Bondi hero Ahmed al-Ahmed and Sydney rabbi visit Rebbe’s resting place
Fresh off the 22-hour flight from Sydney to New York, Ahmed al-Ahmed and Rabbi Yehoram Ulman paused on Tuesday morning to pray together at the Ohel, the resting place of the Rebbe—Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory—in Queens.
Rabbi Yehoram Ulman and Ahmed al-Ahmed speak outside the resting place of the Rebbe, as attorney Sam Issa listens. Photo: Chabad.org
Al-Ahmed came to prominence following the Dec. 14, 2025, terror attack on Chabad-Lubavitch of Bondi’s Chanukah event in Sydney, during which two terrorists murdered 15 people. Al-Ahmed, a local shopkeeper, wrestled a firearm from the hands of one of the terrorists, taking two bullets in the process. Ulman is the director and spiritual leader of Chabad-Lubavitch of Bondi, and most of the victims were his congregants or co-workers, including his son-in-law, Rabbi Eli Schlanger.
The pair visited the holy site ahead of a journey across New York and Washington, D.C., which will include numerous meetings with dignitaries.
For Rabbi Ulman, the joint trip to the United States was a chance to express the Jewish community’s profound gratitude to al-Ahmed, a Syrian-born Muslim who endangered his own life to save the lives of others.
“Ahmed did what he did that day because he believed that G‑d placed him at the scene for a reason, and that’s what gave him the strength to save lives,” said Ulman. “This is something people from all walks of life can and must learn from.”
“If G‑d had willed to take my life, it would have ended there,” al-Ahmed said of those moments. He crawled to take cover behind cars parked nearby. There, al-Ahmed saw that G‑d had placed him in a position to fight back. As he hid, one of the terrorists walked closer to his position, as he continued shooting innocent men, women, and children.
Standing by, al-Ahmed knew, was not an option. “To hear children screaming and women crying, I couldn’t stand it,” he said. “I had a duty; there was nothing to think about. Here was a man taking innocent lives. Nobody can take a human life—that’s in G‑d’s hands alone.”
Another man, Gefen Bitton, a 30-year-old Israeli, joined al-Ahmed and kept him informed about the terrorists’ position. Al-Ahmed—whose left arm is still recovering from a recent and painful surgery—crept closer, using the parked cars for cover. Then, he rushed in.
“It was as if I saw myself from above, going around the car toward him, and, I swear: I felt G‑d helping me,” al-Ahmed remembers.
He tackled the terrorist and wrestled the gun from his grip, interrupting the slaughter for critical minutes. Seconds later, the second terrorist fired at al-Ahmed. Bullets tore through his shoulder, and then hit his arm. Bitton, who rushed in close behind, was hit too, and seriously wounded.
They prayed inside the Ohel, accompanied by Rabbi Sholom Duchman of Colel Chabad.
That terrible night, Rabbi Ulman rushed to the hospital to be with his daughter, Chayale Schlanger, her back grazed by a bullet from the gun that took her husband’s life, and her two-month-old son Shimshy, whose leg had been hit by shrapnel. It fell to him to call Eli’s parents and tell them the terrible news.
Heartbroken himself, Rabbi Ulman knew his community needed him. “I didn’t have the luxury to wait a week before speaking to my community,” he said, “We all desperately needed to hear some perspective.” He conducted ten funerals that week, delivering bitter eulogy after bitter eulogy.
Still mourning the lost lives three weeks later, Rabbi Ulman said, “You have to allow yourself to be broken at a time like this. At the same time, amidst the brokenness, we have to be grateful.”
Ahmed al-Ahmed’s courageous actions—alongside the actions of other brave souls, such as Morrison, who risked everything to fight back—saved untold lives. Rabbi Ulman thinks of his daughter, five grandchildren, and countless family members and friends who survived, and is deeply grateful.
“In the greatest tragedies, there are always miracles,” Rabbi Ulman said. “It could have been much, much worse.”
Standing side by side with al-Ahmed at the Ohel on Tuesday morning, looking ahead to a joint journey that will include meeting with dignitaries in New York and Washington, D.C., Rabbi Ulman was grateful for the chance to say a personal “Thank You” on behalf of the Jewish community to a man who saved so many lives.
“He’s a hero,” Rabbi Ulman says of al-Ahmed. “It may be tempting to think, ‘someone else is being attacked, that’s not my business.’ But Ahmed didn’t think that way. His actions announce that this is not a Jewish issue; it is a human issue. We don’t only take care of our own. We look after each other. We are all G‑d’s children, and He gave each of us the ability to choose good over evil.”
For Rabbi Ulman, Ahmed’s story is a powerful example of true kindness.
“In the Torah, among the non-kosher birds, there is listed one bird called a ‘chasidah’—which means ‘kindness.’ Why is it called that? ‘Because,’ the Talmud says, ‘it shows kindness to its friends.’ But if it’s kind, why isn’t it kosher? It’s not kosher because it is kind exclusively to its own friends. That’s not true kindness. True kindness extends beyond our circle—if innocent people are being hurt, and G‑d puts us in a position to help, we must act. Ahmed did exactly that. He shows us what true kindness looks like.”
“I just did my duty as a human being,” al-Ahmed told Chabad.org plainly. “Afterwards, in the hospital, my phone started ringing and ringing. I was told the whole world knows me. For what? I did my duty as a human being.”
A campaign has been launched to support the victims of the attack. To donate, click here.
Story by Yoni Brown and published by Chabad.org
