Firebombing of Kosher restaurant destroyed communal hub
The owners of a former Kosher restaurant say it was a community center after a fire broke out during the so-called “Summer of Terror.”
Lewis’s Continental Kitchen on Curlewis Street in Bondi was firebombed in October 2024, allegedly under the direction of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
The Royal Commission into Antisemitism and Social Cohesion is holding two weeks of public hearings into the lived experiences of Australia’s Jewish community.
Lewis owner and co-founder Judith Lewis said at Thursday’s hearing that the restaurant has acted as a “communal hub” for more than 50 years.
“People could come and meet there and sit down and eat,” he said.
“Customers are now our friends.”
Ms. Lewis said Kosher is the diet as prescribed in the Jewish holy book, or Torah, but can be eaten and enjoyed by anyone.
“This is a very healthy way to eat,” Ms. Lewis said.
Ms. Lewis’s daughter, Karyn, said she grew up in the restaurant, as did her own children.
“We would cycle down… and spend time with my dad and mom while they were working,” he told the inquest.
“It was a multi-generational learning experience, and it was amazing.”
A parliamentary committee recommended listing the IRGC as a terrorist organization after intelligence assessments revealed that it was behind the firebombing of Lewis’s restaurant and the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne the following month.
“ASIO assessed that these attacks were encouraged by the IRGC through a complex proxy scheme to conceal the IRGC’s involvement,” the report said. The statement was included.
The attacks led to the expulsion of Iran’s ambassador from Australia in August.
Most of the women’s statements were given in closed hearing to avoid damaging ongoing court matters.
Some of those who previously testified to the investigation said that Jews lived in fear due to attacks on their homes, workplaces and places of worship.
Zelie Heger SC, the lawyer assisting the commission, described the period as the “Summer of Terror”.
The Executive Council of Australian Jews reported more than 2000 anti-Semitic incidents between October 2023 and September 2024; This means a threefold increase compared to the previous year.
