Israeli Australian Ofir Birenbaum donned his white Star of David cap, white t-shirt and wore a prominent Star of David necklace and headed to Cairo Takeaway with Daily Telegraph journalist Danielle Gusmaroli and a camera person on February 11.
He was on a mission to find “evidence” of an escalation of antisemitism.
Cairo Takeaway was targeted for NewsCorp’s “undercover” story because its owner, Hesham El Masry, is well known for his support for Palestine.
After Birenbaum was served his hibiscus tea at Cairo Takeaway, he started interrogating staff about their attitude to his Jewishness.
By then, the staff had twigged to the media sting and the Telegraph duo were accused of “divisive journalism” as they retreated up the street.
El Masry alleged that Birenbaum made a number of provocative comments to staff in an attempt to spark an argument.
People have posted their support on the Cairo Takeaway Instagram account, and some claim that Birenbaum had previously tried to provoke them at pro-Palestinian protests.
Late last week, Birenbaum closed his LinkedIn account and switched his “Ofir from Israel” Instagram account to private mode.
Who is Ofir Birenbaum?
Birenbaum grew up in Israel and served in the Israel Defense Forces. He graduated from Ruppin Academic Centre in Israel in 2014 and by 2021, he was working as an AI consultant in Australia.
After Israel’s war in Gaza began, Birenbaum began campaigning in support of Israel. He has campaigned with Advance Australia against the Greens and Teals.
Birenbaum has been active with Together with Israel, founded in October 2023, and helped organise a rally last December that platformed Rabbi Benjamin Elton, Great Synagogue Sydney, Senator Dave Sharma, Woollahra Mayor Sarah Swan and himself.
Birenbaum’s wife Sophie Calland, a member of the Labor Party, became the front person for Better Councils Inc, which was registered to campaign in Eastern Suburbs and Inner West Councils in last year’s local government elections.
Better Councils Inc decided it would only target Greens in the Inner West to help Labor Mayor Darcy Byrne who opposed a Greens motion for a boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) audit in August.
Birenbaum and volunteers staffed booths for pre-poll and on election day.
When a Bayside Council Greens Councillor moved for a BDS audit last October, Birenbaum spoke against the motion.
Meanwhile, he was attending many pro-Palestine rallies in Sydney, Melbourne and Newcastle, photographing Greens and other activists.
He was at the Supreme Court when the Palestine Action Group was challenging NSW Police’s attempt to refuse a permit to protest.
He was at Sydney University during the student encampment last year. He even undertook some of his own graffiti there, which was captured on video.
Birenbaum was at the former home of Executive Council of Australian Jewry CEO Alex Ryvchin after it had been graffitied on January 16.
He was at a Jewish Primary school in Maroubra on January 30, near to which antisemitic graffiti had been sprayed on a wall.
He blamed the graffiti on the weekly pro-Palestine protests, saying: “It starts with tolerating what we see in our streets.
“The flags and the chants that we see in our universities … we need a change of attitude by our universities, we need a change of attitude by our writers’ festival, our arts and culture centres in fostering hateful ideologies, that result in violent actions.”
He was on the spot when more graffiti appeared in Kingsford on February 2.
Later, he appeared on a TV channel in Israel, where he berated Labor for ostensibly failing to act on antisemitism, again blaming pro-Palestine protests for antisemitic graffiti.
The recent spate of antisemitic graffiti is a serious issue, that hurts Jewish people and spreads fear.
But so far there is no evidence that the graffiti incidents have anything at all to do with protests or dissent.
Birenbaum, a crusader for Israel, uses surreptitious tactics against those he wants banned or suppressed. Critics say he is helping amplify antisemitism, build Islamophobia and build support for authoritarian change.
[This article is based on a longer piece on Michael West Media.]