Avner’s bakery will close, its owner no longer feels safe

When Ed Halmagyi opened his bakery Avner’s in Surry Hills in 2023, he made a conscious decision to be out and proud about his Jewish identity. He told The Jewish Independent he wanted to create a place where people know what it means to be Jewish in Australia.

He succeeded almost instantly. Avner’s quickly became a beloved port of call in the inner-city, a place to talk and schmooze while waiting for his mouthwatering sandwiches, babka and bagels.

There was a price to pay. Along with the love came antisemitic graffiti, threats, break-ins, shit thrown at his windows. But he saw that as low-level intimidation and wasn’t deterred.

But the massacre at Bondi Beach changed all that. “Threats of violence are a different category. Sunday’s event was clearly violence, pure, unadulterated violence. It was meant to kill, and it was meant to destroy social bonds,” he told the Sydney Morning Herald yesterday.

Sadly, it has driven Halmagyi to close the bakery down, which prompted an outpouring of affection and sadness from his loyal customers.

In a large notice placed in the bakery window, titled “Avner’s is closed”, Halmagyi wrote: “In the wake of the pogrom at Bondi, one thing has become clear – it is no longer possible to make outwardly, publicly, proudly Jewish places and events safe in Australia.