Waverley Council has unanimously awarded keys to the city to three people who intervened during the December 14 terror attack at Bondi Beach, honouring Ahmed al Ahmed, Gefen Bitton, and Rabbi Leibel Lazarov. The recognition represents the council's highest civic honour for extraordinary service to the community.
Al Ahmed was recognised for wrestling a gun from an attacker at the Chanukah celebration; Bitton ran to aid him and confront the gunman, while Rabbi Lazarov used his shirt to stem bleeding of NSW Police Constable Scott Dyson. All three men were shot and seriously injured during the course of their efforts.
The story of Hanukkah itself is about shining a light on darkness and being brave when confronted with evil, and Waverley Council said the Waverley community was grateful for what he did, with the key to the city symbolising everlasting gratitude. Al Ahmed also became the second person in the council's history to receive a lifetime beach parking permit for the local government area.
Al Ahmed, a 43-year-old Syrian-Australian Muslim shop owner, has received international praise for disarming one of the two gunmen during the attack, which was Australia's worst mass shooting since 1996. In interviews following the massacre, al Ahmed said he did not worry about anything except for the lives he could potentially save, noting his target was simply to take the gun from the shooter and stop him from killing innocent people.
When asked about his instinctive response, al Ahmed responded: "Why can no-one do it? If you have a heart and if you are Australian, and when you see someone evil come to hurt your people, are you going to stand and watch and look? Myself, I'm choosing myself as Australian, as a good citizen, everyone has to go in and show in for Australia and for all our family."
Waverley Council also resolved to seek posthumous national honours for those killed trying to stop the gunmen. The council formally welcomed the federal government's decision to establish a royal commission into antisemitism and the Bondi Beach attack, with the council saying the community deserved answers after being left devastated by the violence.
The 14 December attack, which occurred at Archer Park during a Hanukkah celebration attended by around 1,000 people, killed a total of 15 people including 11 men, three women and a 10-year-old girl. International media coverage centred heavily on the intervention from bystander al Ahmed, with his actions widely praised by world leaders including United States President Donald Trump and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
Al Ahmed was shot several times in the shoulder, with some of the bullets still lodged inside. His parents, who had recently moved from Syria to Sydney, told media their son had arrived in Australia in 2006. Though grateful for the recognition he has received, al Ahmed expressed ongoing sorrow about those who lost their lives, saying "I saved lots, but I feel sorry for the lost."
In response to the attack, the NSW Faith Affairs Council established the campaign "One Mitzvah for Bondi" to encourage individuals to perform acts of kindness or charity on behalf of their community, citing the Hanukkah message that darkness cannot extinguish the light.