Police were called to a popular Middle Eastern restaurant in Sydney’s inner west earlier this week after a confrontation involving the venue’s staff, a team from News Corp Australia and a man wearing a Star of David cap.
NSW police said they opened an investigation after a staff member at Cairo Takeaway in Newtown alleged she had felt intimidated by a customer who entered the restaurant at about midday on Tuesday. The police said their investigation concluded on Wednesday, with no criminal offences identified.
Ben English, the editor of the Daily Telegraph, said the newspaper “never intended to provoke an incident at the Cairo Takeaway restaurant” but acknowledged “our approach could have been better handled”.
English said the paper had visited multiple venues across Sydney in an attempt to report on “the rise of antisemitism and ... how it is affecting the daily lives of Jewish people in Sydney”.
Hesham El Masry, the owner of the restaurant, alleged there was an attempt to deliberately provoke an antisemitic response from his staff members in the presence of Daily Telegraph reporters. The restaurant and its owner have been vocal supporters of Palestine on social media.
CCTV images from inside the cafe seen by Guardian Australia showed a man wearing a Star of David cap and necklace entering the busy premises. El Masry said that the man was served tea with “no issues”.
The footage then shows the man moving to one side of the cafe, where he “lingered” for about two minutes, raising the concern of staff, he said.
The waitress walked outside, where a reporter, photographer and cameraman appeared to be waiting, he said.
A verbal altercation then took place between the waitress, the man in the cap and the journalists.
“That is out-and-out intimidation. Who comes into a restaurant and asks me a question about this gentleman who I don’t even know?” the woman is heard asking the journalists in footage posted to social media.
The man wearing the Star of David cap adds: “I think something’s upsetting her.”
In a separate video, the woman tells one of the journalists: “I’ll do exactly what you did to me – filming.” The journalist starts to respond, and the woman can be heard saying: “You’re hanging around with the wrong crowd. That’s divisive journalism.”
The man in the cap then says: “What do you mean the wrong crowd?”
The woman responds: “You wanted to make antisemitic statements up here? Look at you in shame, look at you, tails between your legs.
“You picked the wrong restaurant to try this shit in.”
The video ends with Daily Telegraph journalist Danielle Gusmaroli asking the woman not to touch her phone. The man in the cap can be heard saying “do not touch her”.
Gusmaroli did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Cairo Takeaway chef, Talaat Yehia, said via X that police had spoken with him and the waitress, who he said was left “distraught” after the incident.
El Masry alleged the man in the cap had “clearly come in looking for trouble”.
“I’m pretty certain that it was a planned operation,” he said.
After publication lawyers for the man contacted the Guardian to say: “At no time did our client ‘attempt to deliberately provoke an antisemitic response’ nor did he attempt to or actually intimidate a staff member at the Cairo Takeaway.”
The restaurant was preparing for its Gadigal to Gaza fundraising event on Sunday, he said.
According to a News Corp source who spoke on the condition of anonymity, newsroom staff were appalled by the incident. The source said they were disgusted that it could have been sanctioned and even more disgusted that there appeared to be zero consequences.
• This article was amended on 15 February 2025. The name of the Cairo Takeaway’s chef is Talaat Yehia, not Talaat Sehia as previously suggest.
