Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Wednesday morning halted his testimony in his ongoing court trial on Wednesday morning to speak with Rabbi Yehoram Ulman, the father-in-law of Rabbi Eliyahu Schlanger, H’yd, and Arsen Ostrovsky, the head of the Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council.

Ostrovsky underwent surgery after being injured in the attack and Baruch Hashem, was released from the hospital on Wednesday.

Following the phone calls, Netanyahu’s office issued a statement saying, “This morning, I spoke with Chabad sh’liach and Av Beis Din in Sydney, Australia, Rabbi Yehoram Ullman, the father-in-law of Rabbi Eliyahu Schlanger, z’l, who was murdered in the terrorist attack on Bondi Beach, and with the chairman of the Israel–Australia Jewish Council, attorney Arsen Ostrovsky, who was injured in the attack and has been discharged from the hospital.”

“On behalf of my wife and all of Am Yisrael, I expressed my condolences on behalf of my wife and all of Am Yisrael for the profound grief of Rabbi Ulman and the grief of all the families of the victims, and I wished a full recovery to the injured.”

“I stated that these heinous acts are a direct result of rampant antisemitism, which is fueled by the lax policies of the Australian government, which has a duty to act immediately and with all the tools at its disposal to eradicate terrorism and restore security to Jewish communities.

“I emphasized that the State of Israel stands behind the Jewish community in Australia, and I stand behind the Chabad shlichim and all the Jews of Australia—those who stand firm, clinging to great emunah and a courageous spirit in the face of those who seek our harm.”

Before his release from the hospital, Ostrovsky wrote on social media, “I was very happy to see that Prime Minister Albanese visited the Bondi hero Ahmed el-Ahmed in hospital. That was absolutely necessary!”

“But has he visited any of the other Jewish survivors from the Chanukah festival? I am still in the hospital and have not had any approach from the PM.

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)