Why the horror at Bondi has forced this Jewish bakery to close its doors

Flowers and notes outside Avner’s following the news of its closure.Credit: Peter Rae

“I made a decision to work publicly because I thought it was important to represent the very best that our community has to offer. But in doing so, I put myself into public conversations that aren’t healthy. I now have to deal with the fact that if somebody decides they want to go and get someone publicly, I am precisely that sort of person.”

Halmagyi said he could no longer put himself, his family, staff and customers at risk after what he thought was the unimaginable, a fatal mass shooting at a Hanukkah event, was realised.

“The idea that people who are sufficiently well motivated to cause violence, intimidation and the destruction of property and life have many resources other than guns at their hands,” he said.

“Someone is going to do the next unthinkable.”

Google has since removed the reviews.

Another Sydney Jewish food business, Lox In A Box, owned by Candy Berger and Gaia Lovell, said they were heartbroken after being hit with one-star and antisemitic Google reviews following the shooting.

“Went to bed heartbroken and completely devastated,” the post on Instagram read. “This is what I woke to in my inbox … It’s so disheartening, where’s our collective humanity? Antisemitism is not a joke … posting negative antisemitic reviews can really harm a small business like ours.

“We have always been a super inclusive business; we have always tried our hardest to never exclude anyone, so reviews like this actually do hurt, personally.”

Halmagyi said he opened Avner’s in Surry Hills in an attempt to create a safe Jewish space outside eastern Sydney and make a difference in how his community is perceived.

Avner’s closing sign.Credit: Peter Rae

“My whole argument, right from the start, was … that if Jewish Australians want to be loved, respected and included as anyone should be, then you couldn’t set out with an idea that you want to hide yourself away in the shtetl [community] of the eastern suburbs,” he said.

Having worked at a bakery in his teens, well before becoming a TV personality known as “Fast Ed”, Halmagyi said running Avner’s gave him real meaning.

“I needed to do something of value,” he said. “I believe that family entertainment really does matter, but it didn’t give me the sense of meaning and making a difference that I wanted for my life. This absolutely has, and not just for the Jewish community, for Surry Hills as a community.”

More Bondi terror coverage

• Moment by moment: How the horrifying Bondi terror attack unfolded
• Bondi shooter held gun licence: The prime minister will propose strengthening Australian gun laws
• Watch: Alleged Bondi gunman tells bystanders to move away, while shooting at Hanukkah crowd
• Who are the alleged Bondi gunmen? Bondi shooters visited Philippines weeks before beach massacre

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