Muslim hero of Bondi terror attack visits grave of the Lubavitcher Rebbe with Australian rabbi

The visit marked their first joint appearance at the site since the devastating assault that struck their Sydney community.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Ahmed al-Ahmed, the man who confronted the Bondi attacker during the December 14 massacre, visited the Ohel in Queens on Monday together with Rabbi Yehoram Ulman of Chabad of Bondi, offering prayers for humanity at the resting place of the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson.

The visit marked their first joint appearance at the site since the devastating assault that struck their Sydney community.

Al-Ahmed, a 43-year-old Muslim originally from Syria, had been standing along the northern edge of Archer Park when gunfire erupted at the Chanukah event.

Instead of fleeing, he rushed forward, seized the assailant from behind, and managed to disarm him even as he was shot repeatedly. During his recovery, he said plainly, “God gave me courage,” a statement Rabbi Ulman has cited as reflecting the bravery that saved lives.

Rabbi Ulman’s own community was at the center of the tragedy. Among those killed was his son-in-law, Rabbi Eli Schlanger, who served with him in Chabad of Bondi. Most of the victims belonged to the congregation he leads. In the weeks that followed, Rabbi Ulman presided over multiple funerals, including that of Rabbi Schlanger, and emerged as a central voice for the grieving Jewish community in Sydney.

Their stop at the Ohel came as part of a private trip acknowledging Al-Ahmed’s actions and the spiritual conviction he has described as guiding him in those moments.

The Ohel, located in the Old Montefiore Cemetery, is open around the clock and draws more than a million visitors every year, from world leaders to ordinary individuals seeking reflection and prayer.

Many more send written pleas and blessings from around the world.

Al-Ahmed’s belief that he was placed at the scene for a purpose parallels a principle long emphasized by the Rebbe: that a single Creator watches over the world and that human choices matter. That teaching forms the basis of the seven Noahide principles, a moral framework the Rebbe encouraged as a universal guide for all people.