From the Liveblog of
Friday, January 9, 2026
Bondi shooting hero Ahmed Al-Ahmed meets with US House Speaker Mike Johnson
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleAhmed Al-Ahmed, the Muslim man who disarmed one of the gunmen during the terror attack on a Jewish event at Sydney’s Bondi Beach last month, meets with US Speaker of the House Mike Johnson at the US Capitol in Washington, DC.
Johnson posts a photo of the meeting on social media, showing himself and Ahmed, wearing an arm sling, standing between pillars and in front of an American flag alongside rabbis from the Chabad Hasidic movement.
The Bondi attack, which killed 15 people, targeted a Chabad event.
It was my honor to welcome Ahmed Al-Ahmed to the Capitol today.
Ahmed is the brave hero who stopped the vicious antisemitic terrorist attacker in Australia on the first night of Hanukkah. He is still recovering from his wounds.
Antisemitism must be confronted and defeated… pic.twitter.com/WK2gGqL2bH
— Speaker Mike Johnson (@SpeakerJohnson) January 9, 2026
“It was my honor to welcome Ahmed Al-Ahmed to the Capitol today,” Johnson, Republican of Louisiana, posts on X. “Ahmed is the brave hero who stopped the vicious antisemitic terrorist attacker in Australia on the first night of Hanukkah. He is still recovering from his wounds.”
Johnson adds, “Antisemitism must be confronted and defeated wherever it appears, and we continue to pray for those who grieve the loss of their loved ones because of the horrific attack at Bondi Beach.”
Ahmed earlier visited the New York City gravesite of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the late Chabad leader.
The Times of Israel Community.