A Holocaust remembrance organization has honored American Airlines for easing a passenger’s journey to the funeral of a rabbi killed in the December 2025 terrorist attack at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia.

American’s effort was a dramatic example of what can go right in the airline business. The passenger was booked to fly Miami-Los Angeles on American and Los Angeles-Sydney on another carrier. But the first leg was delayed by about two hours, and he was going to miss the Sydney departure.

American managers learned of the passenger’s plight, held American’s Sydney departure, moved the MIA-LAX flight to a gate near the Sydney departure, escorted him between his flights and then flew him free of charge to Sydney. The Sydney flight was delayed by just 46 minutes.

“I was so in awe of what American was doing,” Eli Rutman, the passenger, said on a video made by the Auschwitz Jewish Center Foundation. “Even the way the flight attendant came to me and said. “It’s like there’s some sort of angel out there.’ You could see their open hearts. That they felt the pain of the Jewish nation that day.”

The managers who oversaw the effort were Mohamad Najjar, LAX control center manager; Zak Rakrouki, LAX customer care manager, and Radney Robertson, managing director of LAX operations

They were recognized during last week’s state of the airline meeting. Earlier, AJCF presented its medal of valor award to American for its “extraordinary act of compassion and moral leadership.” That award was presented last month at the foundation’s annual dinner in New York.

On Dec. 15, 2025 , Robertson was on vacation in Washington D.C. when he was awakened around 1 a.m. by a phone call from Rakrouki.

“A call at that time is not always good news,” Robertson said in an interview. However, once he was fully briefed, Robertson had two major decisions to make. One was whether to hold American’s LAX to Sydney flight. The other involved the question of how would American be paid for the ticket.

In commercial aviation, there is immense pressure on everyone, particularly station managers, for on-time departures. “As airport leaders, one thing we focus on is performance,” Robertson said. “We serve our customers by departing on time. In many cases, we hold flights. We look at the impact downline. It is not common that we would hold an international departure for one customer. “

As for payment, Robertson’s second problem was that United, Rutman’s initial carrier to Sydney, would not agree to a transfer of payment. “As we discussed that, I joked with Mo that he continued to say ‘It’s the right thing to do,’ probably twenty times. But in the end, once I understand what was going on, and that ultimately this was an opportunity to complete our mission, which is caring for people on life’s journey. It was really a no brainer. I said ‘let’s do this.’

“The real heroes are Zac and Mo,” Robertson said. “They were on duty when this happened. I made the decisions because they provided me with really good information. Zac was notified around 7 p.m. or 8 p.m. He sprang into action.” With American’s two-hour delay, American could not convince United to hold its flight. “The customer was distraught after this tragic event,” Robertson said. “Our flight was late. He was going to be stranded in LA. So, Zac and Mo reached out to IOC and said ‘We’d like to initiate a hold.’” IOC is American’s integrated operations center in Dallas.

The team also arranged to change the arrival gate for MIA-LAX to one that was two gates away from the Sydney departure. Additionally, flight attendants moved Rutman to a seat near the front of the Miami flight so he could disembark first and be escorted to the Sydney flight.

Well-known Rabbi Eli Schlanger was among the victims of a mass shooting that took place during a Chanukah celebration in Bondi Beach on Dec. 15, 2025. The attack killed 15 people and injured approximately 40 others, who had been celebrating the Jewish Festival of Lights. Rutman was a childhood friend of Schlanger’s.

Over the past three years, AJCF has filed numerous complaints involving incidents of antisemitism and religious discrimination affecting airline passengers around the world. Those incidents have included discriminatory treatment directed at Jewish travelers, as well as reported instances involving the tampering of kosher meals and other forms of antisemitic conduct. None of the incidents occurred on U.S. carriers, a spokesman said.

On the American flights from Miami to Sydney, the situation was entirely different. “American Airlines stands apart because this recognition was never about correcting a failure,” Auschwitz Jewish Center Foundation Director General Jack Simony said in an email. Rather, “Following the antisemitic terrorist attack, American Airlines and its employees responded with extraordinary compassion,” he said.