Jewish Better Homes and Gardens star closes down his bakery in Sydney in the wake of the Bondi terror attack and posts heartbreaking note on the door

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Ed Halmagyi, known for his appearances on Better Homes and Gardens, has decided to close his bakery in Sydney after the recent attack in Bondi.

Australian chef ‘Fast Ed’ announced the closure of his store, explaining it was due to ‘years of antisemitic abuse’ he had experienced.

A sad message posted on the store Wednesday announced the bakery, which opened in 2024, will be closing its doors.

Following the attack in Bondi, it’s become apparent that openly Jewish spaces and gatherings in Australia can no longer be guaranteed safety.

After enduring nearly two years of constant antisemitic harassment, vandalism, and intimidation at our bakery, we need to acknowledge the ongoing dangers we face.

These worries are now much more urgent and significant. Despite this act of terrorism, threats haven’t stopped.

Look, running a business that’s open to everyone, all the time, is incredibly challenging. Honestly, my biggest concern is always the well-being of my team, our customers, and frankly, everyone’s families. It’s just really difficult to guarantee everyone’s safety when you’re so accessible.

It’s with a truly heavy heart that I share some difficult news. After a lot of consideration, we’ve made the incredibly tough decision to close Avner’s. It wasn’t an easy choice, and honestly, it breaks my heart, but it was the only path forward. I know this will be sad news for many, and I want you to know it wasn’t decided lightly.

We’re incredibly thankful for the community we’ve built and all the support we’ve received.

This follows Ed’s acknowledgment that he regrets underestimating the growing danger to the Jewish community, calling his previous assessment ‘naive’.

His Surry Hills bakery has received written abuse, verbal abuse and vandalism weekly since opening.

It’s been absolutely relentless, honestly. For two years now, my life has been a nightmare of graffiti, vandalism, and just awful hate mail. Windows smashed, everything tagged… it happens five or six days a week! I told Chris Taylor on ABC Sydney radio just yesterday how I’ve been dealing with this non-stop, and it’s just… it never ends!

The popular baker sold a thousand doughnuts on Sunday for the Festival of Lights, but before the celebration, he had to confront the difficulties of being a visibly 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 was shocked to report that a man in a pickup truck drove by and yelled hateful insults at him and his employees while around 40 to 50 customers looked on.

On Sunday, a mass shooting at a Hanukkah celebration in Bondi Beach, Australia, left fifteen people dead, including a 10-year-old girl, and injured forty others. This was the second-worst mass shooting in Australian history.

Authorities have identified Naveed Akram, 24, and his father, Sajid Akram, 50, as suspects in the recent killings. Sajid Akram was fatally shot at the scene.

Today, twelve people injured in the attack are still in critical condition. An additional 26 patients are receiving treatment at seven hospitals throughout Sydney, with varying degrees of injury.

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2025-12-17 03:57