Australian bakery publishes photos of Hamas cake made for 4-year-old
Jewish community slams Sydney business after photos of boy dressed as terror group’s spokesman circulate: ‘Dressing a child up as a terrorist… is a form of child abuse’
An Australian bakery came under fire this week after it shared images of cakes it made for a four-year-old boy’s birthday featuring the Palestinian flag on a map of Israel and a picture of a Hamas official.
Photos of the custom-made cakes, along with a picture of the child dressed as Hamas spokesman Abu Obeida, who is featured on the cakes, were shared on the Sydney-based Oven Bakery by Fu Fu’s Instagram account.
Designated by Australia and several other countries as a terror organization, Hamas is currently fighting a war against Israel in Gaza, sparked by its deadly onslaught on October 7.
Hamas’s 1988 founding charter, a virulently antisemitic document rife with outlandish tropes about a worldwide Jewish conspiracy, professes the terror group’s commitment to armed struggle while rejecting any territorial concessions to “the warmongering Jews.”
On Wednesday, The Australian Jewish Association shared photos of the bakery’s social media posts, sparking an outcry and forcing the business to take down its social media accounts.
“Dressing a child up as a terrorist, including with what appears to be a Hamas headband is reprehensible and a form of child abuse,” Australian Jewish Association chief executive Robert Gregory told the Australian Daily Telegraph.
Australia, we have a problem.
Omar is 4 years old.
This bakery is located in Sydney. pic.twitter.com/ruhJxCTLEJ
— Australian Jewish Association (@AustralianJA) May 21, 2024
“Islamic extremism and radicalization of youth is not just a problem for the Jewish community. It’s a threat to all Australians,” he added.
There has been an increase in reports of antisemitism in Australia since the devastating massacre in southern Israel on October 7, which saw some 3,000 terrorists burst across the border from Gaza by land, air and sea, killing some 1,200 people and seizing 252 hostages, mostly civilians, many amid acts of brutality and sexual assault.
Earlier this month, the Anti-Defamation League warned that “the future of Jewish life in the West” was under threat, detailing a sharp rise in antisemitism since the start of the war in Gaza, which it said had fueled “a fire that was already out of control.”
Jointly written with Tel Aviv University, the report said antisemitic incidents in 2023 were far above 2022 figures in most countries with large Jewish minorities, including the United States, France, Britain, Australia, Italy, Brazil and Mexico.
A wave of anti-Israel protests on US university campuses and around the world has been the latest front in a fierce worldwide debate over antisemitism as anger over the civilian death toll from the ongoing war has triggered complaints that protests and criticism have sometimes veered into hate rhetoric against Jews.
