Aussie celebrity chef Ed Halmagyi breaks his silence on antisemitic abuse he has suffered in the wake of Bondi terror attack: ‘Vandalism, hate letters, busted windows’

by

Ed Halmagyi has shared his experiences with antisemitic abuse that began after the Bondi shootings. He has spoken about the years of hateful treatment he’s endured.

A Hanukkah celebration at a popular beach in the Eastern Suburbs was tragically targeted by an act of terrorism on Sunday, resulting in the deaths of sixteen people, including children. Two gunmen with rifles carried out the attack.

Australian chef and Sydney resident Ed Halmagyi, nicknamed ‘Fast Ed,’ has publicly stated he regrets not taking the increasing threats against the Jewish community seriously enough, calling his previous underestimation ‘naive’.

Since Avner’s bakery opened in Surry Hills in 2024, it has been targeted with weekly acts of harassment, including abusive messages, verbal threats, and vandalism.

He told ABC Sydney radio that for the past two years, his property has been repeatedly targeted with graffiti, vandalism, and even hate mail, along with broken windows. He said this has been happening five to six days a week.

The popular baker sold a thousand doughnuts on Sunday for the Festival of Lights, but the celebration came after he had to confront the difficulties of being an openly Jewish business owner.

He shared that the first thing he did was take down hateful stickers from the building, which included messages like ‘Jews kill babies’ and ‘go back to where you came from’.

Later on in the day, the abuse continued.  

He recounted a shocking incident where a driver in a pickup truck yelled insults at him and his employees in front of roughly 40 to 50 customers, who were all witnesses.

This well-known chef has spoken before about the terrible experiences he’s faced due to being Jewish.

Last October, someone vandalized his well-known bakery in the city with hateful, anti-Jewish graffiti. They also left a threatening note warning him to ‘be careful’.

Avner’s Bakery was vandalized with a threatening message: someone painted a red, inverted triangle on the window and left a note under the door.

The triangle has a dark history, as it was used by the Nazis to identify prisoners in concentration camps. More recently, the terrorist group Hamas has used it to mark Jewish people as targets.

The well-known chef and former host of Better Homes and Gardens shared details of the surprising incident on his social media accounts.

‘Being Jewish in Sydney, 2024 edition,’ his Sunday morning post read.

‘This note was shoved under the door of our bakery overnight.

Honestly, it’s difficult to feel threatened by people who dress up in costumes and claim to be radicals, especially when they’re just ordinary folks who grew up with a normal education.

Halmagyi chose not to remove the graffiti from the bakery window, believing it was important for people to be aware of the incident.

The bakery reopened the next day, and customers enjoyed coffee in the sunshine, with the triangular sign still visible.

He explained that he considered removing the post earlier, but decided against it. He felt it was important for people to be aware that these kinds of things occur, and taking it down would be unproductive, as reported by The Australian.

The urge to instantly hide or erase it suggests a couple of things. First, it clearly had an impact, and second, it left me feeling unexpectedly exposed.

‘And it simultaneously says you’re a victim of your circumstances. I’m not a victim,’ he said.

Read More

2025-12-16 12:05