Cairo Takeaway launches countersuit against pro-Israel activist
Cairo Takeaway, the tiny but much-loved restaurant on Enmore Road in Newtown, is suing pro-Israel activist Ofir Birenbaum, alleging he trespassed when he came in wearing a Star of David cap and necklace in February, accompanied by a Daily Telegraph crew.
The visit was part of a covert operation that the paper internally labelled “undercover Jew” and which later made global headlines when the story backfired.
In August, Birenbaum filed defamation proceedings against Cairo Takeaway’s owner, Hesham El Masry, and staff member Talaat Yehia. He claims he was shunned, vilified and investigated by his employer after the restaurant allegedly suggested he’d tried to manufacture an antisemitic incident.
The venue is now pushing back. In a cross-claim filed in the federal court, the restaurant argues Birenbaum was trespassing because entry is limited to customers using the space as a restaurant, not as a set for an undercover media sting.
According to documents seen by Guardian Australia, Cairo Takeaway’s lawyers say neither Birenbaum nor the Daily Telegraph journalists had permission to enter the premises to “covertly film” an interaction or “ambush staff members”.
The restaurant alleges his real aim was to provoke staff and capture it on camera. Court filings say his purpose was to generate an “angry or negative reaction from staff”, secretly record the exchange for publication, “ambush” workers once they reacted and/or “seek to cause harm to the cross-claimant by portraying the Cairo Takeaway, its owner, and its staff as being antisemitic”.
Cairo Takeaway is seeking loss and damage and exemplary damages, describing the stunt as “the disgraceful and outrageous attempt to increase social division by entering a pro-Palestinian premises wearing a cap that resembles the Israeli flag with a Daily Telegraph camera crew waiting outside.” The restaurant says it believes it was singled out because of its “pro-Palestinian” stance.
The court documents, filed by O’Brien Criminal and Civil Lawyers, also lift the lid on the planning behind the Daily Telegraph piece. They reference an internal note created by reporter Danielle Gusmaroli and titled “undercoverjew”.
“Undercover Jewish man Ofir Birenbaum sees what it’s like being Jewish in Sydney.
Will secretly film with his video glasses,” she allegedly wrote, before listing Newtown, Blacktown, Bankstown and Arncliffe as possible locations to “film peopls [sic] reactions to this Jewish [sic] man in their neighbourhood”.
Alongside the countersuit, Cairo Takeaway has now lodged its defence to Birenbaum’s defamation claim. His statement of claim includes screenshots of a now-deleted social media post published by the restaurant after the incident; some allegations in that post were later withdrawn and apologised for.
The restaurant denies its posts were defamatory or likely to seriously damage Birenbaum’s reputation, instead running contextual truth and honest opinion defences.
As part of that, its lawyers say the posts conveyed that “Birenbaum is a person prepared to stoke division in the community as a provocateur supporting the Israeli government”, and that he “acted aggressively and provocatively towards Cairo Takeaway staff”.
They allege Birenbaum wore sunglasses that “are sold with inbuilt technology to enable filming” and that: “The applicant loitered at the back of the restaurant for over a minute.
He was standing and was active on his mobile phone and kept looking at and around the restaurant. The applicant undertook covert filming of the premises using at the minimum his mobile phone and possibly also the recording device on his sunglasses”.
The documents also claim Gusmaroli later “walked up to the counter and engaged in a conversation with an employee of Cairo Takeaway, during which she did not identify herself as a journalist”, before asking: “Do you have a problem with that guy?”
They further allege there was a broader exchange between staff, reporters, Birenbaum and other diners, during which “Gusmaroli falsely accused the female server of being appalled that the applicant came into the restaurant, of being visibly upset that the applicant had come into the restaurant and of having a ‘problem’ with him”.
Cairo Takeaway says it made a reasonable offer to resolve the defamation dispute, including $25,000 and a further apology, but that proposal was rejected.
Jonathan Jackson, 26th November 2025
