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Bondi hero Ahmed Al-Ahmed asks if he deserves a .5 million donation
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Bondi hero Ahmed Al-Ahmed asks if he deserves a $2.5 million donation

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Ahmed Al-Ahmed, the tobacconist owner who was injured after disarming one of the suspected Bondi gunmen during Sunday’s massacre, has received more than $2.5 million in donations from around the world for his bravery and heroism.
When he was presented with a check for $2,533,585 in his hospital bed, he had three words to say: “I deserve it?”
Influencer Zachery Dereniowski, who presented the GoFundMe placard, asked Al-Ahmed for his message to donors.
“Stick together, all people,” Al-Ahmed said, raising his fist. ‘And forget all the bad [in the past].”

“And keep saving lives.”

When he intervened in the attack, which claimed 15 lives during a Hanukkah celebration on Bondi Beach, he did so “from the heart”, he said.
“Everyone was happy,” he said. “They deserve to enjoy it. And it’s their right.”

“This country is the best country in the world,” he added.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese visited the Syrian-born man at St George Hospital in Sydney earlier this week and praised him as “the best of our country”.

‘You can’t fight hate with hate’

Al-Ahmed was part of a wider wave of Sydneysiders who responded to the violence by protecting those around them and calling for unity among Australia’s diverse communities.

Early on Friday morning, hundreds of people paddled out from Bondi Beach to pay tribute to the victims.

An online flyer for the event welcomed people from all backgrounds and emphasized that “diversity is our strength.”
Amandeep Singh-Bola, a bystander who helped police restrain one of the alleged gunmen, told SBS News he was comforted by the way people from different cultures helped each other after the attack.

He urged Australians to remember in the coming weeks that you “can’t fight hate with hate”.

Amar Singh is chairman of Turbans 4 Australia, a Sikh-led charity that provides food and emergency supplies to people in need, “regardless of their race, religion or ethnicity”.
The group is handing out meals at Bondi Pavilion this week.
“We spoke to the municipality. They gave us permission to set up a food shop here with some rice and curry, bananas and water and snacks,” Singh told SBS News.

“Because a lot of people don’t take care of themselves because they’re going through all that grief.”

Amar Singh is chairman of Turbans 4 Australia, a Sikh-led charity. Source: SBS news / Phoebe Deas

Singh – who founded the group in 2015 to promote multiculturalism and religious tolerance after facing discriminatory comments about his appearance – said he felt it was everyone’s responsibility to “show solidarity with our beautiful Jewish community” in the wake of the anti-Semitic violence.

“But also to take a stand against this terrorist and say: ‘This is not an issue. This is my country, my beach, my city. You cannot do this and we will not tolerate this’.”

Concerns about social cohesion, Islamophobic reactions

The acts of kindness come amid heightened fears of Islamophobic backlash and broader concerns about social cohesion, as both Muslim and Jewish leaders warn of collective guilt.

Police believe that Naveed and Sajid Akram, the father and son accused of carrying out the terrorist attack, were motivated by the ideology of the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS). The elderly Akram was shot dead by police.

In the aftermath of the attack, a disturbing post circulated on social media calling for Cronulla riot-inspired violence against Middle Easterners later this month, raising fears of renewed racial unrest.
Sutherland Shire Council Mayor Jack Boyd condemned the post, saying it was “not at all indicative of the sentiment of his community”.
“The Sutherland Shire is a place for everyone, so to see Cronulla being used in this way breaks my heart and I think it is something that really disgusts our community,” he said.
Meanwhile, a Jewish bakery in the Sydney suburb of Surry Hills said it would close in the wake of the massacre, citing safety concerns.

“One thing has become clear: it is no longer possible to outwardly, publicly, proudly make Jewish places and events safe in Australia,” said a sign in Avner’s window.

As the government debates how to implement changes to legislation that will combat anti-Semitism and hate speech, many Australians are raising their voices to embrace the Jewish community and lower the temperature.

Gurmeet Tuli, president of Little India Australia, told SBS Hindi that it is important to let Australia’s Jewish community know that there are millions of Australians behind them.

“In this time of sorrow, we must all show solidarity,” Tuli said.
“We have to come together, we have to show the power of our multiculturalism. Social cohesion is very important in this situation.”
Australian National Council of Imams spokesperson Bilal Rauf stressed that the hateful ideology of groups such as the self-proclaimed Islamic State group should not be mistaken as Islam.
“Muslims have faced the scourge of ISIS,” he told SBS News. “Many Muslims have died at the hands of ISIS, because ultimately they are also anti-Muslim.”

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