A Hamas-themed birthday cake for a four-year-old Australian boy featuring a notorious terrorist surrounded by Palestinian flags has sparked fury.
The Sydney bakery which made the cake, and proudly posted pictures of it online, has since deleted its social media, with the AFP now investigating.
Oven Bakery by Fufu posted images on Tuesday showing the young boy standing beside a large cake decorated with the Palestinian flag and a picture of Abu Ubaida, a spokesman for Hamas, with his finger raised.
The boy was dressed in a headscarf and outfit similar to the figure on the cake as he mimicked the pose.
The masked figure also appeared on a batch of cupcakes adorned with the Palestinian flag.
Initially, the bakery received positive comments for the cake, with people calling the boy “a champion”.
However, criticism soon overshadowed the post, leading the bakery to shut down its Instagram and Facebook pages as opposing religious leaders called out the “indoctrination” of the young boy.
Chief executive of the Australian Jewish Group Robert Gregory spoke out against the bakery for its decision to make a cake featuring a known terrorist and also criticised the child’s family.
“Dressing a child up as a terrorist, including with what appears to be a Hamas headband is reprehensible and a form of child abuse,” he said via the Daily Telegraph.
“Islamic extremism and radicalisation of youth is not just a problem for the Jewish community. It’s a threat to all Australians.
“Australia has seen several recent incidents of Muslim youth allegedly stabbing or plotting to attack other Australians.
“Indoctrination starts at a young age and is similar to what is seen across the Middle East.”
Premier Chris Minns also weighed in on the issue, describing the photos as “horrifying”.
“Hamas is an evil terrorist organisation. Kids parties should be innocent and fun, not hateful,” he said.
Alex Ryvchin, the co-chief executive of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry said anybody glorifying terrorist organisations in this way was suffering from “a rare kind of psychosis”.
“It takes a rare kind of psychosis to want to teach infant children that Hamas terrorists are to be admired and emulated,” he said.
“If this is what is happening in some Sydney homes, we should prepare for a generation of violent extremists.
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“The authorities should be aware of this incident.”
Australian Federal Police have been referred to investigate the Western Sydney bakery following the public backlash.
Australia has issued a clear warning that Hamas is a declared terrorist organisation and providing support to it is a crime, following a spate of anti-semitic behaviour last year during protests against the war in Palestine .
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