Australia has created a special honors list to recognize the bravery and heroism of those who responded to last Sunday’s Bondi Beach Massacre, Australian Governor General Sam Mostyn announced on Wednesday.
The public will be able to nominate those they believe worthy of being honored for their actions in response to the Hanukkah party terrorist attack that claimed the lives of 15 and wounded 40.
Mostyn said on Facebook that the approval of the honors list came following the advice of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who announced that he had written to the Governor General about the matter the same day.
“What happened at Bondi showed the worst of humanity – hatred, antisemitism, and violence. But it also showed the best,” Albanese said in a Wednesday statement. “People ran toward danger. They put themselves at risk to help others, not because they had to but because it was the right thing to do.”
Awards will be announced in 2026. According to the Governor General’s website, Australian bravery decorations are announced in March and August, while the Order of Australia, meritorious awards, and military awards are announced in January and June.
Stories of heroism at Bondi Beach
Several stories of heroism have emerged from the day of the massacre conducted by an Islamist father and son terrorist team, chief among them being that of Muslim fruit-seller Ahmed el-Ahmed, who was filmed disarming one of the gunmen. The 43-year-old Syrian-born man approached the terrorist from behind a vehicle before leaping out and wrestling the weapon away. Ahmed was shot and hospitalized during the incident and is still recovering.
Ahmed was followed by Israeli Gefen Bitton, according to the Israeli Embassy in Australia, who was wounded while attempting to disarm an attacker. The 30-year-old was shot three times and remains in an intensive care unit.
Teenager Chaya Dadon left her own cover from gunfire to pull two children away and shield them with her own body. The 14-year-old was shot in the leg but was able to attend Sunday’s vigil in memory of the victims, where she explained that she felt that she had a mission from God to protect others.
At the vigil, NSW opposition leader Kellie Sloane was praised by the Jewish community for her bravery in rushing to the scene as the attack was still underway. She guided a boy and his father to safety, put blankets over the dead, and held the hands of the wounded.
Sloane had come in a Hatzalah ambulance. At the Sunday vigil, Hatzalah volunteers, paramedics, community security group volunteers, and lifeguards were honored for their efforts to save the wounded victims. The NSW police were also thanked for ultimately stopping the shooters.
Constable Scott Dyson and Probationary Constable Jack Hibbert were both wounded in the attack. Dyson awoke from his medically induced coma for the first time on Tuesday. Hibbert was discharged the same day. The new officer had only been serving for four months when he was patrolling the beach. He suffered one bullet wound to the head and another to the shoulder, losing vision in one of his eyes.
Others fell while trying to help others or fighting against the two attackers. According to the Israeli Embassy, Sofia and Boris Gurman were among the first to encounter the terrorists, and they lost their lives running toward them and attempting to tackle them. NSW Premier Chris Minns eulogized the couple on Monday, saying that “despite the obvious danger, they tried to, without being armed themselves, disarm the gunman, and in the struggle, they became the first victims of this terrible crime.”
“With my wife, Anna, we met their sole surviving son, Alex, last week, who spoke of his deep sense of gratitude that the footage of their final moments was, in fact, found, so that he knew that they died heroes,” Minns related in a ministerial speech at the NSW parliament. “The family had said this act of bravery and selflessness reflects exactly who they were, people who instinctively chose to help, even at great personal risk. While nothing can lessen the pain of this loss, we feel immense pride in their courage and humanity.”
Reuven Morrison had also charged toward one of the gunmen, with “nothing but a brick” in the hope of protecting others, said Minns. The premier quoted Morrison’s daughter, who reportedly said that “If there was one way for him to go on this Earth, if we had to let him go, it would be fighting a terrorist. There’s no other way. He could have been taken from us. He went down fighting, protecting the people that he loved most.”
Minns also paid tribute to Tibor Weitzen, recounting that he was killed while shielding others from gunfire. According to Minns, he was “a kind and generous man in life, and we can say this now because we know he was a hero in death.”
The premier paid tributes to the 15 massacre victims during a bid for a condolence motion at the NSW parliament, extending official sympathies to the family and friends of those who lost their lives.
Minns said that the parliament “conveys its utmost gratitude for the bravery shown by those who risked their lives in aiding the victims, including members of local Surf Life Saving clubs, front-line responders such as the New South Wales Police, New South Wales ambulance, community groups such as the CSG Community Safety Group, and members of the public.”