Book on Noahide Laws Honors Rabbi Killed in Bondi Beach Attack

Nikki Goldstein and Rabbi Eli Schlanger had nearly finished a book on the seven Noahide Laws when the rabbi was killed in a December 2025 attack at Bondi Beach. The pair began the project after Schlanger visited Goldstein in a Sydney hospital in September 2022.

She had been comatose with pneumonia and failing lungs. Schlanger sounded a shofar and recited prayers at her bedside. Goldstein recovered the next day. They include prohibitions on idolatry, blasphemy, murder, theft, sexual immorality, and eating flesh from a living animal, plus a requirement to establish courts of justice.

Schlanger told Goldstein these rules apply to all people regardless of faith. He said they offer a framework for a just society. Goldstein, a secular Jew, said the laws helped her understand her own tradition in new ways. She noted they are presented as an ethical code rather than a religious burden.

The Attack and Its Aftermath On December 14, 2025, gunmen opened fire during a Chanukah event organized by Schlanger at Bondi Beach. Fifteen people were killed, including the rabbi. Dozens more were injured. Survivors said Schlanger threw himself over another person and was shot in the back.

His wife was grazed and their infant son suffered shrapnel wounds. The attack is described as the worst terror incident in Australian history. Two men, a father and son, were identified as the perpetrators.

Continuing the Work Goldstein said she now sees herself as the keeper of Schlanger’s teachings. The final chapter on justice was left incomplete. She has spoken about the personal shift in how she views the laws after losing her co-author. The book is set for publication on May 26.

““I don’t really know who you are. And I didn’t understand much of what you did. What I do know is this — God has given me a second chance. I’m alive today because of the mitzvot you brought into that hospital room.””