Pro-Israel activist sues Sydney cafe over Daily Telegraph stunt

A pro-Israel activist who alongside The Daily Telegraph took part in an alleged media sting at a Middle Eastern restaurant, is now suing the business for defamation.

Ofir Birenbaum has brought a defamation claim against the restaurant, its owner and a staff member after the story made national headlines, with lawyers for the Sydney venue vowing to defend the matter in court.

While the details of the legal claim remain unclear, Birenbaum filed the application with the Federal Court on Tuesday, naming the company trading as Cairo Takeaway, owner Hesham El Masry and staff member Talaat Yehia as respondents.

In February, Birenbaum entered the busy Newtown cafe known for its public support of Palestine wearing a Star of David cap.

Law firm Giles George – representing Birenbaum – subsequently demanded social media posts allegedly made by the restaurant’s owner and chef be deleted and that the cafe should make an unequivocal apology and issue a public retraction of their claims, with the threat of defamation if they failed to take these steps.

Stewart O’Connell of O’Brien Criminal and Civil Lawyers, acting for the respondents, said his clients made extensive and genuine efforts to peacefully settle the matter outside court. All matters complained about were removed from social media, he added.

“Now it is going to court, we have instructions to staunchly defend this claim, and Mr Birenbaum is going to have a real fight on his hands,” he told this masthead.

Giles George declined to comment.

Following the confrontation in the cafe, the Telegraph crew and Birenbaum were filmed as they attempted to leave the scene on Enmore Road, the person behind the camera calling it “divisive journalism”.

It was later reported that the News Corp publication had orchestrated the story under the name “UNDERCOVERJEW”, with Birenbaum to wear video-recording glasses. The plan was to expose “what it’s like being Jewish in Sydney”, according to Crikey.

Birenbaum denied the cafe’s version of events, which were posted to its Instagram page, also denying he was wearing smart glasses to film the interaction.

Birenbaum is a public supporter of Israel, and is associated with the Australian Jewish Association, who called him a “friend” after he appeared on Sky News Australia in December.

Cairo Takeaway is known for posting content supporting Palestine to its social media accounts regularly, and was one of several locations in different multicultural Sydney suburbs the team behind the plot had allegedly planned to visit. The cafe also has a mural painted on its wall to show solidarity with Palestinians.

Daily Telegraph editor Ben English later told this masthead the paper’s investigation into how the conflict in Gaza was affecting the lives of Jewish people in Sydney “could have been handled better”.

“The Telegraph never intended to provoke an incident at the Cairo Takeaway restaurant in Enmore [sic], which was one of multiple venues across Sydney we visited, nor to report that its staff are antisemitic,” he said.

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