{"id":93615,"date":"2026-01-08T12:46:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-08T12:46:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/93615\/"},"modified":"2026-01-08T12:46:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-08T12:46:08","slug":"bondi-beach-hero-ahmed-al-ahmed-honored-at-nyc-for-chabad-gala","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/93615\/","title":{"rendered":"Bondi Beach hero Ahmed Al-Ahmed honored at NYC for Chabad gala"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bondi Beach hero Ahmed Al-Ahmed was honored at a New York City Chabad gala on Wednesday night, where he downplayed his selflessness, saying he was simply fulfilling his \u201cduty as a human being\u201d last month when he tackled one of the armed terrorists who opened fire on a\u00a0Hanukkah celebration in Australia.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI do my duty. I\u2019m helping and saving \u2026 It felt like my duty as a human being. Helping, keeping people safe,\u201d Al-Ahmed told The Post at an annual gala in Midtown Manhattan hosted by the Colel Chabad, the oldest operating charity in Israel.<\/p>\n

The Syrian refugee, 43, was shot five times when a father-son terrorist duo opened fire at a Bondi Beach event marking the first night of Hanukkah<\/a>. The gunmen killed at least 15 and wounded 40 others.<\/p>\n

Bill Ackman shakes Bondi Beach hero Ahmed al-Ahmed at the NYC Colel Chabad Awards gala dinner on Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026. Itzik Belenitzki \/ Colel Chabad<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m looking at the world from the side of peace,\u201d Al-Ahmed said of how his perspective has changed since the horrific Dec. 14 attack.<\/p>\n

Bondi Beach hero Ahmed al-Ahmed is honored at the gala in NYC on Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026. Itzik Belenitzki \/ Colel Chabad<\/p>\n

Al-Ahmed also expressed feeling \u201cvery proud\u201d when people call him a hero for sneaking behind the shotgun-wielding gunman and wrestling the weapon away before pointing it at the terrorist.<\/p>\n

The brave shopkeeper, who wore a yarmulke and had his arm still in a sling, said he lost some ability to use his fingers from the gunshot wounds and is hoping for a speedy recovery.<\/p>\n

Bondi Beach hero Ahmed al-Ahmed gets emotional at the gala after he\u2019s honored for his heroic efforts during the mass shooting. Itzik Belenitzki \/ Colel Chabad<\/p>\n

\u201cHonestly, there\u2019s a pain. You know, my fingers stopped. They\u2019re not working, but it\u2019ll be all right \u2026 I need time, you know, one, two months, that\u2019s what the doctor say,\u201d Al-Ahmed continued. <\/p>\n

The Syrian refugee, 43, was shot five times when a father-son terrorist duo opened fire at a Bondi Beach event marking the first night of Hanukkah.<\/p>\n

\u201cHopefully everything will be good,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese meets with Ahmed Al-Ahmed in the hospital after the Bondi Beach terrorist attack on Dec. 16, 2025. X ACCOUNT of @AlboMP\/AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Al-Ahmed was met by a standing ovation at the gala as he was brought to the stage by Rabbi Yehoram Ulman of the Chabad of Bondi, the father-in-law of Bondi Beach victim Rabbi Eli Schlanger.<\/a><\/p>\n

Bill Ackman presents the \u201cLight Will Win\u201d honor for Bondi Beach hero Ahmed al-Ahmed. Itzik Belenitzki \/ Colel Chabad<\/p>\n

\u201cThree weeks ago, we were struck by evil. It was the eve of Hanukkah, a beautiful Sunday afternoon.
We were preparing to light the menorah when two terrorists, father and son, opened fire on our gathering,\u201d Ulman told the crowd.<\/p>\n

\u201c15 precious souls were stolen from us \u2014 men, women, and a 10-year-old child. The people are very, very close to my family, and of course, one of them was my beloved son-in-law,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n

Al-Ahmed was met by a standing ovation at the gala. Christopher Sadowski<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is pain. Deep pain. Each life lost is an entire world taken from us. But I\u2019m also here to tell you, the darkness will not win, will not lessen our holy work, even a moment.\u201d<\/p>\n

The brave shopkeeper, who wore a yarmulke and had his arm still in a sling, said he lost some ability to use his fingers from the gunshot wounds and is hoping for a speedy recovery. Christopher Sadowski<\/p>\n

Al-Ahmed flew out to the Big Apple on Tuesday to spend time with Jewish leaders,<\/a> visiting the Ohel Chabad Lubavitch in Queens to see the gravesite of Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, the Chabad announced. <\/a><\/p>\n

Attendees of the gala \u2014 some who also lost loved ones in the massacre \u2014 expressed immense gratitude toward the Al-Ahmed.<\/p>\n

Ahmed al-Ahmed shown leaving the gala event in NYC on Jan. 7, 2026. Christopher Sadowski<\/p>\n

\u201cI came from San Diego to this event. I needed to support my community. I\u2019m very close to Rabbi Ulman. I lost two friends that day,\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I met him [Al-Ahmed], I gave him a big hug. He\u2019s a big hero for me. I said \u2018thank you. You saved many people.\u2019 I\u2019m pretty sure God will give him good love,\u201d Talia Kastiel-Katz told The Post.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Bondi Beach hero Ahmed Al-Ahmed was honored at a New York City Chabad gala on Wednesday night, where…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":93616,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[36404,14821,7702,57,9,56,63,65,64,3694,58],"class_list":{"0":"post-93615","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york-city","8":"tag-bondi-beach-shooting-2025","9":"tag-galas","10":"tag-judaism","11":"tag-metro","12":"tag-new-york","13":"tag-ny","14":"tag-nyc","15":"tag-nyc-headlines","16":"tag-nyc-news","17":"tag-terrorism","18":"tag-us-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93615","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=93615"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93615\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/93616"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=93615"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=93615"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=93615"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}