckett Street, East St Kilda |
| VIC | Chabad House for travellers | Baruch David Lider; Sara Lider | 338 Carlisle Street, Balaclava |
| VIC | Chabad of Rural and Regional Australia | Menachem Aron; Shevi Aron | 5 Pearson Grove, Caulfield North |
| NSW | Yeshiva Centre – Chabad NSW HQ | Pinchus Feldman; Yosef Feldman | 36a Flood Street, Bondi Beach |
| NSW | Bondi Beach Friends of Refugees of Eastern Europe (Chabad of Bondi) | Yehoram Ulman; Eli Schlanger (killed December 2025) | 105A Wellington Street, Bondi Beach |
| NSW | Ohel Avraham – Chabad for Israelis | Menachem Mendel Dadon; Shterny Dadon | 243 Old South Head Road, Bondi |
| NSW | Chabad Sydney for Israeli tourists | Alon Hazi; Yehudit Hazi | 427 Old South Head Road, Sydney NSW 2029 |
| NSW | Chabad Byron Shire | Tomer Ben Harosh; Inbar Rachel Ben Harosh | 69 Clays Road, Mullumbimby |
| QLD | Chabad Gold Coast | Nir Gurevitch; Dina Rivkah Gurevitch | 48 The Corso, Surfers Paradise |
| WA | Chabad of Western Australia | Shalom White | 11 Garson Court, Perth |
| SA | Chabad of South Australia | Yossi Engel | 70 Meyer Street, Torrensville |
| TAS | Hobart Chabad Jewish Centre and Mikveh | Yossi Gordon; Yochanan Gordon | 93 Lord Street, Hobart |
| ACT | Chabad Australian Capital Territory | Shmueli Feldman; Chasia Feldman | 3 Gari Place, Canberra |
Israeli travellers
Several centres serve Israeli visitors specifically: Ohel Avraham in Bondi, Chabad Sydney for Israeli tourists, the Balaclava house for travellers and Chabad Byron Shire.[1] They belong to the same post-army travel circuit as the houses in Thailand, Nepal and New Zealand.
Child sexual abuse and the Royal Commission
Main article: Chabad abuse cases. This section keeps the categories separate: Royal Commission findings, criminal convictions, civil liability, and allegations that did not lead to a conviction.
Royal Commission findings (2016)
The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse examined the Yeshivah Centre and the Yeshiva Centre in Case Study 22. The public hearing was in February 2015 and the report came out in October 2016. The Commission found that leadership responses "ranged from inaction to enabling".[8] It found that the way the concepts of mesirah, moser and loshon horo were applied discouraged some members of the Chabad communities from reporting child sexual abuse.[9] These are findings of an inquiry, not of a court.
- In February 2015, after evidence to the Commission, Yosef Feldman resigned as a director of the Sydney Yeshiva Centre.[10] Meir Shlomo Kluwgant resigned as president of the Organisation of Rabbis of Australasia.[11]
Criminal convictions
- David Cyprys, a security guard and martial-arts instructor associated with Yeshivah Melbourne, was sentenced on 20 December 2013 to eight years' imprisonment for child sexual offences.[12]
- David Kramer, a former Yeshivah College primary teacher, pleaded guilty in July 2013 and received a minimum of 18 months.[13]
- Daniel Hayman, associated with Yeshiva Bondi, pleaded guilty in 2014 to an offence at a Chabad camp in the 1980s and received a suspended sentence.[14]
- Velvel Serebryanski was found guilty by a jury in December 2025 of offences against Manny Waks at the Yeshivah Centre synagogue in the 1980s. He was sentenced on 20 March 2026 to 22 months, 19 of them suspended. This case came after the Commission's report.[15]
Civil liability
- In September 2018 Manny Waks settled his negligence claim against defendants associated with the Yeshivah Centre at mediation, on confidential terms.[16] This was a settlement, not a finding of liability.
- In 2020 the Supreme Court of Victoria assessed Waks's damages against Cyprys at A$804,170.[17]
Allegations not resulting in conviction
The Commission also examined allegations against a Chabad Youth volunteer, whom it named as Kestecher. The family did not press charges, and no conviction is recorded.[18] These remain allegations. See Chabad abuse cases for detail.
The Bondi Beach attack (2025)
On 14 December 2025, the first night of Hanukkah, two gunmen opened fire on Chabad-Lubavitch of Bondi's "Chanukah by the Sea" event on Bondi Beach. Fifteen people were killed.[4][5] Among them was Rabbi Eli Schlanger, 41, assistant rabbi at Chabad of Bondi, who had organised the event. His in-laws, Rabbi Yehoram Ulman and Shternie Ulman, had founded Chabad of Bondi.[4] ABC News named the gunmen as Sajid Akram, 50, and his son Naveed Akram, 24.[19] The BBC reported that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the attackers appeared to have been inspired by the Islamic State group. It also reported that Naveed Akram had been charged with 59 offences, including 15 counts of murder and one of committing a terrorist act.[5]
- At Schlanger's funeral, Ulman called the attack "our own seventh of October".[19] Mourners included NSW Premier Chris Minns, opposition leader Sussan Ley, former prime minister Scott Morrison and Israel's ambassador, Amir Maimon. The BBC noted that Albanese did not attend and that the Jewish community had criticised him for not doing enough on antisemitism.[5]
Relations with the state, business and Israel
- Political access. Chabad.org records that Groner met Prime Minister John Gorton at the Yeshivah Centre in 1968.[7] Chabad NSW says its alumni serve as chaplains to the NSW Ambulance Service, police, Corrective Services and the State Emergency Service.[3] (Chabad-side.)
- Joseph Gutnick and Israeli politics. Joseph Gutnick, a Melbourne mining magnate described by J-Wire as "one of Australia's most senior Chabad-Lubavitch rabbis",[20] funded the 1996 "Netanyahu is good for the Jews" campaign that helped Benjamin Netanyahu defeat Shimon Peres.[21] In a 2022 interview he said the Rebbe "was in favor of a narrow strong right-wing government" and "sent me to do whatever I could to ensure that would happen".[21] In February 2025 he told the Jerusalem Post that he no longer supported Netanyahu.[22] (Gutnick's own account; Press.)
Funding
- Civil judgment against Gutnick (2013). In 2013 Justice Ross Robson of the Supreme Court of Victoria found that Gutnick had engaged in "misleading and deceptive conduct" in selling shares in a Canadian gold-mining company to Roy Raphael Tashi, a fellow Lubavitcher. The judge described the conduct as "predatory behavior" and ordered A$1 million repaid with interest. Gutnick denied wrongdoing and said an appeal might be considered.[20] This was a civil judgment, not a criminal conviction.
Controversies
- The Royal Commission findings, convictions, civil cases and allegations are summarised above and set out in Chabad abuse cases.
- The 2013 civil judgment against Joseph Gutnick is described under Funding.
Timeline
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1949 | Yeshivah Centre school opens in Melbourne |
| 1956 | Yeshiva Centre founded in Sydney |
| 1958 | Yitzchok Dovid Groner moves to Melbourne as the Rebbe's emissary |
| 1968 | Pinchus Feldman and Pnina Feldman sent to Sydney |
| 1987 | Chabad-Lubavitch Bondi (F.R.E.E.) established |
| 1996 | Joseph Gutnick funds the "Netanyahu is good for the Jews" campaign in Israel |
| 2008 | Groner dies |
| 2013 | David Cyprys and David Kramer sentenced; civil judgment against Gutnick |
| Feb 2015 | Royal Commission hearing (Case Study 22); resignations of Feldman and Kluwgant |
| Oct 2016 | Royal Commission report on Case Study 22 |
| 2018 | Manny Waks settles his civil claim against the Yeshivah Centre |
| 14 Dec 2025 | Bondi Beach Chanukah attack; 15 killed, including Eli Schlanger |
| Mar 2026 | Velvel Serebryanski sentenced |
See also
- Hummus Trail
- Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to Australia
- Chabad abuse cases
- Chabad Lubavitch of New Zealand
- Chabad Lubavitch of New Caledonia
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Lubavitch.com centres directory, Australia (index count 75; city listings), accessed October 2026. Chabad-side.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Yeshivah – Beth Rivkah Colleges, "History", accessed October 2026. Chabad-side.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Chabad NSW, "Chabad NSW", accessed October 2026. Chabad-side.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 "Terror Attack at Chanukah Event at Bondi Beach in Sydney", Chabad.org, December 2025. Chabad-side.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Helen Livingstone and Katy Watson, "'An unspeakable loss': Funeral takes place for rabbi killed in Bondi shooting", BBC News, 17 December 2025. Press.
- ↑ Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, Report of Case Study No. 22: The response of Yeshiva Bondi and Yeshivah Melbourne to allegations of child sexual abuse made against people associated with those institutions (October 2016), p. 8. Case study page. Official.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Rabbi Yitzchok Dovid Groner (1925–2008): Senior Australian Rabbi Passes Away", Chabad.org, 2008. Chabad-side.
- ↑ Royal Commission, Report of Case Study No. 22, p. 10. Official.
- ↑ Royal Commission, Report of Case Study No. 22, pp. 16–17. Official.
- ↑ "Child abuse royal commission: Rabbi Yosef Feldman resigns as director of Yeshiva centre", ABC News, 11 February 2015. Press.
- ↑ "Rabbi Meir Kluwgant, Australia's most senior rabbi, resigns after damning testimony at royal commission", ABC News, 16 February 2015. Press.
- ↑ "Former Jewish school worker jailed for child sex abuse offences", ABC News, 20 December 2013. Press.
- ↑ "Former primary school teacher to serve a minimum of 18 months", ABC News, 24 July 2013. Press.
- ↑ "Jewish volunteer Daniel Robert Hayman avoids jail after being found guilty of sex assault", Sydney Morning Herald, 10 June 2014. Press.
- ↑ "Velvel Serebryanski, convicted of sexually abusing Manny Waks, walks free from court", ABC News, 20 March 2026. Press.
- ↑ "Manny Waks and Yeshivah Centre reach confidential agreement over sexual abuse", ABC News, 14 September 2018. Press.
- ↑ "Abuse victim Manny Waks wins $800,000 in damages from paedophile David Cyprys", The Guardian, 19 February 2020. Press.
- ↑ Royal Commission, Report of Case Study No. 22, pp. 58–59. Official.
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 "Bondi Beach terror attack victim Rabbi Eli Schlanger farewelled at synagogue funeral", ABC News, 17 December 2025. Press.
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 "Gutnick to repay $1 million", J-Wire, 4 September 2013 (citing Haaretz). Press, reporting a civil judgment.
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 Yoni Kempinski, "Rabbi Joseph Gutnick, the man behind 'Netanyahu is good for the Jews' supports Shaked", Israel National News, 30 August 2022. Press (interview).
- ↑ Greer Fay Cashman, "The man who crowned Netanyahu as 'king' now wants him to abdicate", The Jerusalem Post, 10 February 2025. Press (interview).