Ahmed al Ahmed, the Syrian-Australian father who wrestled a shotgun from one of the gunmen attacking a Jewish gathering, is facing a long road to recovery.

For Australia’s tiny Jewish population, Bondi Beach was a refuge within a vast country that offered sanctuary to families fleeing a seething hate that killed six million of their kind within the lifetime of some of their oldest members.

A Holocaust survivor, a 10-year-old and a Chabad rabbi were among the 15 people killed when two gunmen opened fire on a Hanukkah event at Australia's Bondi Beach on Sunday. Hundreds of people had gathered to mark the first day of the Jewish festival before the attackers struck at the event in Sydney.