Bondi shooting forces Jewish bakery Avner’s to close
Updated ,first published
Ed Halmagyi is 198 centimeters tall and a former champion boxer. “I can take care of myself,” he says. “I’m very happy to be determined and stand my ground.”
Halmagyi, who is also a well-known TV personality, has since opened his bakery Avner’s in Surry Hills in late 2023 Better Homes and Gardens – He said that coaching Avner gave him real meaning.
His business regularly faces anti-Semitic graffiti, threats and slurs. Door locks are smeared with glue, there is forced entry, and windows are thrown with human feces. But Halmagyi never let this affect him.
“This is just intimidation,” he says. “But the possibility of real violence? It exists now in a way that wasn’t there before.
“Threats of violence are a different category. Sunday’s incident was clearly violence, pure, unadulterated violence. It was intended to kill and it was intended to destroy social ties.”
15 people lost their lives in the attack targeting the Jewish community at Bondi Beach on the first night of Hanukkah. The surviving gunman is charged with murder and terrorism.
Halmagyi wrote to his community on Wednesday that he was closing his beloved bakery, known for its chocolate babka and sesame bagels, effective immediately. Since the announcement, the public has received dozens of bouquets and notes expressing their gratitude to the Jewish food establishment.
“I truly believe that [business] being sufficiently high-profile and publicly Jewish [has led to us] are defined and targeted individually. “Most Jews are not targeted individually because most of them go about their lives quietly,” Halmagyi said.
“I decided to work publicly because I felt it was important to represent the best our community has to offer. But in doing so, I put myself in public conversations that were not healthy. Now if someone decides they want to go out and pick someone up publicly, I have to face the fact that that’s exactly the kind of person I am.”
Halmagyi said he could no longer put himself, his family, staff and customers at risk after the unimaginable deadly mass shooting occurred at a Hanukkah event.
“The idea that there are many resources other than guns at the disposal of those who are well motivated enough to cause violence, intimidation, and destruction of property and lives,” he said.
“Someone will do the next unthinkable.”
Google has since removed the comments.
Another Jewish food business in Sydney, Lox In A Box, owned by Candy Berger and Gaia Lovell, said they were heartbroken after being hit with one-star and anti-Semitic Google reviews following the attack.
“I went to bed heartbroken and completely distraught,” the Instagram post read. “When I woke up I saw this in my inbox… So disheartening, where is our collective humanity? Antisemitism is no joke… Posting negative antisemitic comments can really hurt a small business like ours.”
“We’ve always been a super inclusive business; we’ve always tried our best to never exclude anyone, so reviews like this actually sting personally.”
Halmagyi said he opened Avner’s in Surry Hills to create a safe Jewish space outside East Sydney and make a difference in the perception of his community.
“My whole argument from the beginning was that if Australian Jews want to be loved, respected and included as everyone else should be, then you can’t start out with the idea of hiding yourself in a town. [community] “From the eastern suburbs,” he said.
Halmagyi, who worked at a bakery in his youth long before he became the TV personality known as “Fast Ed,” said Avner’s gave him real meaning.
“I needed to do something worthwhile,” he said. “I believe family fun is really important, but it didn’t give me the sense of meaning and it didn’t make the difference I wanted for my life. That’s certainly true not just for the Jewish community, but for the Surry Hills community as well.”
Bondi Beach incident helplines:
- Bondi Beach Victim Services 1800 411 822
- Bondi Beach Public Information and Research Center 1800 227 228
- NSW Mental Health Line 1800 011 511or Lifeline is open 13 11 14
- Child Helpline is open 1800 55 1800 or chat online at: kidshelpline.com.au
More news on the Bondi terror
Start your day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.
