In the face of unspeakable evil on Bondi Beach, the anti-semitic terror attack on Bondi Beach, Ahmed el Ahmed from Sutherland, a Muslim, showed humanity by tackling one of the gunmen. Fifteen victims plus a gunman, after a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach organised by a Hassidic Orthodox Jewish group, Chabad.
The Times of Israel reported Prime Minister Netanyahu’s comments at an Israeli cabinet meeting.
The first person publicly identified as killed was Rabbi Eli Schlanger, an emissary of the Chabad Lubavitch movement who had worked in Australia for 18 years, according to Chabad sources quoted in Israeli media.
Ahmed el Ahmed was shot twice in the Arm and was one of the victims taken to hospital, according to Channel 7. “He’s in hospital, and we don’t know exactly what’s going on inside,” his cousin Mustafa said.
“We do hope he will be fine. He’s a hero 100 per cent.”
The slaughter on the first day of Hanukkah, a Jewish festival that remembers a miracle from the Maccabean revolt in the second century BC, is the only major Jewish festival not mentioned in the Jewish Bible, and yet, is regarded as the most joyous.
Each year, Hanukkah brings hope, as each night a candle is lit on a menorah. This year, in Bondi, Hanukkah’s joy has been clouded, even hidden.
While, like PM Netanyahu, we salute the bravery of Ahmed el Ahmed, the designation of this attack as a terror attack means that the Australian community, Jews in particular, has likely faced “religiously inspired violence” as Mark Leach of Never Again is Now has described it. That adds to the mix of horror and fear of the slaughter itself.
Sadly, the bravery of one man does not outweigh the evil of others.
“Please join me in praying urgently for the injured and families of victims of the shooting at Bondi Beach,” Sydney Anglican Archbishop Kanishka Raffel urged as the news broke. “Pray for the safety of the Jewish community and residents of Bondi. Pray for the police and medical teams in their work. Lord, have mercy.”
Death toll updated
Thank God for Ahmed el Ahmed.