A Jewish bakery in Sydney run by a celebrity chef has closed – apparently for good – after the Bondi beach terror attack, with a message posted on the shop’s window saying it can no longer ensure the safety of its staff and customers.
Avner’s Bakery, a prominent Jewish bakery in Surry Hills run by celebrity chef Ed Halmagyi, closed after Sunday’s massacre at a gathering to celebrate the Jewish festival of Hanukah.
“Closed today, closed forever,” a man – who did not give his name – said outside the shop on Wednesday morning.
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A notice on the bakery’s window on Wednesday morning from “Ed and the Avner’s team” said the “world had changed, our world has changed”.
“In the wake of the pogrom at Bondi one thing has become clear – it is no longer possible to make outwardly, publicly, proudly Jewish places and events safe in Australia,” the message read.
“After two years of almost ceaseless antisemitic harassment, vandalism and intimidation directed at our little bakery, we have to be realistic about the threats that exist going forwards. Those concerns are now clearly more pressing and more serious. Even in the wake of this terrorist incident, threats have continued.
“As an open and very public business that operates at all hours, we are unable to ensure the safety of our staff, our customers, our families.
“And so we have made the only decision available, one that truly breaks our hearts. Avner’s is closed.”
Halmagyi has detailed scores of antisemitic incidents since the bakery opened its doors, including threatening notes, graffiti and vandalism.
In a post to Instagram in October last year, Halmagyi said he would not be intimidated by a threatening note that had been shoved under the bakery door by “cosplay radicals”.
Halmagyi shared an image of the note, which read “Be Careful” in shaky handwriting. He said this was “Being Jewish in Sydney, 2024 edition”.
“But the fact is, it’s hard to be intimidated by inner-city middle-class Cosplay Radicals who graduated primary school without their pen licence.”
The chef, known as “Fast Ed”, appeared on Better Homes and Gardens for 20 years.
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