A swastika was carved into the window of a Jewish-owned bagel shop in Sydney weeks before its opening, prompting police to launch an investigation.
Officers were alerted to reports of malicious damage at Lox in a Box, located on Oxford Street in Paddington, on Thursday.
Inquiries determined that the etching was done on 21 March, according to a police spokesperson.
The damage was not immediately visible. The shopfront windows had been covered with brown paper following painting work, and the marking was only discovered earlier this week when the covering was removed.
The business is preparing to open its fourth outlet on 9 April, adding to existing locations in Bondi, Coogee and Marrickville. Renovations had been under way at the Paddington site ahead of the planned launch.
Owner Candy Berger said the discovery had been deeply distressing.
“I stood there in shock, thinking about what that symbol represents. What it has meant to my people,” she said.
“I am the granddaughter of a Holocaust survivor, and today felt like a punch that landed deeper than most.”
She said the timing of the incident felt deliberate, coming shortly before Passover, a Jewish festival commemorating the liberation of the Israelites from slavery in ancient Egypt.
“We will not let this break us,” she wrote. “We will not let it close our doors or dim the light of something we’ve worked so hard to build.”
Police said an investigation was ongoing.
The vandalism is the incident of alleged antisemitism reported in Sydney’s eastern suburbs since Israel launched a devastating war on Gaza in 2023 following a Hamas attack.The area is home to a large Jewish community.
Multiple reports of cars being set on fire and homes being vandalised in the area preceded a deadly attack at a Hanukkah event near Bondi Beach in December that left 15 people dead.
Following the attack, a well-known bakery in Surry Hills, Avner’s, closed permanently. A message posted on its shopfront said it could no longer guarantee the safety of staff or customers.
