{"id":92134,"date":"2026-01-07T10:06:06","date_gmt":"2026-01-07T10:06:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/92134\/"},"modified":"2026-01-07T10:06:06","modified_gmt":"2026-01-07T10:06:06","slug":"bondi-beach-hero-ahmed-al-ahmed-meets-with-jewish-leaders-after-arriving-in-nyc-for-gala","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/92134\/","title":{"rendered":"Bondi Beach hero Ahmed Al-Ahmed meets with Jewish leaders after arriving in NYC for gala"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ahmed Al-Ahmed<\/a> has visited the resting place of two of the most influential Jewish leaders before he begins further treatment on his gunshot wounds overseas.<\/p>\n

The Bondi terror hero flew to the United States on Tuesday following a two-week stint in a Sydney hospital where he underwent multiple surgeries after being shot five times.<\/p>\n

The Syrian refugee, 43, was praised for his bravery, with videos of the moment he tackled the gunman making headlines around the world<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Hours after arriving in New York City, the Muslim father-of-two visited the Ohel Chabad Lubavitch in Queens.<\/p>\n

Bondi Beach hero Ahmed Al-Ahmed is seen arriving in America. Ahmed Al Ahmed \/ Instagram<\/p>\n

The Jewish tomb is where Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson and his father-in-law Rabbi Yosef Y. Schneersohn, the two most recent rebbes of the Chabad-Lubavitch dynasty, are buried.<\/p>\n

Photos posted online showed the Bondi hero praying alongside Jewish figures including Sydney-based Rabbi Yehoram Ulman and American Rabbi Sholom Dovber Duchman.<\/p>\n

Al-Ahmed is seen wearing a kippah \u2013 a sign of reverence for God \u2013 and holding his arm, which was in a sling.<\/p>\n

He is also due to attend the annual Colel Chabad awards gala dinner in the Big Apple on Wednesday night, a charity event where tickets cost $1,000 each.<\/p>\n

Guests are set to get a \u201crare opportunity\u201d to hear first-hand from the Syrian refugee<\/a> about \u201cwhat courage and moral clarity look like in real time\u201d.<\/p>\n

Al-Ahmed disarmed a terrorist shooter on Bondi Beach in Sydney on Dec. 14, 2025.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are honoured to welcome Rabbi Yehoram Ulman of Chabad of Bondi, together with Ahmed (Ahamad) al Ahmed, who intervened unarmed during the Chanukah Menorah lighting attack in Sydney, risking his own life to stop the attacker,\u201d organisers said.<\/p>\n

\u201cStand together, Jews and friends of the Jewish people, against hatred and terror, affirming that decent people do not stay silent.<\/p>\n

\u201cDraw strength from Rabbi Ulman, a major rabbinic leader who has guided his community through this tragedy and its aftermath with resilience, faith, and resolve.\u201d<\/p>\n

News.com.au has reached out to Jewish leaders in New York for a statement.<\/p>\n

Fifteen people died during the Bondi Beach terror attack. Six victims remain in the hospital almost one month since the shooting.<\/p>\n

Al-Ahmed will receive further treatment for his gunshot wounds in the US. news.com.au<\/p>\n

\u2018Necessary\u2019 treatment<\/p>\n

The former tobacco shop owner was escorted at the gate by Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) officers when he arrived at the Los Angeles airport.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn my way to start my treatment journey in the United States. I kindly ask everyone to keep me in their prayers. Thank you for your love and support,\u201d he wrote to Instagram.<\/p>\n

In a separate post, Al-Ahmed can be seen in Qantas business class, pointing to a screen showing his estimated arrival time to LA.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a long journey, but a necessary one. We ask God for success and guidance,\u201d it read.<\/p>\n

He also shared a photo of himself with three FBI agents, thanking them for a \u201cwarm welcome, outstanding protection and genuine care\u201d.<\/p>\n

The US has some of the best trauma centers in the world, with specialist doctors having worked on hundreds of patients due to the high number of shootings each year.<\/p>\n

Just days earlier, Al-Ahmed was given a standing ovation and a hero\u2019s welcome at the Sydney Cricket Ground ahead of the fifth Ashes Test.<\/p>\n

Al-Ahmed waves at the crowd before the start of play on day one of the Fifth Test Match in the 2025\/26 Ashes Series between Australia and England at Sydney Cricket Ground on Jan. 4, 2026 in Sydney, Australia. Getty Images<\/p>\n

Australian and English cricket teams, officials and the sold-out crowd applauded the father-of-two as he, other hero bystanders and first responders were honored.<\/p>\n

His heroism also saw him gifted $2.5 million that was donated from 43,000 people<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In an interview late last year, al-Ahmed said he \u201cdidn\u2019t worry about anything\u201d except for the lives he could potentially save.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy target was just to take the gun from him, and to stop him from killing a human being\u2019s life and not killing innocent people,\u201d he told CBS News.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know I saved lots, but I feel sorry for the lost.\u201d<\/p>\n

Australia\u2019s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese seen meeting with Al-Ahmed as he recovered in the hospital. X ACCOUNT of @AlboMP\/AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n

The Sydney local recalled the moment he decided to tackle the gunman who was shooting indiscriminately at Jewish families celebrating day one of Hanukkah.<\/p>\n

\u201cI jumped in his back, hit him,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hold him with my right hand and start saying a word, you know, like to warn him, drop your gun, stop doing what you\u2019re doing, and it\u2019s come all in fast.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd emotionally, I\u2019m doing something, which is I feel something, a power in my body, my brain \u2026 I don\u2019t want to see people killed in front of me, I don\u2019t want to hear his gun, I don\u2019t want to see people screaming and begging, asking for help, and that\u2019s my soul asking me to do that.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything in my heart, in my brain, everything, it\u2019s worked just to manage to save the peoples\u2019 life.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ahmed Al-Ahmed has visited the resting place of two of the most influential Jewish leaders before he begins…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":92135,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[4582,36404,14821,39391,7459,57,9,24,56,63,65,64,58],"class_list":{"0":"post-92134","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york-city","8":"tag-australia","9":"tag-bondi-beach-shooting-2025","10":"tag-galas","11":"tag-jewish-museum","12":"tag-mass-shootings","13":"tag-metro","14":"tag-new-york","15":"tag-new-york-city","16":"tag-ny","17":"tag-nyc","18":"tag-nyc-headlines","19":"tag-nyc-news","20":"tag-us-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92134","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=92134"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92134\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/92135"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=92134"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=92134"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=92134"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}