Within minutes of performing the Jewish religious ritual, Meagher was fatally shot.
By Shula Rosen
In the final minutes of his life, one of the victims of the Bondi Beach terror attack in Sydney discovered he was Jewish and performed a religious act he had scarcely known before, moments before he was killed.
Peter Meagher, a former police officer and well-known volunteer photographer in the Bondi community, encountered Chabad emissaries shortly before a Chanukah event in the area. During a brief conversation, the emissaries asked Meagher whether he was Jewish. He told them he was unsure but explained that his maternal grandmother had been Jewish.
The emissaries informed Meagher that under Jewish law, Jewish identity is passed through the maternal line, meaning he was considered Jewish. They then offered him the opportunity to put on tefillin, a traditional ritual involving the donning of prayer boxes during weekday prayers.
Meagher accepted without hesitation and put on tefillin at the scene. According to those present, he did so with evident enthusiasm. It later became known that Meagher had performed the ritual once before earlier in his life, making this moment a return rather than a first encounter.
Within minutes of the exchange, Meagher was fatally shot in the attack that unfolded nearby, turning the brief interaction into his final religious act.
Beyond the circumstances of his death, Meagher was widely recognized in the Bondi area for his quiet civic involvement. A passionate amateur photographer, he regularly documented local events, gatherings, and celebrations, distributing his photographs freely to community members and organizers. Residents described him as a familiar and generous presence who contributed to community life without seeking attention.
The attack in which Meagher was killed shocked Australia and reverberated internationally, highlighting once again the personal stories behind acts of terrorism. For those who met him that day, Meagher’s final moments became a poignant reminder of identity, chance encounters, and the human cost of violence.
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