Avner’s, a Jewish-owned bagel bakery in Sydney, has closed effective immediately after escalating antisemitic threats and warnings that the business had become a potential target for violence.
The closure follows the Bondi Beach Pogrom and years of sustained harassment directed at the bakery and its owners. According to the owner, TV chef Ed Almagor, police and security agencies advised that the shop could no longer be considered safe, warning that it was at risk precisely because it was visibly and publicly Jewish.
In a message shared with the community, the owners announced the closure “to make sense of the awful and mindless violence,” explaining that the safety and wellbeing of their families, staff, and customers could no longer be guaranteed. They added that they needed time to process what had happened and to determine whether security could ever realistically be ensured.
“Our hearts are broken, but full of love,” the statement read, expressing solidarity with families and friends who had lost loved ones in recent attacks.
The decision comes after years of intimidation, but the recent violence was described as the tipping point.
