Cairo Takeaway awarded costs for settlement breach

In an Instagram post put up yesterday (August 27) by Cairo Takeaway that began with “We have a little joke to tell: A Zionist and a Newspaper walked into a restaurant” – the Newtown-based restaurant confirmed that it had just been awarded costs, in relation to a June 30, 2026 ruling by a Federal Court of Australia judge, that Ofir Birenbaum had breached a clause of a Deed of Settlement with the restaurant.

The case arose from an incident on February 11, 2025 when Birenbaum – wearing a Star of David cap and pendant – entered Cairo Takeway as a customer to see how he would be treated, as part of a Daily Telegraph investigation into antisemitism in Sydney.

Birenbaum had sued the restaurant for defamation, following the incident, and the matter was settled out of court on March 26 this year, and a joint statement by all parties was issued.

In the days following that settlement being reached, Birenbaum posted on Instagram “The truth wins. I have been completely vindicated. I have been given an unreserved public apology for the lies they told about me”.

And Birenbaum’s lawyer Rebekah Giles, also at that time, had said “this is an important win for Ofir Birenbaum and the Australian Jewish community”.

The parties’ full Joint Statement is provided at the end of this article, for reference.

Cairo Takeaway’s owners then sued Birenbaum for breaching a clause of the settlement.

A judgment was made by a Federal Court of Australia judge on June 30, that statements made by both Birenbaum and Giles on March 30, 2026 – and comments made by Giles when communicating to Sky News reporter Sharri Markson that Cairo Takeaway paid an amount of compensation to Birenbaum – breached a clause of the Deed of Settlement, which prohibited making of statements inconsistent with the Joint Statement.

The August 27 Instagram Post by Cairo Takeaway – viewed by more than 8,800 people by midday the next day – referred to Birenbaum and Giles only as the “Zionist and his lawyer”, and labelled Markson’s employer as “the Zionist Sky News”.

The post said “This morning, the joke has finally concluded with the Judge awarding us costs”.

It then said “And as the genocide of Gaza and Lebanon continues, Cairo Takeaway will do what it can to raise funds and donate to relevant causes”.

The post ended with a watermelon emoji.

There were more than 500 comments made by people, and kept published, on that Instagram post within the first 24 hours, including “Never surrender to the z!0s, we will end their vicious ideology”; “This would’ve been front page news if the Zio’s didn’t own the press”; “Zionists are not welcome in Australia”; and “These monsters have their fingers in many pies”.

The AJN requested comment from Birenbaum today about the court’s ruling that he’d breached a term of the Deed of Settlement, the awarding of costs, and Cairo Takeaway’s August 27 Instagram post.

Birenbaum provided the following statement: “I congratulate Cairo Takeaway on the ruling. When you stand tall and fight as a proud Jew, you sometimes lose.

“They [referring to Cairo Takeaway’s Instagram post] have called this a joke. Being publicly accused of being a foreign agent and of making a bomb threat was not a joke to my family or to me.

“Those allegations were false, they were resolved in March, and they apologised for them, as their own post confirms.”

“Yesterday’s ruling concerns what was said after that settlement. It does not revisit the allegations themselves, and it does not make them true.

“I remain standing tall as a proud Jew.”

THE JOINT STATEMENT

This is a copy of Joint Statement that was issued as part of the settlement:

The Daily Telegraph, Cairo Takeaway and Ofir Birenbaum issued the following joint statement:

“On 11 February 2025, Jewish man, Ofir Birenbaum, who was wearing a Star of David cap and pendant, and representatives from the Daily Telegraph newspaper, entered the Cairo Takeaway in Newtown, resulting in an incident with Cairo Takeaway staff.

“All parties are pleased that the legal disputes arising from this incident have now been resolved on confidential terms.

“Cairo Takeaway accepts that Mr Birenbaum was polite to staff when he entered the premises and purchased a drink, and they unreservedly apologise to him for the false and defamatory statements to the media, Instagram posts and comments by members of the public directed at Mr Birenbaum on its social media accounts.

“The Daily Telegraph acknowledges that entering the Cairo Takeaway without notice, to see if Mr Birenbaum would be treated differently for the purpose of a news article, caused distress to the staff and owner of the Cairo Takeaway. The Daily Telegraph unreservedly apologises to Cairo Takeaway and their staff for causing that distress.

“All parties are pleased that these issues have now been resolved in a constructive and satisfactory manner. In doing so, they acknowledge that all Australians should be able to safely express their racial or religious affiliation as well as debate issues in a respectful and dignified fashion. The parties hope that the fact of a resolution can be a positive example for others.”