By COLlive reporter
Rabbi Yehoram Ulman, spiritual leader of Chabad Bondi in Sydney and Senior Dayan of the Sydney Beth Din, visited Washington, DC this week.
He traveled with his son Rabbi Mendy Ulman and Mr. Ahmed Al Ahmed, a Muslim man who bravely stopped a gunman during the attack on Chanukah festivities on Bondi Beach on the first night of Chanukah.
Rabbi Ulman has lost his son in law and assistant, Rabbi Eli Schlanger HY”D and other members of his community in the savage attack that has shocked Australia and the world.
Hosting them was Rabbi Levi Shemtov, Senior Shliach and Executive Vice President of American Friends of Lubavitch (Chabad) in Washington, DC.
They were received by Congressional Leadership as well as leaders of major American Jewish organizations, who all expressed solidarity with the Chabad community in Bondi, the Australian Jewish community, as well as high praise for the selfless heroism of Mr. Al-Ahmed.
House Speaker Mike Johnson wrote:
Yesterday, Speaker Johnson was honored to welcome Rabbi Ulman and Ahmed Al-Ahmed from Bondi Beach to the Capitol. It was humbling to hear from Ahmed about his heroic acts that day and his continued healing journey, and the Speaker’s thoughts and prayers remain with the Chabad Bondi community as they continue to grieve the loss of their loved ones.
Senators Dave McCormick and John Fetterman of Pennsylvania met with them as well. “I had the profound honor to meet with the heroes of the Bondi Beach massacre. Together Rabbi Ulman and Ahmed al-Ahmed are protecting the light of hope over hatred,” McCormick wrote. “John and I will always stand together against antisemitism in all its forms.”
