The funeral for Matilda, the 10-year-old girl murdered earlier this week in an ISIS-inspired massacre at a Syndey, Australia, Haukkah party, began on Thursday.
A large bee doll was placed on Matilda's coffin, a tribute to her middle name "Bee," and additional bee symbols were placed around her. At the family's request, stickers featuring a bee drawing were distributed to those attending the funeral.
"Matilda never had the chance to live the life she was meant to have," the rabbi mourned.
Israeli Ambassador to Australia Amir Maimon attended the funeral, telling Kan Reshet Bet's Ilil Shahar, "This is one of many funerals that have taken place over the last two days. The community’s feelings are difficult, and today it reached its peak. It’s very sad, there has been much crying and pain that words cannot describe, and the crisis that the community is experiencing."
Fourteen others were also murdered in the Sydney massacre: Chabad-Lubavitch emissary in Sydney Rabbi Eli Schlanger; Boris Tetleroyd, 68, who came to the event with his son, who was injured; Edith Brutman, 68, a relative of Tibor Weitzen, who was killed beside her; Holocaust survivor Alex Kleytman (87), whose wife testified that he was killed while trying to protect her; Tibor Weitzen, who was also reportedly shot while protecting his wife, who survived; Dan Elkayam (27), a Jewish-French citizen who had immigrated to Sydney about a year ago; Rabbi Yaakov Levitan, another Chabad-Lubavitch emissary; Reuven Morrison (62), originally from the Soviet Union, a member of the Chabad community in Australia; former police officer Peter Meagher, who served nearly 40 years in the New South Wales Police and worked as a freelance photographer at the Chabad Hanukkah event; Marika Pogany, 82; and the couple Boris and Sofia Gurman, who were reportedly shot at point-blank range after attempting to fight the terrorist.